Knowing the Truth of God’s Sovereignty
Last time I ended with a question: “How does the image above reflect the sovereignty of God? Then I closed the article with this statement: “Having the Mind of Christ will help us see this image differently…”
Symbols & Types
In the Gospel accounts of Jesus life the recorded stories describe for the reader a Messiah so committed to His people that He walks among them, eats with them, talks with them, shares a room in their homes, and essentially insinuates Himself into every fiber of the Hebrew existence in the 1st century. I wonder sometimes. Why do people find it such a bizarre thought that Jesus probably wants to do that exact same thing with us?
One of His methods of teaching spiritual principles to people who lived in a dark fog spiritually was to use an introductory phrase. He would often say, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” or “The Kingdom of God is like…” Matthew’s gospel describes the first version and Luke’s gospel describes the second. However, they are called “Parallel Gospels” because Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell many overlapping stories each from their own viewpoint. Luke obviously got his material from someone else, but let’s not get bogged down with that detail just now. Let’s focus.
How many times in a day do you hear the word “Like?” Better still as you walk through the next week listen to your own words and see how often you use the word “Like.” To me, as a septuagenarian, it seems anyone under the age of 40 uses the word like a million times a day. See what I did there? For those of a certain age “like” seems to be used as a filler word while the speaker tries to figure out what to say or where to go with the conversation.
Jesus didn’t use the word this way. Jesus was a master storyteller and spoke to common, everyday Hebrews about things they could readily recognize from the everyday existence. He pointed to objects or things or situations out of real life, then showed them how that related to the kingdom of God. Most of the time we call these stories Parables. In this way he spoke in symbols and types so that only those who really understood the story could understand the underlying spiritual message being presented. Some got it, some didn’t. That’s how it goes with parables. You can’t overthink it. You either get it, or you don’t.
The Umbrella of God’s Sovereignty
In the image above God’s Sovereignty is LIKE an umbrella covering the earth. The umbrella covers time (in our construct of human time) from the creation of the universe until the end of time when Jesus returns. And make no mistake here, He is returning! He is fast like peanut butter! Again, that’s a discussion for another time.
The umbrella covers all of time. God is Sovereign and in Control of all things from eternity past to eternity future. This means that God’s authority over mankind is based in the fact that He created us, and all that we see. I know there is someone out there who is going to say something like, “God didn’t create my Tesla, Elon Musk did.” Oh, but you see, God created Elon Musk, gave him the genius mind to dream and create and make a difference in the world. So every time you press the button to start your electric vehicle you give glory to God not Elon Musk!
And now we’re back to it. It’s simple really. Unless you have the Mind of Christ, none of this makes any sense to you. It’s just so much gibberish from an aging hack who thinks he can tell you how to think, and what to believe. Oh, but if you have the Mind of Christ, you might just feel a tingle in your toes, that feeling of excitement when you begin the first step in a journey towards the truth!
Under this umbrella of God’s Sovereignty all of human history and all of human future exists.
In what way?
There has always been the constant struggle between the concept of God’s Sovereignty vs. Human Free Will. I’m not going to lie, this is pretty deep stuff. And it is not a topic easily handled in a three to five minute blog post. So, I won’t even try. However, I will offer a starting point for you to think about and process until next time.
Under the umbrella of God’s Sovereignty, God “allows” some things to happen, and God “designs and intends” some things to happen. This is very much like a sticky wicket, so go slowly here. Remember the Apostle Paul’s words, “Who has known the mind of the LORD, that he should instruct Him?” Since we are not God, do not see what He sees, or know what He knows, we do not get to decide whether something happening, whether good or bad, is by God’s allowance or His design. That understanding is reserved for God.
When bad things happen, I’ve known Christ-followers who immediately ask, “Why is God punishing me?” When good things happen that same group of people begin raising their hands and saying “thank You Jesus!” For example, a deadly disease that begins with the letter “C” strikes and the first question gets asked. But, what if God isn’t punishing the person at all? What if this awful malady has attacked the person’s body simply because they are human and live on planet earth? In this case at worst, God’s Sovereignty allowed this to happen, for some reason known only to Him. Does this in any way diminish His love for that person? No, certainly not.
Or, suppose it’s a hot summer day in the heat of the noonday sun, and the person drives to get groceries, hoping beyond hope to get a parking spot close to the front door of the supermarket so they don’t have to walk too far in the heat. Low, and behold, a spot opens up right near the front door! This is when the second thing happens, “Praise God!” But, what if God simply “allowed” the person to find the parking spot open, and remain open until they found it? Does the parking spot mean that God loves them “More” than other people? No, certainly not.
It all seems so confusing unless you are a true Christ-follower, and have the mind of Christ. A Christ-follower in either situation described above will say, “All I want Father, is to know you like you know me. I want to be a part of your kingdom. And I want your will to permeate every aspect of my life, right here, right now. Because this is where I am.”
In this way, and in this prayer, the true Christ-follower brings great glory to Jesus, and thereby to God the Father.
Next Time…
One of the ways we discover the true nature of God is by looking at his attributes described in His many names recorded in Scripture. For instance, Jehovah Jireh, means “the LORD who Provides!” I wonder what you favorite name of God is from Scripture?
Next time, I want to introduce to you a name directly related to God’s Sovereignty that I wager none of you has thought about…
As I was saying... 