“Men will allow God to be everywhere but on his throne. They will allow him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and make stars. They will allow Him to be in His almonry to dispense His alms and bestow his bounties. they will allow Him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends Hes throne, His creatures then gnash their teeth. And we proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He thinks well, without consulting them in the matter; then it is that we are hissed and execrated, and then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us, for God on His throne is not the God they love. But it is God upon the throne that we love to preach. It is God upon His throne whom we trust.” -Spurgeon
“Man approaches God most nearly when he is in one sense least like God. For what can be more unlike than fullness and need, sovereignty and humility, righteousness and penitence, limitless power and a cry for help?” CSLewis
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, "Mine!” -Kuyper
If there is any element of the universe that is outside of
his authority, then he no longer is God over all. In other words, sovereignty
belongs to deity. Sovereignty is a natural attribute of the Creator. God owns
what he makes, and he rules what he owns. -Sproul
Sovereign simply means ruler. Someone who has authority. When we say God is sovereign, we are saying that we and all of Creation exist in Him and by Him. There was no god before Him. Everything begins and ends with Him.
Acts 17:24-28"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands ;
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nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things ;
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and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
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that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
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for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'
His authority and power is absolute. If He wishes, He can snuff out the universe with a word. He could rescue us from our pain. He could squash Satan like a bug. So, either God is having fun at our expense, or there is a reason why He holds back.
Holds back. That's the key. While He is sovereign, Ruler over all things, He reserves His sovereignty...that is, the immediate carrying out of His will. We already know His will; He created us for relationship, He desires that no one live through eternity in agony, He desires that no one has sickness or pain or loss. So why doesn't He just force His desires on us?
This is where we have a hard time understanding a good God. We cannot comprehend life without force. If I break the law, government men with guns force me where I do not wish to go. We are forced to pay our taxes. As children, we have been forced to obey our parents. Every day, every hour, even if you are not aware of it, someone's will is imposed over yours. This is why we cannot understand how a good God can sit idly by while His children suffer. Because good parents cannot bear that their children suffer.
Here is the place that sovereignty and control diverge. While God's sovereignty is absolute, He will not force His will on you. With one exception, control is force. Human control is force. Demonic control is force. The only control that is good, is the control brought by the Holy Spirit. And even that control we have the liberty to refuse.
The Garden is a perfect example of God's sovereignty in action. He created a Garden and put two trees in it. He then gave Adam and Eve complete freedom in the Garden, with one caveat; do not eat of those two trees.
Do you think God was absent when Adam and Eve chose? Nope. God is not like a parent that goes out of the room. He was fully aware; His asking Adam where He was was for Adam's benefit and not God's. Once the choice was made, He sent them out of the Garden so they would not live forever in their separation from Him. Because God reserved His sovereignty, the entirety of Creation fell subject to another ruler. Adam and Eve didn't just disobey, they switched Masters. Now the earth came under Satan's rule.
And God, in His sovereignty, sacrificed Himself for the most precious thing; relationship. Relationship had been lost, and because of Jesus it was restored. Now THAT is Holy Spirit self control.
So here we are, two thousand plus years after the stone table cracked, asking the same question; "Where is God?" For that, we have Redemption, Part 2; The Church.
There are so many pictures of Christ in the Old Testament. Did you know that Adam and Eve are a picture of Christ and the Church? "It is not good for man to be alone." And God took Eve out of Adam. The Church is in Jesus, and in Him we are to bring Heaven to Earth.
The legal documents have already been drawn up and Satan has been given a subpoena. What Jesus did broke the power of hell and the grave and we have full access to the Father. All that is left is for the Church to realize Who and Whom she is.
God, in His sovereignty, suffered and died for the sins of mankind. God, in His sovereignty, has designed a Bride for His Son. He desires that her body be in direct proportion to her Head. The ruler of this world has an expiration date, and it is our job to occupy and be exactly like Jesus. He was fully God and fully human, and through His righteousness we are New Creations; fully human and filled with the fullness of Jesus. Heaven meeting Earth like a sloppy wet kiss. :D
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