The Sovereignty of God

The sovereignty of God plays a prominent role in Reformed Theology. Genesis 1 reveals God to be King of Creation- speaking all things into being, ordering creation according to God’s good design. As the apostle John writes- all things were made through him. The purpose of the creation story in Genesis is to reveal God as the true and good king over creation. God creates man and woman as image bearers- stewards or vice-regents- designed to govern creation as God’s representatives. The question we have at the end of Genesis 2 is clear: will humanity be content to be God’s stewards? Genesis 3 provides the answer: no. Our first parents decided that they would prefer to rule themselves rather than be ruled by God. This is what is commonly referred to as The Fall.

Humanity has been trying to rule itself ever since. History records how well that has worked out- not well. Regents throughout history have abused their power at the expense of the people they rule. In the 18th century, the American experiment was to form a society without a king, governing a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people. This has given rise to western individualism which has enabled people to be free from regents- or so we thought. We may not have a king or queen telling us what to do, but we are still ruled. We have exchanged the rule of a monarch for the rule of oneself, each deciding what is right and wrong. History is now recording how well that is working out for us- not well. We have never been more free, and we have never been more captive to the whims of our emotions and desires.

Scripture calls our attention back to God. From Genesis 3 through Revelation we see a story unfold of God seeking to restore humanity to relationship God had with them in the beginning- God as sovereign and humanity as stewards. When Jesus enters the scene, he comes in proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God. The Sovereign King enters into his creation and goes to work re-ordering the world back to the design God made in the beginning. He calls humanity to repent and believe the good news that a true, righteous, and good king has come to restore shalom to all creation. Many today have expressed a discomfort with the language of the “Kingdom of God” because it has a hierarchical, oppressive, and coercive tone to it. So they adopt alternative words to convey a more gentle and welcoming attitude without anyone telling another what to do. I wonder if this discomfort doesn’t come from a desire to remain sovereign over one’s own life rather than to submit to the Sovereign God. Humanity needs God to rule or we are lost to our own desires. We were made to be ruled by God. That is not language we need to run from but language we need to embrace. Just because human monarchs have corrupted the idea of sovereignty does not mean that sovereignty is bad. In any Kingdom, WHO the King is matters most. Human regents have abused power and made a mess of things. But when God reigns as sovereign, order, goodness, rightness, and beauty prevail. Human sovereigns are self-interested. Our sovereign Lord is selfless.

In Genesis 15, God makes a covenant with Abraham the way an ancient king would make a covenant with a vassal. He makes it very clear in this text just who is in charge- animals are split in two with half the animal on one side, the other half on the other, and blood flowing down the middle. The idea is that both parties would pass between the pieces saying that if either breaks the covenant, their fate is like these animals. What is shocking is that the Lord, the sovereign king, passes through the animals twice, once as the Lord, and then again representing Abraham. In this act, the Lord promises to hold up BOTH parts of the covenant! On Good Friday, Jesus makes good on that promise. As the representative of humanity, Jesus, the Son of God, heir of David’s throne, THE King of Kings lays his life down for the people he rules over. He does not lead you out of compulsion, but out of love. Who wouldn’t want to serve a King who took the punishment we deserved upon himself? “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”-Mark 10:45. This week, behold your true king- the sovereign Lord who lays claim to your life because he loves you enough to give his life for you.