Our first segment on the sovereignty of God revealed God’s sovereignty to be that attribute most often challenged by men and angels. It was so when Lucifer declared he would exalt himself to the very throne of God. It was repeated continually by men from Adam onward, who, by their attitude and acts, would superimpose their will and way up on the will and way of the sovereign God. Man, with all his rebel tendencies has always wanted to be in charge, and, in his brazenness, defy the Almighty and His clearly set-forth standards. There always have been the Lucifers, the Cains, the Nimrods, the Neros, the Hitlers and Stalins, Pol Pots, and Idi Amins, on and on and on. All would be sovereign, but we may be sure the Deity never felt threatened or feared for his job as sovereign of the universe.
Few, if any, passages spell this out as clearly as 1st Chronicles 29, which states, “Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.” And Matthew 6 expresses it with the very familiar, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, amen.” For any mere mortal to deny the sovereign God His due is surely the height of supreme ignorance. And for any mere mortal to fantasize about displacing the Deity is the height of supreme arrogance. Sadly, the world has never lacked for candidates in either category of ignorance or arrogance. But God just goes on about His business of being the absolute sovereign Deity that He is.
Lewis Sperry Chafer, in his massive work of systematic theology, spoke thusly of God’s sovereignty, “He is Creator, and His dominion is perfect and final. He is free to dispose of his creation as He will, but His will is wholly guided by the true and benevolent features of His person. All majesty and glory belong to God. All material things are His by the most absolute ownership. Men hold property by rights, which are only temporary and permitted by God.” Chafer then quotes from Psalm 50, “For every beast of the forest is Mine and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” All throughout Scripture, the absolute sovereignty of God peals forth. God is on His throne. God, and God alone, is in charge, and happy is the man who acknowledges it and joyfully submits his will to God and His sovereignty.
Many have been the challenges to the sovereignty of God, but none were ever successful and none ever can be. God’s absolute sovereignty is a key factor in providing humans with the assurance and stability needed for joyful and confident living. Relax, God is sovereign. Rejoice, God is in charge.
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