The sovereignty of God can be confusing and is often misunderstood. We often have the view that everything that happens is the direct result of God preordaining it to happen; that He controls things as the agent of cause behind everything that happens. However, I have found that this simple view of sovereignty contradicts scripture and the place of responsibility. One example of something that happens yet is not preordained by God is temptation. James 1:13 states, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” We all experience temptation yet God is not the agent of cause for this experience and the responsibility is placed on man. However, we see God’s sovereignty in 1 Co. 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” God does not tempt us to sin although He does allow it while at the same time providing a way of escape. In doing so He demonstrates and exercises His sovereignty apart from predestination (human responsibility in sanctification is clear and God has given man many ways of escape- Ro. 6:12-14, 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:7, 15; 2 Tim. 2:2; Gal. 5:16, 6:2; etc.).
We must realize, as stated in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, “divine sovereignty and human responsibility [seem to be] paradoxical and beyond human comprehension, [they are] not contradictory. Divine sovereignty and human sovereignty are certainly contradictory, but divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not. God uses human means in history to accomplish His purposes, yet such means do not involve coercion”.
To be certain, all things that happen fall under the sovereignty of God. Sovereignty simply means that God is supreme in all things. According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, the sovereignty of God refers to “His absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure (Dan. 4:25, 35; Rom. 9:15–23; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11).” God maintains sovereignty in all things because of the fact that He is supreme in all things, not because He necessarily preordains all things. Supremacy speaks to God’s right, authority, and power. Even though God allows things to happen it does not mean He ordained them to happen yet He still maintains sovereignty because He maintains supremacy. He is supreme in the fact that He will never allow something to happen that will thwart His overall plan in history (namely, to reestablish His rule over creation through man), He maintains the right, the authority, and the power to intervene as He wills because He is sovereign in all things (Eph. 1:11). As Charles Ryrie states, “How intricate must be the details of the plan of God who can govern all things, allow human choice, and yet get glory to Himself through people who are permitted to make choices…”
If it is valuing God’s sovereignty we are concerned about, this view, which incorporates human responsibility actually reveals the beauty and authority of God's sovereignty in the most powerful and moving way. It moves me into a deep love and appreciation for God. He brings about His will through persuasion rather than coercion. What a loving, graceful, patient and supremely sovereign God!
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