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 church; expounded 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
