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Thursday, January 8, 2015

GOD IS SOVEREIGN...COULD HE BE OTHERWISE AND STILL BE GOD;


     Over  the years we  have attended  conservative  Baptist
fellowships.  There seems to be something of a weakness in
one area of doctrine;  the principle of  the Sovereignty of the
Lord God.  It is not that His sovereignty is  been  questioned,
or denigrated.  The  doctrine  has not  been discussed. Rea-
sons  for  this "lack" may  be  the  perception  that some who 
misapply the doctrine,  alienate  fellow  Bible believers.  One 
 other possibility presents itself.  Just  suppose  leadership in 
the group with whom I  worship are not  familiar enough with
the  doctrine and  are, therefore,  unable to discuss it.  In my
humble  opinion,  every  Bible doctrine should be addressed
intelligently, regardless of  the consequences.  Another word
by way of an introduction:  As you probably know, some tea-
chers  link  the  doctrine  of  God's  Sovereignty  firmly  with
Covenant Theology and  that primarily entails  Election, Pre-
destination and  even  irresistible Grace.  I am  not qualified  
to  discuss, intelligently, the deeper  and  technical sides  of
this doctrine, but Having a Scriptural view of the Sovereignty
of  God is  essential if we  would  have  a grasp  on how our
Lord relates to the followers of Christ;  those who have  fear
of God, and  how He relates  to those who have refused his
grace  in  Christ Jesus.  Here  are passages from  the Bible
that may be considered to be an introduction to the study of
God's Sovereignty:  These verses are not to be considered
to be anywhere near exhaustive, when it comes to this doc-
trine; just representative.
  
   
Deuteronomy 4: 1-2,  "Now O Israel, listen to the statutes 
and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you 
may live, and go in and possess the  land which the Lord 
God of  your  fathers is  giving you. You shall not  add  to 
the word which I command you, nor take  from it, that you 
may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which 
I command you."  (GOD IS SOVEREIGN)

Deuteronomy 8: 18, "And you shall remember the Lord your

God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He 
may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, 
as it is this day."  (HE CARES ABOUT OUR LIVES)

1 chronicles 29: 11, "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."  (HE RULES IN POWER AND MAJESTY)

Psalm 22: 28, "For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He 

   rules over the nations. (HE OWNS IT ALL)

Psalm 115: 2-3,  "Why should  the Gentiles say, 'So 

  where is their God?' But our God is in heaven;  He 
  does whatever He pleases." (UNQUESTIONABLE)

Daniel 4: 35, "All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed 
as nothing; He  does according  to His will in the army of 
heaven and among the inhabitants of  the earth.  No one 
 can  restrain His hand  or say to  Him."  What have You 
done?"  (HE WILL NOT BE DETERRED)

John 1:11-13 “He came unto His own, and His own received

  Him not.  But  as many  as received Him, to them He gave 
  the  power to become the sons of God,  even to  them that 
  believe on His name:  which  were  born, not of  blood, nor 
  of the will of the flesh, nor of  the will of man, but  of God.” 
(HE HUMBLED HIMSELF

John 5: 3-9,  Healing of the man with an Infirmity, by the  

pool of Bethesda.  (HE CARES ABOUT THE LEAST OF US.)
  John 5: 21, "For as the Father raises the dead and gives
 gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom he
 will."

John 3: 27, "John answered and said, 'A man can receive      

nothing, unless it has been given to him from heaven."
               (HE CONTROLS DISPENSATIONS)

Romans 3: 11-12, "There is none who understands; there is

   none who seeks after God.  They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable; There is none who
does good, no, no one." nkjv (ref. Eccl. 7:20 & Psalm 14:1-3)
   (HE GIVES UNDERSTANDING TO WHOM HE WILL...)

Romans 9: 13, "As it is written,'Jacob I have loved, but 

   Esau I have hated."  (HE CHOOSES)

Romans 9: 15-16, "For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy  
on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion      
on whomever I will  have compassion.  It is  not of him  that
 willeth,  nor of him  that runneth,  but of  God that  showeth
mercy.  He  is "just" in all He does and He chooses.  We do
not have to know just why "we" were chosen, but are you not
glad He chose you.

Ephesians 1: 3-5,   "Blessed be the God and  Father of our 

 Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing in heavenly places in Christ. Just as He chose us 
  in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should 
be holy and without blame before Him in Love."
  (We are chosen from before the foundation of the earth was laid))

Ephesians 2: 1-6,  {verses 4-6, "But God,  who is  rich in

mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
 even when  we were dead in trespasses,  made us alive 
together  with Christ,  (by  grace you  have been  saved), 
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the 
heavenly places in Christ Jesus..."} (SELF EXPLANATORY)

 Timothy 6: 15b-16 , "He who is the blessed and only
    Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of Lords." 
                    (SELF EXPLANATORY)

The sovereignty of God was once generally understood 
and  accepted by  the churchexpounded  from pulpits.  
Today,  mentioning this  Bible Doctrine (Truth) in  some
settings is like speaking a language foreign to the hea-
rers. When this one has studied the doctrine sufficiently, 
there  may be  more posts on the subject.  Much of this 
post was  gleaned from  the book, "The  Sovereignty of  
God,"  by Arthur W. Pink, Summit  Books, 1918. There 
were four  editions, including the 1930 edition by Baker 
Book House  in paperback  in 1976.  Knowledge of fur-
ther editions is unknown to me at this time.  This book
came to me  from the  library of  Pastor Clebon Henry
Sutherland, my wife's father who was a Pastor/Evan-
gelist for seventy years.  He lived from 1912 to 2003.
   
   When this blogger has studied this doctrine sufficiently,
there may be more posts on the subject.  Much of this post
was  gleaned from a book,  "The Sovereignty of God"  by
Arthur W. Pink, Summit Books, 1918. 

 http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2015/03/jesus-christ-is-lord-romans-8-31-39.html


http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2012/11/electionjune-12-2012-doctrine-of.html 


               edited on 3.31.15, donporter,sr 1.08.15







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