Sovereignty of God

The Sovereignty of God is a vital topic. We must come to terms with who God is, and how He has revealed Himself, without deferring to an image formed in our minds, or fed to us by other people. Where does Gods sovereignty as revealed in the Bible leave us humans in matters of free will choices that we would make in our lives? Is free will an illusion, with God guiding us and pulling the strings, executing His will above and beyond our own? And how would we know that afterall, unless it was revealed to us.

The Bible does not teach a fatalistic or hard determinism, but rather a soft determinism or compatibilism. One of the best illustrations of this is Isaiah 10. God uses Assyria as his rod of judgment against Israel. Even though God uses Assyria, they prove themselves to have an evil, prideful heart attitude, for which He judges them. In that, we find a portrait of how God guides history, people, individuals and at the same time holds man accountable for his actions. God is King, it is He who controls history, and for His purposes events unfold, whether we understand why or not.

I like how James White put it once "The constant witness of the text of Scripture is not to mans abilities, but to mans INabilities; not to God's limitations, but to God's sovereign power. It is very clear to me anyway, that the presupposition of man is to limit God's power and freedom, and to exalt his own power and freedom." Dividing Line 1/26/2004




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Genesis 50:20 (NET)


As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.

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Exodus 9:15-16 (NET)


For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth. But for this purpose I have caused you to stand: to show you my strength, and so that my name may be declared in all the earth.


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Deuteronomy 2:25, 30


'This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under the heavens, who, when they hear the report of you, will tremble and be in anguish because of you.'

"But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.

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Deuteronomy 29:29 (NET)


Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.

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Joshua 11:20 (NET)


for the Lord determined to make them obstinate so they would attack Israel. He wanted Israel to annihilate them without mercy, as he had instructed Moses.

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2 Samuel 7:21 (NET)


For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant.


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1 Kings 8:53 (NET)

After all,you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, just as you, O sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

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1 Kings 19:18 (NET)


I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.”

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1 Kings 20:42 (NET)


The prophet then said to him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Because you released a man I had determined should die, you will pay with your life and your people will suffer instead of his people.’”
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2 Kings 19:25-28 (NET)


Certainly you must have heard!
Long ago I worked it out,
In ancient times I planned it;
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.
Their residents are powerless,
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field,
or green vegetation.
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops
when it is scorched by the east wind.
I know where you live,
and everything you do.
Because you rage against me,
and the uproar you create has reached my ears;
I will put my hook in your nose,
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way
you came.”
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Psalm 139:16 (NET)

Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb.
All the days ordained for me
were recorded in your scroll
before one of them came into existence.

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Proverbs 16:33 (NET)
The dice are thrown into the lap,
but their every decision is from the Lord.

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Proverbs 20:24
Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way?

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Proverbs 21:1 (NET)


The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water;
he turns it wherever he wants.

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Isaiah 14:24-28 (NET)


The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:
“Be sure of this:
Just as I have intended, so it will be;
just as I have planned, it will happen.
I will break Assyria in my land,
I will trample them underfoot on my hills.
Their yoke will be removed from my people,
the burden will be lifted from their shoulders.
This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;
my hand is ready to strike all the nations.”
Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan,
and who can possibly frustrate it?
His hand is ready to strike,
and who can possibly stop it?

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Isaiah 44:18 (NET)


They do not comprehend or understand,
for their eyes are blind and cannot see;
their minds do not discern.

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Isaiah 46:9-10 (NET)

Remember what I accomplished in antiquity!
Truly I am God, I have no peer;
I am God, and there is none like me,
who announces the end from the beginning
and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred,
who says, ‘My plan will be realized,
I will accomplish what I desire,’

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Isaiah 63:17 (NET)


Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways,
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!

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Daniel 2:21 (NET)


He changes times and seasons,
deposing some kings
and establishing others.
He gives wisdom to the wise;
he imparts knowledge to those with understanding;

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Daniel 4:24-25 (NET)


this is the interpretation, O king! It is the decision of the Most High that this has happened to my lord the king. You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.
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Daniel 4:35 (NET)


All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing.
He does as he wishes with the army of heaven
and with those who inhabit the earth.
No one slaps his hand
and says to him, ‘What have you done?’

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Daniel 5:18 (NET)


As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty.

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Daniel 11:27 (NET)

These two kings, their minds filled with evil intentions, will trade lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time.

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Amos 3:6 (NET)


If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear?
If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?

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Matthew 10:29-31 (NET)


Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. So do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

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Acts 2:23 (NET)


this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles.

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Acts 4:27-28 (NET)


“For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen.

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Acts 15:17-18 (NET)


so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord,
namely, all the Gentiles I have called to be my own,’ says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago.

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Romans 9:19 (NET)


You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?”
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Romans 11:33-36 (NET)


Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has first given to God,
that God needs to repay him?
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

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Ephesians 1:11 (NET)


In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will
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Revelation 3:9 (NET)


Listen! I am going to make those people from the synagogue of Satan – who say they are Jews yet are not, but are lying – Look, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
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Revelation 4:11 (NET)

You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
since you created all things,
and because of your will they existed and were created!”

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Revelation 13:7-10 (NET)


The beast was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. He was given ruling authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation, and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.If anyone has an ear, he had better listen!

If anyone is meant for captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed by the sword,
then by the sword he must be killed.
This requires steadfast endurance and faith from the saints.
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Revelation 17:17 (NET)


For God has put into their minds to carry out his purpose by making a decision to give their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.


[1] Biblical Studies Press: The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press, 2006; 2006