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The Sovereignty of God
By Mahlon Wickey November, 2011
What is known as the "sovereignty of God" I believe goes far beyond human comprehension to even begin to understand! This is why I feel humbled and very inadequate to write about this subject. But I feel the need to explain why I believe that the "free will" doctrine as taught by today’s churches does not take in account the sovereignty of God, simply because God being sovereign goes at the "heart and core" of exposing the deception of the "free will" doctrine, as we shall see. This article could be called Part 2 of the "free will" article found on this web link…. http://bibletruths.mysite.com/Freewill.htm
As we all know, the term "sovereign" means that God has TOTAL authority, power, and control over His creation, and over His creation of mankind. But IF man TRULY has what is known as "free will" then a sovereign God is NOT truly sovereign. I want to explain in this article why I believe that the sovereignty of God will EXPOSE the illusion, fallacy, and DECEPTION of the "free will" doctrine as believed and taught by today’s churches.
Before I begin, I what to say that when I explain the way our modern churches believe and teach I am NOT condemning them, or ridiculing them, or showing how wrong they are. I am only stressing the point in comparing what I personally believe is biblical truth from deception. I truly believe that our modern churches are spiritually BLINDED for a divine PURPOSE, and are NOT aware that they are INSPIRED to be a major PART of a Babylonian system ORDAINED by a sovereign God to FULFILL an evil deceptive world/AGE. This spiritual blindness can ONLY be lifted IF believers RESPOND to being "called" (invited) by God to spiritually COME OUT of spiritual Babylon (Rev 18:2-4).
Today’s churches will generally CONFESS their belief in the sovereignty of God, but they are NOT aware of the spiritual CONFLICT and deception that "free will" has with God being sovereign. In my article on "free will" I stated that "free will" is hard to explain simply because most believers do NOT think outside of the accepted "Christian" mindset. Sincere believers should spiritually DEPART from this "Christian" mindset so that they are ABLE to understand the FALSE premise of "free will", and WHY it is believed and taught by most modern churches.
Most believers are mentally CONDITIONED with this accepted "Christian" mindset; which is why they are compelled to reject any teaching that explains that man does NOT have so-called "free will". They are NOT aware that it is IMPOSSIBLE for man to have a will that is FREE from any CAUSE; which means they are NOT aware of the spiritual forces that CAUSE the choices that man makes. The very phrase "free will" is a contradiction all on its own. It’s like saying, "cold heat" or "square circles", or other similar phrases that contradict, if you get my point.
In the minds of most believers the matter of salvation is all about CHOICE made by so-called "free will", and believe me when I say that I totally AGREE that man’s will has the power of CHOICE in the way that man decides to choose. I want to make this very important point; God indeed has created in man "self will" (NOT so-called "free will") that gives man the ability to choose his beliefs and lifestyle in the way that man decides and prefers. It is very obvious that today’s churches interpret "self will" as instead being "free will"! It is believed that man’s will is FREE to choose by HIM-"SELF" to be saved, but man’s "self will" is NOT free from a sovereign God in changing it for the divine PURPOSE to SAVE man from HIM-"SELF"!
But our modern churches believe that man’s will MUST be FREE from God changing it so that God will be PLEASED that man "decided" to believe the gospel and "get saved" on his OWN ABILITY! Yes, so-called "free will" teaches that man has the incredible ability on his own to choose salvation or to NOT choose salvation, so therefore the will of man MUST indeed be FREE from a sovereign God CAUSING that choice! That is the illusion, fallacy, and deception of so-called "free will"!
Today’s churches believe that most of mankind will NOT be saved simply because most of mankind did NOT choose by their so-called "free will" to be saved. But the incredible IRONY is that today’s churches STILL believe and teach it is God’s will and desire to save ALL mankind! But since most of mankind did NOT exercise their so-called "free will" to be saved then that means a sovereign God is UNABLE to save ALL mankind. The deception of the "free will" doctrine will force (yes, FORCE) believers to confess this ridiculous theory of a HELPLESS all-powerful sovereign God that is UNABLE to achieve His will, desire, pleasure, and intention in saving ALL mankind!
As I mentioned before, today’s churches will confess to believe in the sovereignty of God, but for some "strange" reason they believe a sovereign God with ALL authority and ALL power will NOT violate the "free will" of man, but it is NOT explained that God MUST violate (change) man’s will in order to SAVE man.
My major point on the "free will" article was that there HAS to be a CAUSE for choices, but because of "free will" today’s churches are "forced" to IGNORE the LAW of cause and effect! Today’s churches are on the FALSE premise that without "free will" man would be UNABLE to make the choices that man prefers. But even animals are able to make choices, and yes, even computers make choices, but of course it is ridiculous to believe that animals and computers have so-called "free will"! The choices of animals are CAUSED by what is called the law of instinct. The choices of computers are CAUSED by software that is programmed to respond to the commands of man. Everyone will AGREE with these statements, but when it comes to man making choices it is NOT explained WHY man’s choices somehow MUST be FREE from the LAW of cause and effect!
The premise of "free will" is that man must PROVE to God that his choice to "get saved" was indeed his OWN uncaused choice since it was based on his OWN intention, and THEN God will HONOR man’s "free will" choice to "get saved". But does God need proof of man’s intentions since He already knows the thoughts of man are vanity (Psalm 94:11)? Why not believe it was a sovereign God that PROVED to sinful man His love, His will, and His desire to SAVE them? The whole premise of New Testament theology is based on WHAT God the Father PROVED to sinful man through the sacrifice and sufferings of Christ!
Yes, Christ suffered a very grievous death in paying for the sin DEBT of the whole world; which PROVED that a sovereign God’s will, desire, and intention was to SAVE the whole world! So why does the world of sinful man seem to be "clueless" to this precious knowledge, and NOT have broken hearts of humility to respond to the TRUE gospel? Today’s churches believe sinful man FAILED to choose by their "free will" to be humble with broken hearts, but it is NOT explained how humility and broken hearts just somehow happened FREE from any force or power! Yes, just maybe it is the Holy Spirit of a sovereign God that is the spiritual FORCE that INSPIRES humility and broken hearts!
"Free will" teaches that the ONLY way for man to respond to the TRUE gospel is that man MUST be able to choose FREELY on his OWN ability to PROVE to a sovereign God that his choice to respond to the TRUE gospel was truly heartfelt and sincere! But it is NOT explained that man’s response to the TRUE gospel was STILL caused; it was NOT a "free will" uncaused choice!
IF sinful man is "called" (invited) by a sovereign God to accept the TRUE gospel, and if (yes, IF) they are touched by God’s PURE "amazing grace" they will then be INSPIRED with humility and broken hearts; which will THEN inspire the proper response to the TRUE gospel. But the false premise of "free will" is that man believes he has the ABILITY to choose on his OWN to be INSPIRED to correctly response to the TRUE gospel without the "help" of ANY spiritual force or power! This false premise was "invented" simply because carnal believers somehow WANT to be "righteous", so therefore they are inspired to believe that God gave them the gift of "free will" for the VERY purpose so that they are ABLE to choose righteousness on their OWN. But righteousness CANNOT be chosen simply because it HAS to be IMPUTED (reckoned and assigned) to us by God (Rom 4:11).
Actions and responses are inspired and caused by our thoughts, but our thoughts do NOT come out of "thin air"! They are inspired by spiritual forces NOT in our control! The SPIRIT of a sovereign God INSPIRES the proper thoughts of His LOVE and PURE "amazing grace" to be felt in the heart. The vast majority of mankind is NOT ABLE to correctly respond to the TRUE gospel simply because they are NOT inspired during this TIME and AGE with the correct thoughts of humility and broken hearts. But in due time Christ will be correctly testified to ALL (1Tim 2:6); which will include the UNJUST at their resurrection (Acts 24:15) when they will be judged by "fire" and chastised to correctly respond to the TRUE gospel. But today’s churches believe that the VAST majority of mankind "blew it" for ALL ETERNITY simply because they refused to exercise their so-called "free will" to be saved!
This false premise of so-called "free will" will totally disagree with what the apostle Paul explained about the carnal mind….
Romans 8:7 (KJV) Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. {the carnal...: Gr. the minding of the flesh}
Mankind in their carnal state of mind is in enmity (hatred) against God, and CANNOT be subject to the MORAL law of God! Therefore they do NOT have the proper humility and broken hearts, and this is WHY the unchanged carnal mind is UNABLE ("neither indeed can be", as Paul explained) to be subject to a sovereign God. But our modern churches believe that a carnal mind CAN be changed by so-called "free will" choices!
It is generally believed that IF man does NOT have so-called "free will" then he is nothing more than a robot or a dummy. But suppose carnal man is indeed a "dummy"; which would mean that a dummy would have the ability to "pull the proper strings" to express its feelings and emotions! What nonsense! Yes, even HUMAN "dummies" do KNOW that REAL dummies are not capable of expressing love, joy, contentment, peace, and happiness! But man was created to receive God’s Spirit, and therefore is capable of expressing the FRUITS of God’s Spirit. But the Spirit of a sovereign God MUST be GIVEN to INSPIRE man to express the fruits of the Spirit, since these fruits MUST come from a sovereign God in TOTAL control of man!
These fruits of the Holy Spirit CANNOT be chosen by so-called "free will", and they also CANNOT be truly expressed from the heart by so-called "free will"! The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Gal 5:21-22), and they can all be expressed from the HEART! Yes, a sovereign God is very ABLE to "pull the proper strings of the heart" to INSPIRE the fruits of His Holy Spirit to be ACTIVE in the lives of TRUE believers!
Our modern churches believe that God will NOT "force" man to make choices AGAINST man’s so-called "free will". But please understand; it is NOT a question of a sovereign God actually "forcing" ANYTHING on man! But what is wrong in saying that a sovereign God is very ABLE to INSPIRE the heart of man to truly express the fruits of His Holy Spirit from the heart? Or what is wrong in saying that the Holy Spirit can train or teach believers to LEARN to choose the right and good things that please God? Isaiah 26:9 plainly states that the inhabitants of the world will LEARN righteousness CAUSED by the judgments of God. In the SAME manner, little children can LEARN proper behavior habits by the judgments of swift punishment and chastisement done by responsible parents. What?
In a deceived society that is NOT how to understand the minds of little children, and that is NOT how they are to be trained to LEARN how to be "good" little children. It is generally taught to us by our "learned" child training "authorities" that little children have RIGHTS, and parents should allow their little Children to express themselves FREELY, and parents must NOT attempt to "force" proper behavior habits AGAINST the will and the "rights" of their little children. It is very true that in a deceived society there are many abused children of selfish, angry, and misguided parents. This is WHY our "learned and informed" child training "authorities" and yes, even our courts and judges want to somehow control BY LAW not only the parents of abused children, but ALL parents of ALL children!
Yes, we as a nation of churches have sunk to the spiritual level of believing that little children also have so-called "free will". Voters that have this "free will" mindset will vote to elect certain men and women that have "good intentions" to GOVERN in protecting little children, and people are OFFENDED and will "call the cops" if they see parents chastise and punish their little children in public. You see, little children must to be ABLE to express themselves FREELY even in public so that their so-called "free will" is NOT violated, and by all means they MUST be allowed to maintain their "self-esteem" and their RIGHTS!
The word, "chastise" (G3811) means to "train up a child" by discipline or punishment, and was translated using the words; instruct, learn, and teach. The Holy Spirit of a sovereign God is very ABLE to train and instruct believers by chastisement so that they LEARN how to live Godly lives. In the SAME manner, parents should disciple (punish) their little children so that they also LEARN how to behave. But it is generally believed that little children can LEARN correct behavior WITHOUT the parents violating their little children’s so-called "free will". In a liberal minded society it is NOT understood that the ONLY "language" that little children can understand to LEARN proper behavior is the "language" of swift chastisement with physical PAIN! Of course, little children can also learn by imitating parents setting the proper example for them by their God-centered lives. But little children will also learn correct behavior by parents rewarding them if they are "good", but swift and painful chastisement and punishment if they are "bad".
Please understand; the practice of so-called "free will" causes our youth to have the spirit of rebellion, and they are the future leaders of our nation! The "free will" BELIEF and practice is systematically destroying our nation! This is why I feel the NEED to bring little children into this "free will" discussion.
Our modern churches HAVE to confess that God indeed will chastise believers, but the irony and dilemma for our modern churches is that they STILL believe that the so-called "free will" of believers MUST be kept "intact" and NOT be violated! But what other purpose is there for Godly chastisement other than to violate the so-called "free will" of believers for their OWN GOOD? Our modern churches IGNORE that Godly chastisement is designed to CHANGE the so-called "free will" of believers to MAKE them INTO what a sovereign God WANTS them to be!
Notice the word "make" in Romans 9:21….
(KJV) Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Does a sovereign God MAKE people honorable and others dishonorable AGAINST their so-called "free will"? This scripture does NOT say that certain people are MADE to be vessels of honor or dishonor by their so-called "free will" uncaused choices! Yes, a sovereign God is very ABLE to MAKE certain people in the way that HE determines to INSPIRE them to fulfill HIS purpose in a temporary "good and evil" world/AGE.
"Free will" is defined in Webster’s dictionary as follows....
freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.
Webster misses the whole point of so-called "free will" since he does NOT explain that humans DO NOT have TRUE FREEDOM! The choices of ALL humans are NOT FREE from a sovereign God; who by definition is in total control of ALL humans! Webster seems to say that man (created with so-called "free will") CANNOT be controlled by his creator! This is absolute nonsense! Of course, Webster supports the "Christian" faith, so therefore he HAD to define "free will" as taught by the "Christian" faith. But is this definition taught in the Bible?
If (yes, IF) a sovereign God DID NOT determine how men and women in the Bible made choices, then of course the "free will" doctrine would be taught in the Bible. But there are examples of a sovereign God inspiring the choices of certain men and women so as to get the desired outcome to fulfill His PLAN; which was determined beforehand by a sovereign God!
Was it "divine intervention" that changed the apostle Paul’s WILL during his very evil rampage against hundreds of believers of his day? We all know that it was! Paul became a converted man very quickly by a flash of light that blinded him for three days. The major point is that Paul did NOT choose by his so-called "free will" to be converted! Paul’s WILL most certainly was NOT FREE from God changing it to directly put a STOP to Paul’s madness! Yes, Paul said he was MAD (Acts 26:11). Paul also said he was the "chief" (G4413) FOREMOST sinner (1Tim 1:15), simply because he persecuted and killed believers "in Christ"; which was a MOST grievous sin!
I believe Jesus Christ permitted Paul to do these foremost grievous sins for a divine PURPOSE! Paul was permitted to be the WORSE kind of sinner, and for this CAUSE he obtained Jesus Christ’s mercy; which was WHY he was the FIRST to be chosen as a PATTERN. Read 1Tim 1:16 and believe it!
The major point is this; IF Christ can SAVE a foremost misguided sinner such as the apostle Paul on PURE mercy with all longsuffering, then as a pattern Christ most certainly can have mercy with all longsuffering to save ANY mad man, even such as Adolph Hitler! It is assumed in our deceived world that Hitler was one of the worse MAD dictators in history because he killed "Jews".
Paul said he did all his wicked deeds in ignorance and unbelief (1Tim 1:13), but are we to assume that Hitler and other MAD dictators were NOT in ignorance and unbelief? Hitler was COMPELLED to do what he thought was "right", as did the apostle Paul! Their motives were the SAME! But Hitler and other MAD dictators have to WAIT for their resurrection to be JUDGED by "fire" and severe chastisement, and they will THEN experience the PURE mercy and longsuffering of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Scriptures were indeed written by a sovereign God by INSPIRING the hearts of the prophets and apostles. ALL of today’s churches will CONFESS to this truth, but what does this truth do to so-called "free will" as taught by today’s churches? We would NOT HAVE inspired scripture if (yes, IF) the Bible writers exercised their so-called "free will" based on their so-called FREEDOM that was "NOT determined by prior causes or by divine intervention" (quoting Webster). Now think about this!
Peter specifically said that prophecy did NOT come by the "will of man" (or by the "free will" of man), but holy men were "moved" (inspired) by the Spirit of God (2Peter 1:21). They could NOT have written inspired prophecy and scripture based on their OWN understanding, and on their OWN so-called "free will" choice to write. But our modern churches insist that these Holy men STILL had "free will"; it’s just that their "free will" was INSPIRED by God which CAUSED them to write what God wanted them to write. That is making my point exactly! They were still CAUSED by the Holy Spirit of God to write inspired scripture in spite of their "supposedly" uncaused "free will" choice to write! This is the incredible irony and dilemma that our modern churches are generally "forced" to IGNORE!
Jeremiah explained just how HELPLESS sinful man truly is….
Jeremiah 10:23-24 (KJV) O LORD, I know that the way of man [is] not in himself: [it is] not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
Jeremiah knew that it was NOT in him, or he was NOT ABLE (of his OWN supposed "free will") to "direct his steps", so Jeremiah prayed for the LORD to correct him with judgment. The word "correct" (H3256) means literally to chastise or to instruct and to teach. The word "nothing" (H4591) simply means to lessen, decrease, or diminish. Yes, carnal man will "diminish" in character IF (I repeat, IF) the LORD would NOT judge, chastise, instruct, and teach carnal man to "direct his steps".
Please understand; carnal man that "walketh" (living out his own lifestyle) is NOT able to direct his own "steps". A spiritual force is directing man’s "steps" since he is NOT directed by his "free will" or NOT "in himself", as Jeremiah explained. Carnal man is totally HELPLESS since a sovereign God HAS to "direct his steps". As I mentioned before, carnal man has the ability to make choices, but that ability is NOT "in himself" in choosing by his OWN so-called "free will"! HELPLESS carnal man is ONLY an "instrument" or a "vessel" in the hands of a sovereign God!
Jeremiah wrote another very interesting and very revealing statement, and notice carefully what this scripture is saying….
Jeremiah 13:23 (KJV) Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? [then] may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. {accustomed: Heb. taught}
If a man has the power to change the color of his skin, or if a leopard can change his spots THEN man that is accustomed (taught) to do evil ALSO has the power to do good. This is a most profound statement explaining a very real TRUTH! But our modern churches teach that man that is accustomed and taught to do evil can choose by his so-called "free will" to do good. No, Jeremiah implied that it is impossible for man to do good IF he is accustomed and taught to do evil!
It is very sobering and humbling to know just how HELPLESS we truly are since we are NOT FREE from a sovereign God intervening or violating our "self will" (NOT so-called "free will") in directing our steps and way of life. But it is incredible that our modern churches teach that sinful man most certainly is NOT helpless simply because all he has to do is ACT on his so-called "free will" of choice to CHANGE his sinful nature on his OWN ability, and choose to do good on his OWN ability!
If there is any biblical truth to the theory of "free will" it would be by the example of Jesus Christ as a man. John 5:19, 5:30, and 8:28 are scriptures that PROVE that Christ could do NOTHING of himself. Yes, Everything that Christ spoke and did was all CAUSED and INSPIRED by His Father. Jesus Christ spoke the correct words to work healings and other miracles, but these WORKS were INSTEAD being done by His Father. Christ said so! Read John 14:10. When Christ "rebuked" the stormy winds and "calmed" the waves of the sea he was ONLY doing what His Father "behind the scenes" INSPIRED him to do!
Everything about a physical earthy environment such as storms, and everything that we can physically see with our eyes is TEMPORARY simply because it is NOT the eternal REALITY! The things that make up our earthy environment are "copies" taken from the divine "pattern" of heavenly eternal realities! The major point is that our earthy environment CANNOT be sustained, maintained, and regulated on its own! All this HAS to be done "behind the scenes" by the power and REALITY of a sovereign God in total CONTROL.
Of course, our earthy environment seems REAL to us simply because we are a part of it, and the miracles of Christ sure seemed REAL to the people of Christ’s day. Even the creation of mankind seems very REAL to us, but man was created in the image and likeness of the REALITY of a sovereign God, therefore ONLY the physical earthy part of man is temporary. I want to make the "crazy" suggestion that the physical things we are able to "see" are theoretically an illusion; which is WHY physical elements can be "manipulated" by the power of a sovereign God to be witnessed as miracles! Now think about this!
Keep in mind, we can only "see" a physical environment through our very limited eyesight, and miracles are very real and supernatural ONLY "in the eyes of the beholder". The cells of diseased and sick bodies were manipulated to be restored (healed) by the power BEHIND the spoken words of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ used the power of the REALITY that dwelled IN HIM to manipulate physical "restraints" to bodily disappear and reappear, and actually walk through solid walls! Christ’s unwavering faith "changed" the structure of water to make it "solid", and Christ with Peter’s wavering (yes, wavering) faith were BOTH able to walk on water. It was the power of the REALITY of a sovereign God speaking through Jesus Christ that instantly "changed" the temporary nature and energy of a storm. All the miracles and healings, and even "rebuking" the stormy weather were certainly NOT caused by the so-called "free will" choices of Jesus Christ!
All of us when reading the Bible many times just "read over" certain scriptures, and we don’t consider what these scriptures are truly saying. Solomon, a very WISE man, wrote this very "unusual" and profound statement….
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
I believe this is one of the most revealing scriptures in the whole Bible! The implications of what Solomon wrote will destroy the foundation of human thought and "reason", and also destroy so-called "Christian" theology! The word "season" (H2165 and H2163) means APPOINTED and FIXED time. The word "purpose" (H2656) means pleasure and desire extended to mean "something in mind". Solomon knew that there are appointed and fixed times for man to experience EVERY pleasure and desire, or something that man "has in mind". Carefully read, study, and BELIEVE Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 in which Solomon then listed the divine BALANCE for "good and evil" things that will happen at their APPOINTED and FIXED times for mankind to experience.
Yes, Solomon explained that there is an APPOINTED time when we are to DIE; which would indeed INCLUDE "accidental" or "untimely" deaths! The "bottom line" to this incredible truth of APPOINTED and FIXED times is that all these balanced "good and evil" things will happen in their appointed and FIXED times determined by a sovereign God; NOT by the so-called "free will" choices of man!
I know it is hard for us to truly grasp this amazing truth! The common response by most believers to what Solomon wrote is that there would be no such thing as "chance", "accidents" and "coincidences" since everything was destined to happen ANYWAY! Chance, accidents, and coincidences are terms that we believe are REAL simply because we "supposedly" experience them! But can these terms apply to an all-knowing sovereign God that KNOWS and declares the "end" from the "beginning" (Isaiah 46:10)? There simply are NO failures made by an all-knowing sovereign God! There is NOTHING that happens that a sovereign God does NOT regulate, maintain, and CONTROL to eventually turn out EXACTLY in the END that He determined beforehand from the beginning!
Even "time" itself was created and had a beginning, and in theory "time" itself is an ILLUSION simply because time and the ages can be compared to the reality of ETERNITY. The "worlds" or AGES (G165) were made (Heb 1:2), and therefore had a beginning, but the spiritual realm of eternity had NO beginning and has NO ending! But of course, the natural carnal mind CANNOT conceive of anything NOT having a "beginning" in some way. I would like to direct all of you to carefully read the article, "Plan of the Ages" on my web sites.
Man with very LIMITED intelligence is able to build computers; but the MIND of an ALL-knowing sovereign God that has ALL intelligence can also theoretically be called a "computer". Let’s consider what this heavenly computer is able to compute. This heavenly computer is able to "hear" ALL words spoken in ALL of history! ALL lies, evil, and "idle" words (Mat 12:36), and ALL words of love and kindness are "recorded", and ALL good and evil DEEDS are also "recorded" on this heavenly "hard drive"!
There are over fifty trillion cells in EVERY human body with EACH cell having "software" programmed to be a "building block" for ALL genetic DNA codes in HOW human bodies (and animals) are to grow. Certain plant life produces innumerable seeds that are EXACT copies with EACH seed "programmed" to grow as a copy of the original plant. These are all scientific FACTS that are all carefully "programmed" to maintain, sustain, and control our physical creation. So please understand; these very complex scientific FACTS of nature all testify and witness to just how awesome and GREAT our sovereign God TRULY IS!
The trillions of stars in so-called "space" are all numbered and named….
Psalms 147:4 KJV He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
This is a most incredible and amazing scripture! The so-called "distance" from earth of some of these stars CANNOT be "humanly" understood. But to an all-knowing and all-powerful sovereign God ALL stars and ALL galaxies are only "next door"! So-called "space" and so-called "distance" would also have to be ILLUSIONS because we CANNOT understand the so-called "distance" where so-called "space" ENDS, simply because so-called "space" has NO END! Again, we are talking about the incredible unfailing greatness and the awesome REALITY of an all-knowing and all-powerful sovereign God!
Everything about the WHOLE creation HAS to be maintained, sustained, and regulated by LAW. I believe even sinful carnal man’s thoughts and intents of the heart are regulated by LAW by the one lawgiver (James 4:12). Unbelieving sinful carnal mankind is NOT aware that they are under the LAW of sin and death, but believers "in Christ" are made FREE from this LAW by the LAW of the Spirit of life (Rom 8:2). There is also the LAW of faith that guides the hearts of believers (Rom 3:27). The LAW of liberty (James 1:25, 2:12) could also be called the LAW of Christ (Gal 6:2) simply because our liberty from the bondage of sin and death is found "in Christ".
These are spiritual laws written on the heart to empower and guide believers. Yes, we are all under the control of LAW! But as we know, we are also under GRACE, which provides a divine BALANCE since BOTH law and grace are NEEDED, simply because the power of one DEPENDS on the power of the other. I believe these spiritual laws that are written on the heart can lead to a glorious "unspeakable" JOY (1Peter 1:8), and this type of TRUE joy cannot be SPOKEN by "words" (unspeakable). It is a TRUE joy and peace of mind that is settled in a "calm" place of the heart (G5479), and nothing and nobody can take it away!
This REAL joy HAS to come from the source of real joy; which is from the REALITY of a sovereign God in the hearts of mature believers that are able to "handle" the reality of this TRUTH! There is no greater JOY than knowing the TRUTH (3John 4), and Jesus Christ is "the truth" (John 14:6); which is to KNOW the TRUE JOY of the eternal REALITY in our hearts!
So if (yes, IF) a sovereign God regulates by His LAW the choices of sinful carnal man so WHY does He STILL HATE some of these choices? Read what God hates in Pro 6:16-19. All I can suggest is that we also HATE to do things that we know are necessary to do. The truth is, God creates darkness and EVIL (Isa 45:7), but He ALSO creates light and peace as a divine BALANCE for the "good and evil" choices of man that are all done to fulfill a divine PURPOSE! But the divine character of a sovereign God is NOT with evil INTENT; which is why He still HATES certain NECESSARY evils done by sinful carnal man.
In conclusion; as I mentioned at the start of this article I feel very inadequate to write about the awesome sovereignty and reality of our all-knowing and all-powerful God! I realize that I went "out on a limb" with certain statements, and I confess certain "loose ends" were not addressed about this incredible subject. It is NOT possible to "humanly" explain the MIND of a sovereign God that has TOTAL authority, power, and control, and will eventually DO what he wills, desires, and intends for HIS pleasure (Isaiah 46:10). But hopefully this article has caused some serious thoughts on the unfailing AWESOME GREATNESS of the sovereign God we all believe in!
By Mahlon Wickey November, 2011
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