I recently wrote a paper defending the doctrine of God’s absolute, meticulous sovereignty over all things. The paper also included a discussion of the applications of this doctrine. May we give glory to our sovereign Lord, who is worthy of all trust, praise, and adoration! Here’s an excerpt from the paper:
In The Pleasures of God, John Piper writes poignantly about the death of his mother in an accident. He recalls: “I never doubted that God was sovereign over this accident and that God was good. I do not need to explain everything. That he reigns and that he loves is enough for now.” This is a powerful example of the value of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. It is not a dry theological truth but, as A. W. Pink puts it, “a divine cordial to refresh our spirits.”
First, God’s exhaustive and meticulous sovereignty should humble us. A right understanding of this doctrine ought to disabuse us of any man-centered notions of self-sufficiency. All ground of boasting is removed from us when we realize that God is the one who made us alive together with Christ even when we were still dead in our trespasses. We are humbled when we see that our salvation—from our election in Christ before the foundation of the world to our perfect conformity to Christ in eternity—is entirely due to God’s sovereign grace. As this doctrine humbles us before an awesome, omnipotent God, so it also lifts our hearts up to him in adoring worship. We exclaim, together with Paul, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! To him be glory forever!”
Second, God’s sovereignty strengthens our trust in him. Since God exercises efficacious and universal control, we can rest assured that he is never caught off-guard by anything that happens to us. Faith in a sovereign God engenders stability and joy amid all the changing seasons of life. God’s sovereignty assures us that things are not getting out of control.
Our trust in God ought to give us confidence in our planning and decision-making. We do not have to be paralyzed by anxiety and doubt when confronted with life choices. Instead we can seek to make wise decisions with the assurance that even if our planning is imperfect, God will, through his infinite wisdom, work out the results of our bad decisions in such a way as to accomplish his sovereign will.
Third, God’s sovereignty provides us with lasting security. God’s people will persevere unto the end, because they are being “guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5). The words of Jesus also remind us of the security that all believers enjoy because of God’s sovereignty: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29). Absolutely nothing shall ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We need not fear because we know our lives are not subject to chance, to the whims of nature, or to the actions of other people. We can rest securely in God’s sovereign preservation of us.
Fourth, God’s sovereignty is a source of comfort for believers who are going through sorrow and suffering. Jerry Bridges writes: “God’s sovereignty over people does not mean we do not experience pain and suffering. It means that God is in control of our pain and suffering, and that he has in mind a beneficial purpose for it. There is no such thing as pain without a purpose for the child of God. We may be sure that however irrational and inexplicable it seems to us, all pain has a purpose.”
Exhaustive and meticulous divine sovereignty assures us that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son. The trials and suffering that we endure in this life have a purpose—to make us more like Christ. We can have confidence that our slight momentary afflictions are “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). Comfort in God’s sovereignty was what prompted William Cowper, who suffered from periods of severe depression, to pen these words:
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
Fifth, the sovereignty of God encourages us in our prayers. Here, the question might be asked: If God is absolutely sovereign, why pray since we cannot change his will? The answer is that we need to apply biblical compatibilism to our practice of prayer. God is sovereign, but he has also commanded us to pray. Our prayers are not outside of God’s control, but they are also addressed to a personal God who expects to be pleaded with in our intercessions. Daniel furnishes us with an example of how the sovereignty-responsibility tension can be maintained in the practice of prayer. In Daniel 9, the prophet reads of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning how the exile will last for 70 years according to God’s sovereign decree. This does not lead to a passive fatalism on Daniel’s part. Instead, he turns to God in a prayer of confession and repentance, asking that the Lord might be merciful and restore Israel from exile. His confidence in God’s sovereign ability to accomplish his purposes actually becomes an incentive for prayer. The sovereignty of God should therefore make us bold in our prayers.
Sixth, God’s sovereignty encourages evangelism. Scripture attests to the fact that a strong view of divine sovereignty is not inimical to zeal for the spread of the gospel. Here, as in prayer, believers need to bring biblical compatibilism to bear on their understanding of evangelism. In Acts 18:9-10, the Lord encourages Paul to persevere in his work in Corinth because he has many in the city who are his people. C. Samuel Storms comments: “Precisely because (Paul) knew that God had sheep in Corinth, he labored there diligently. Nothing is more of a stimulus to evangelistic zeal and effort than the assurance of success, which the truth of sovereign election alone can give.” God’s sovereignty assures us that he is able, by his irresistible grace, to bring sinners to repentance and faith in Christ. Historically, a firm belief in God’s sovereignty has fanned into flame the evangelistic zeal of many preachers and missionaries. One need only think of George Whitefield, William Carey, David Brainerd, Adoniram Judson, David Livingstone, C. H. Spurgeon, and John Paton.
Not only does God’s sovereignty impel our evangelism, it also encourages us to be biblical in our evangelistic methods. God alone possesses the sovereign power to save sinners. We can therefore preach the gospel boldly and faithfully, trusting that God is the one who gives the growth. J. I. Packer writes: “If we forget that it is God’s prerogative to give results when the gospel is preached, we shall start to think that it is our responsibility to secure them. And if we forget that only God can give faith, we shall start to think that the making of converts depends, in the last analysis, not on God, but on us, and that the decisive factor is the way in which we evangelize.”
In this brief survey of the practical applications of God’s sovereignty, I have sought to show the value of this doctrine. The exhaustive and meticulous sovereignty of God is a truth that, when rightly understood, has a profound impact on the lives of Christians. It fortifies believers, as well as spurs them on in prayer and evangelism. More fundamentally, it cultivates a God-centered vision of the Christian life, so that in all things, God alone might be glorified.
Fernando reflecting on how joy and suffering come together says,
