Word Studies

Sovereignty

I. Understanding the Word:
A. The English word sovereignty is a translation of the Old testament Hebrew term mamlakhuth and the New Testament word basileia, both words denoting “a kingly reign”.
1. When used in reference to God, sovereignty means the rule, the power, the providence, the choices, the will, and the works of god.
2. We see God’s sovereignty at work in the lives of His Old Testament people.
3. It is by God’s sovereignty that He makes man in the beginning and when man sins, He judges him (Genesis 1:26-3:24).
4. God’s sovereignty can be seen in His sending the flood in Noah’s day (Genesis 6:1-9:19) and in the scattering of the people after the tower of Babel incident (Genesis 11:1-9).
5. After Babel, God exercises His sovereignty in choosing Abram, a man living in Ur of the Chaldees in the Mesopotamia valley, and giving him a three-fold promise: a great nation (Israel); a land (Canaan); and a blessing to the world in the person of his descendent (Christ).
6. This would become the greatest promise of the Old Testament because the rest of the Bible after Genesis 12 is the fulfillment of that promise to Abram.
B. Consider some questions.
1. Of all of those who lived in Mesopotamia in the days of Abram, why did God choose him?
2. No doubt we could give some answers to this question—things like his faith (Genesis 15:6), his worship of the one true God when others around him worshipped idols (Joshua 24:2), and his willingness to obey God (Genesis 12:1-4).
3. However the fact is God chooses Abraham because He wanted to.
4. And, in His sovereignty, He has the right to do so.
5. Further, why did God choose Isaac over Ishmael?
6. Why Jacob over Esau?
7. Why Israel over the other nations?
8. Because Hi is sovereign and, in His sovereignty, He wanted to.
9. God is sovereign, and He can do anything He pleases that is within His nature and will.

II. Reading the Word:
A. There are many passages of Scripture that emphasize God’s sovereignty.
1. A good place to begin is Psalm 103:19.
The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all. (Psalms 103:19)
2. Look at Psalm 115:3
But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. (Psalms 115:3)
3. There are other passages that emphasize God’s sovereignty.
B. Joseph says to his brothers who had sold hi as a slave into Egypt:
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. (Genesis 50:20)
C. Solomon says,
A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
D. King Jehoshaphat is pleading for the Lord’s help in battle when he says;
"O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? (2 Chronicles 20:6)
E. In Isaiah’s portrait of God, he says;
He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. (Isaiah 40:23)
F. When Zerubbabel is about to finish work of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem that has been destroyed by the Babylonians, God’s prophet Zechariah says;
So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)
G. Finally, Paul records a great promise in Romans 8:28:
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

III. Preaching the Word:
A. The sovereignty of God must be preached in order for us to have a deeper understanding of God.
1. It will give hope and confidence to our people.
2. Preached also for us to stand in awe of the great God.
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, (Ephesians 1:11)
B. Quote:
1. “His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible.
2. You may attribute miracles to Him, but not nonsense.
3. This is no limit on His power.
4. If you choose to say, “God can give a creature free will and at the same time withhold free will,” you have not succeeded in saying anything about God: meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix to them the two other words “God can”.
5. It remains true that all things are possible with God: the intrinsic impossibilities are not things but nonentities.
6. It is no more possible for God, than for the weakest of His creatures, to carry but both of two mutually exclusive alternatives; not because His power meets an obstacle, but because such nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk about it and about God”.
C. Illustration:
1. A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor.
2. the boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper when the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad.
3 “Young man”, said the professor, “If you can tell me something God can do, I’ll give you a big, shiny apple.”
4. The boy thought for a moment and replied, “Mister, if you can tell me something God can’t do, I’ll give you a whole barrel of apples!”
D. Quote:
1. “Instead of causation, the key word for sovereignty is control.
2. God is sovereign in the sense that He is in control of every event that takes place among creatures, whether He actually causes it (which is often the case), or simply permits it to happen (instead of pre-venting it, which He could do if He so chose).
3. Either way, “God is in charge”; He is in full control over His creation; He is sovereign”.

IV. He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands Psalm22:1-31
A. He’s got the whole world in His hands.
He’s got the whole wide world in His hands;
He’s got the whole world in His hands.
1. I am sure most of us have heard this song during VBS or some other Bible Class.
2. It was first published in 1927 and was made famous by Frank Warner on the American folk scene during the 1940’s and 50’s.
3. It is easily remembered, and it serves as one of the great truths any person can know.
B. The sovereignty of God is like His power and majesty.
1. It means that God has authority and control over the world.
2. Unlike our understanding of sovereign countries and leaders today, or even of kings and rulers throughout history, God’s sovereignty is supreme since He rules over all creation, both seen and unseen.
3. It is reflected in Psalm 24:1;
The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. (Psalms 24:1)
4. All creation belongs to the one who created it, and as the creator He is its owner.
5. As the owner of creation, He has power, authority, and control over it.
6. All of these conceptions together describe God’s sovereignty.
C. Every portion of Scripture attests that God is the sovereign Lord of Heaven and earth.
1. In Genesis 14:19, God is described as owner of heaven and earth.
2. In Job 41:11, God reminds Job that He owns all things.
3. Isaiah uses the powerful image of God being the potter ad us the clay in Isaiah 44:9-11.
4. Paul tells the church in Corinth:
for "THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S, AND ALL ITS FULLNESS." (1 Corinthians 10:26)
5. The Bible even ends with the reminder that God is the one who rules over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 1:5), and His Sovereign Lordship is absolute (Revelation 19:16).
6. God is the sovereign One who literally has the whole world in His hands.
7. Think about the absolute power and majesty that God has over the world and be thankful.

V. He is God and You Are Not Daniel 4:34-35.
A. When we think of world leaders, we think of people with an incredible amount of power.
1. In the previous century, leaders like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Pol Pot used their authority to commit some of the worst atrocities’ history has ever seen.
2. While most countries have done away with a sovereign ruler in the present day the past had kings and queens who were sovereigns, and they reigned supreme.
3. King Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel is such a king.
B. It is in Daniel 4 that King Nebuchadnezzar is reminded who the Most High God is.
1. The description “God Most High” and “Most High God” is found four times in the book of Daniel and twenty-five times through the Bible.
2. In Daniel 4, King Nebuchadnezzar is reminded that, while he stands as one of the greatest kings on earth in his day, he is not the sovereign ruler over the universe.
3. The chapter begins with King Nebuchadnezzar recognizing that the God is the sovereign ruler the universe in 4:2-3, but in 4:4-18 King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that reveals he had better not forget that God Most High is the sovereign one over him.
4. King Nebuchadnezzar’s trusted friend advisor Daniel interprets the dream to mean that if the King forgets who the God Most High is, he will become like the beasts in the fields for a period of time (4:19-27).
5. He takes the warning seriously.
6. However, twelve months later the dream comes true, because he takes credit for what the God Most High gave to him (4:28-31).
7. He learns right as he is taking credit for what God has given him that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He wills (4:32).
C. We can learn from this timeless story that, while we may not know why certain rulers are given power, we must remember that our God is the sovereign who is in control and is working out history for His glory, which includes our ultimate benefit.
1. King Nebuchadnezzar learns this the hard way, and he leaves us with one of the best descriptions of our Sovereign God when he is released from God’s punishment in Daniel 4:34-35.
2. Let us use this story in Daniel 4 as a reminder of the power of our God Most High and let us trust Him with those in charge today.
3. We must humble ourselves before the sovereign ruler of the universe, and we can take comfort that even our earthly rulers are under the control of our great Sovereign God.

VI. The One With Authority Today Matthew 28:18
A. If someone were to ask you to describe Jesus, what would you say?
1. I think some of us would think of Jesus’ love for sinners and His challenging words to hypocrites and the self-righteous.
2. Some of us would focus on His compassion for those who are sick, outcast, or hurting.
3. I hope that many of you would mention His death on the cross to save us from our sins, and His glorious resurrection that defeats death, and gives us hope of life beyond the grave.
4. However, how many of us would speak of Jesus’ power and authority?
5. All of the characteristics mentioned above are good and true (and we should share what we know about these things with others often!).
6. But let us not forget that throughout Jesus’ ministry He displays sovereign authority like God the Creator or God Most High in our Old Testament texts.
B. As we continue looking at the word sovereign, Jesus shows us that He too is sovereign over the earth with His final commission at the end of the Gospel of Matthew.
1. It begins with this reminder from Jesus:
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18)
2. The beginning of that commission is a reminder of the sovereign authority that now resides in Jesus, and it serves as both a source of strength and a motivation to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (28:19)
3. Matthew 28:18 states what we have seen throughout Jesus’ ministry: He has the same authority that God the Father has.
C. In Matthew 1:27, Jesus states,
All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. (Matthew 11:27)
1. Authority is a word that Matthew loves to use to describe Jesus.
2. Jesus teaches with authority, not like the scribes (7:29).
3. He has the authority to forgive sins (9:6).
4. He gives the disciples authority over unclean spirits (10:1).
5. With Matthew 28:18, these texts show that Jesus most certainly has authority on earth as well as in Heaven, and He claims all executive power both in Heaven and on earth and He is in control of the world.
D. So, if someone asks you to describe Jesus to them, of all the things we could say about Him—and there are a lot—let us not forget that He is the One who is sovereign over the world the one possessing all authority.
1. Remember that Jesus does have the authority to tell us what to do, and He is sovereign over the world.

VII. Trust the Sovereign God Acts 4:23-30
A. In Acts 4, because of the early preaching of Peter and John, the Jewish leaders are growing nervous over this growing group of believers in Jesus.
1. The group is growing at an alarming rate and, in the leader’s eyes, causing a disruption of the services that are being conducted in the temple.
2. They have arrested Peter and John and commanded them not to preach about Jesus any longer (Acts 4:18).
3. Peter and John respond with words that all Christians need to remember in the face of persecution and ordered to be silent.
4. The say:
But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20)
5. After this defiant stand, Peter and John return to the other believers, and they turn to God in prayer.
6. It is how this prater begins and what the prayer contains that helps us see another great truth about our Sovereign God.
B. The prayer begins;
And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, (Acts 4:24 ESV)
1. The prayer continues with the recap of Old Testament stories which remain them of God’s sovereignty.
2. It ends with a bold request in 4:29-30 that we would do well to remember today, which reads,
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." (Acts 4:29-30)
3. While we today do not have the ability to do miraculous wonders like the Apostles and certain members of the early church, it is their request for boldness anchored in the Sovereign Lord that we need to be remembering and seeking through prayer today.
4. Remember to turn to God in prayer and acknowledge Hi as the sovereign One over the universe.

VIII. God Wins! Revelation 1:4-8
A. At one time in my life, I hear someone had summed up the book of Revelation as “God Wins”.
1. It may have been my good friend Randy Reagan when we worshiped with him at Lake Tawakoni.
2. I am not sure of who really originated the statement, but I never forgot it.
3. After studying through Revelation myself, I found that he was correct, whoever he was.
4. There are other messages that Revelation has to teach us, but the reality of God winning comes for the fact that he is Sovereign Lord over all creation.
5. In our final lesson on sovereignty, we need to see that the Bible ends with a reminder that God is the sovereign one over the powers of evil, both on earth and in the spiritual realms.
B. In Revelation 1:4-5 John starts off his revelation with an address to the seven churches of Asia.
1. In His greeting he makes a claim that the rest of the book of Revelation backs up as correct.
2. He writes;
John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, (Revelation 1:4-5)
3. He goes on to say that God has “dominion forever and ever” in Revelation 1:6 and ends his greeting with words from the Lord God Himself when He Says, “I am the Alpha and Omega…who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (1:8).
C. The beginning of Revelation is a message that the rest of Revelation shows—God is the authority over all things, the sovereign One over history and the evil forces in the world.
1. Revelation 4:8 reveals the song that is sung around the throne of God which acknowledges this sovereignty, and in 18:8 it is our Sovereign Lord who is judge.
2. In between the all-powerful Sovereign God is in control and will defeat all those, both spiritual and earthly who stand against Him.
3. As the word of God comes to a close, the message of the final book is one in which we should find comfort today—God Wins!
4. We may rest in confidence that, because our God is the sovereign One over the universe, He will win in the end.

By Gary D. Murphy

Return to the Word Studies Index page

Home / Bible studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General Articles / Non-Bible Articles / Sermons / Sermon Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence Courses / What is the Church of Christ / Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me /