How is it that we are in a country that claims about 80-90% to be Christians? Yet our culture is in freefall. This is not a popular message.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Amazing Grace?
I tell you that once you understand the depth of your sin. You then can see how Amazing God's Grace is. John Newton understood it, it enabled him to write "Amazing Grace". If you won't let yourself be broken over your sin, the contrast between your depravity and God's Righteousness will be so much less than Amazing. We who confess that we have been forgiven much should have the best understanding of how Amazing God's Grace is. For as you get the right perspective of sin. God's Holiness rises so high above us. His ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts. His ways are greater than our ways, so are His thoughts higher than our thoughts. Let the Holy Spirit convict you of Sin. Do not down play it. But Lament it. Let your heart be broken over your past and continued disobedience. So that you will be driven to your knees. Each time this happens God seems to get bigger and higher. His Grace and Love for us becomes brighter than the Sun. This Truth that God chose you knowing you perfectly. He knew your heart. Imagine that, he knew your sinfulness. He knows better than you do what a wretch you are. But then, He chose to Love you and cleanse you of all your sin and shame. So that His Will and Purpose will be accomplished. So that He demonstrates His Glory ,Honor, Grace, Mercy and Power. When I began to see myself in light of who God is. I was absolutely crushed. He is worthy of so much more than I will ever be able to give Him. I don't understand why He saved me. It doesn't matter why, He did. Even if He never did anything for me. Even if instead of Grace, and Mercy He gave me Justice and sent me to Hell for my lawlessness, He would be Worthy of my Praise and Worship. How much more so, in light of so Great a Salvation. Praise and Honor and Glory and Power be to God almighty forever and ever!
AMEN!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Sovereignty of God
Ephesians 1:1-14
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful [fn1] in Christ Jesus:
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love5he predestined us [fn2] for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight9making known [fn3] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,14who is the guarantee [fn4] of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, [fn5] to the praise of his glory.
The Sovereignty of God
I. Who is God?
a. eternal
From eternity past to future :
a: ESV: Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth,or ever you
had formed the earth and the world,from everlasting to everlasting
you are God.
2. unchanging :
a: KJV: Mal 3:6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed.
b: ESV: Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and
forever.
b. creator
Creator of all things
a: ESV: Isa 45:12 "I made the earth and created man on it; it was my
hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their
host.
2. sustainer
a: KJV: Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist.
c. supreme authority
all things under his control
a. ESV 1 Chr: 29:11 "Yours, O Lord , is the greatness and the power and
the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the
heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord , and
you are exalted as head above all.
2. declares right
a. ESV: Isa 45:19 I did not speak in secret,in a land of darkness;I did
not say to the offspring of Jacob,‘Seek me in vain. I the Lord speak
the truth; I declare what is right.
4. dispenses justice
a. ESV: Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant* of God,
and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your
deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King
of the nations!*
b. ESV: Rom 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it* to
the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay,
says the Lord."
d. Love
Grace
a. ESV: 1 Cor 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be
called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. 15:10 But
by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was
not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them,
though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
2. Mercy
a. ESV: 1 Pet 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his
great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1:4 to an inheritance that
is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 1:5
who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time.
3. Redemption
a. Joh 3:16 “For God so loved the world,[fn7] that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
II. Gods Sovereignty
a. Definition of sovereign
1. one who rules over a people with a sole, supreme, and usually
hereditary authority.
a. ESV: Deu 32:39“‘See now that I, even I, am he,and there is no
god beside me;I kill and I make alive;I wound and I heal;and
there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
2. coming before all others in importance
3. not being under the rule or control of another
a. ESV: Exo 33:19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass
before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I
will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy
on whom I will show mercy.
b. Definition of ordain ;Greek (pro-o-rē'-zō ):
1.
to invest with ministerial or sacerdotal functions; confer holy orders upon.
2.
to enact or establish by law, edict, etc.: to ordain a new type of government.
3. to decree; give orders for: He ordained that the restrictions were to
be lifted.
4.
(of God, fate, etc.) to destine or predestine: Fate had ordained the meeting.
Examples of ordination:
The President signing a bill into law
Moses confronts Rameses II: "Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel: Let
my people go." The Pharaoh responds: "So let it be written. So let it
be done." The movie "The ten Commandments" It was not Pharoh's
idea. He didn't like it but it fit his purposes. Namely to stop the
plagues
Foreordination or the pre-ordination of God.
"God has for-ordained whatever in all of life,whatever happens. The tree that falls on the roof, the cat that is run over by the jeep, the putt that lips the cup and makes you runner up rather than the champion. Everything is according to Gods for-ordination. There are absolutely no acceptions to it. Every occurence lies under his wise and loving control. Every free moral choice that a man or woman makes lies underneath the working of the will and purpose of God, and even the sinful actions of men lie under God's for-ordination."(from "Betrayal part A" 3-3-08 podcast by Allistair Begg.)
Now that we have a framework lets read and talk about what is being taught in this text. I am going to start with Ephesians 1:1-14 and then focus primarily on verse 11. In the passage Paul mentions the idea of predestination three times. he also mentions God's Will three times. These are two very hot topics in our time and they have been a source for much confusion in the past as well. We have a great problem in our mind and in our spirit with the idea that God is somehow overruling our decisions and forcing us to do things we wouldn't normally do. The classic example is a person's salvation.
But ordaining something is not the same as causing something. Ordaining something means allowing. Giving approval to a proposal. God in his own purpose will allow people to do things he would rather they not do. He will allow for evil to be done. But it will never get in the way of His will being done. He knows everything there is to know. He knows every creature and all of creation. He knew you before you were born, before the foundation of the world. KJV Jerimiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. ESV Jer 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you;I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Where we get in trouble is that we don't remember who is telling us this. We cannot make God in our own image. We also do not have dominion over God's word. It says what it says no matter how much we don't like it. We have a hard time thinking like God. I am glad to say. We know only what he has revealed about himself to us in scripture and in creation. But he is not like us. He is outside of time. He sees all things at all times at the same time. We are so linear in our thinking that it is hard to understand. But The mysteries of God are deep. Nicodemus had some trouble with it. Read John 3:1-14
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.2This man came to Jesus [fn1] by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”3Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [fn2] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [fn3] 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’8The wind [fn4] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”10Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.12If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?13No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. [fn5] 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. [fn6] .
Nicodemus was trying to use Earthly logic and reason to understand a heavenly concept. He found out it doesn't work. Jesus Himself tried to explain what heaven was like and it is very difficult to grasp.
Matthew 13 : 31He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
We are made in God's image but we are not gods. We are mortal and linear. We exist inside of time and we do change.
So we are not gods we have limitations. How then do we reconcile these things. Sometimes we try and make adjustments to our thinking to approximate what we think God's thinking reflects. This can work sometimes especially if we have a specific example from scripture. But usually it comes down to taking God at His Word, Yes I am talking about faith. Here are some people who understood the Sovereinty of God.
Daniel 3:16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.17If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. [fn4] 18But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Job 2:4Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.5But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”6And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.8And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” [fn1] In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job 13:15 Though he slay me, I will hope in him; [fn1] yet I will argue my ways to his face.
John 6:43Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.44No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.45It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—46not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.47Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.48I am the bread of life.49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”53So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.54Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.56Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”59Jesus [fn3] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
The Words of Eternal Life
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”61But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?63It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.64But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)65And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.67So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,69and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”70Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”71He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
c. God's Sovereignty vs Free will (NO CONTEST)
1. God has the authority to do as he sees fit. He owns it all
(including you).
2. We are given the ability to choose but all our choices come under
the sovereign reign of God.
3. We will be held accountable for the choices that we have made.
4. Everything is ordained by him, that is, nothing happens in this
universe that
he doesn't know about or have the power and authority to stop it.
5. Everything that is happening is either caused by God or allowed by
God. He then
works all things together to bring about his purposes, and
his will being accomplished on Earth as it is in heaven.
6. Christians trust him because he is trustworthy and because we
have no one else to go to. He is God. We are relying on His grace
and mercy. will work all things ESV: Romans 8:28 And we know
that for those who love God all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to his purpose.
7. The rest of the world will endure his wrath. He will punish anyone
who is not justified by faith in Christ. There is no force in Heaven or
in all of creation that can stay his hand of judgement. John 3:18
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only Son of God.
Ephesians 1:1-14
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful [fn1] in Christ Jesus:
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love5he predestined us [fn2] for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight9making known [fn3] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,14who is the guarantee [fn4] of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, [fn5] to the praise of his glory.
The Sovereignty of God
I. Who is God?
a. eternal
From eternity past to future :
a: ESV: Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth,or ever you
had formed the earth and the world,from everlasting to everlasting
you are God.
2. unchanging :
a: KJV: Mal 3:6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed.
b: ESV: Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and
forever.
b. creator
Creator of all things
a: ESV: Isa 45:12 "I made the earth and created man on it; it was my
hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their
host.
2. sustainer
a: KJV: Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist.
c. supreme authority
all things under his control
a. ESV 1 Chr: 29:11 "Yours, O Lord , is the greatness and the power and
the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the
heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord , and
you are exalted as head above all.
2. declares right
a. ESV: Isa 45:19 I did not speak in secret,in a land of darkness;I did
not say to the offspring of Jacob,‘Seek me in vain. I the Lord speak
the truth; I declare what is right.
4. dispenses justice
a. ESV: Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant* of God,
and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your
deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King
of the nations!*
b. ESV: Rom 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it* to
the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay,
says the Lord."
d. Love
Grace
a. ESV: 1 Cor 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be
called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. 15:10 But
by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was
not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them,
though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
2. Mercy
a. ESV: 1 Pet 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his
great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1:4 to an inheritance that
is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 1:5
who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time.
3. Redemption
a. Joh 3:16 “For God so loved the world,[fn7] that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
II. Gods Sovereignty
a. Definition of sovereign
1. one who rules over a people with a sole, supreme, and usually
hereditary authority.
a. ESV: Deu 32:39“‘See now that I, even I, am he,and there is no
god beside me;I kill and I make alive;I wound and I heal;and
there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
2. coming before all others in importance
3. not being under the rule or control of another
a. ESV: Exo 33:19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass
before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I
will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy
on whom I will show mercy.
b. Definition of ordain ;Greek (pro-o-rē'-zō ):
1.
to invest with ministerial or sacerdotal functions; confer holy orders upon.
2.
to enact or establish by law, edict, etc.: to ordain a new type of government.
3. to decree; give orders for: He ordained that the restrictions were to
be lifted.
4.
(of God, fate, etc.) to destine or predestine: Fate had ordained the meeting.
Examples of ordination:
The President signing a bill into law
Moses confronts Rameses II: "Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel: Let
my people go." The Pharaoh responds: "So let it be written. So let it
be done." The movie "The ten Commandments" It was not Pharoh's
idea. He didn't like it but it fit his purposes. Namely to stop the
plagues
Foreordination or the pre-ordination of God.
"God has for-ordained whatever in all of life,whatever happens. The tree that falls on the roof, the cat that is run over by the jeep, the putt that lips the cup and makes you runner up rather than the champion. Everything is according to Gods for-ordination. There are absolutely no acceptions to it. Every occurence lies under his wise and loving control. Every free moral choice that a man or woman makes lies underneath the working of the will and purpose of God, and even the sinful actions of men lie under God's for-ordination."(from "Betrayal part A" 3-3-08 podcast by Allistair Begg.)
Now that we have a framework lets read and talk about what is being taught in this text. I am going to start with Ephesians 1:1-14 and then focus primarily on verse 11. In the passage Paul mentions the idea of predestination three times. he also mentions God's Will three times. These are two very hot topics in our time and they have been a source for much confusion in the past as well. We have a great problem in our mind and in our spirit with the idea that God is somehow overruling our decisions and forcing us to do things we wouldn't normally do. The classic example is a person's salvation.
But ordaining something is not the same as causing something. Ordaining something means allowing. Giving approval to a proposal. God in his own purpose will allow people to do things he would rather they not do. He will allow for evil to be done. But it will never get in the way of His will being done. He knows everything there is to know. He knows every creature and all of creation. He knew you before you were born, before the foundation of the world. KJV Jerimiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. ESV Jer 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you;I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Where we get in trouble is that we don't remember who is telling us this. We cannot make God in our own image. We also do not have dominion over God's word. It says what it says no matter how much we don't like it. We have a hard time thinking like God. I am glad to say. We know only what he has revealed about himself to us in scripture and in creation. But he is not like us. He is outside of time. He sees all things at all times at the same time. We are so linear in our thinking that it is hard to understand. But The mysteries of God are deep. Nicodemus had some trouble with it. Read John 3:1-14
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.2This man came to Jesus [fn1] by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”3Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [fn2] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [fn3] 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’8The wind [fn4] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”10Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.12If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?13No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. [fn5] 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. [fn6] .
Nicodemus was trying to use Earthly logic and reason to understand a heavenly concept. He found out it doesn't work. Jesus Himself tried to explain what heaven was like and it is very difficult to grasp.
Matthew 13 : 31He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
We are made in God's image but we are not gods. We are mortal and linear. We exist inside of time and we do change.
So we are not gods we have limitations. How then do we reconcile these things. Sometimes we try and make adjustments to our thinking to approximate what we think God's thinking reflects. This can work sometimes especially if we have a specific example from scripture. But usually it comes down to taking God at His Word, Yes I am talking about faith. Here are some people who understood the Sovereinty of God.
Daniel 3:16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.17If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. [fn4] 18But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Job 2:4Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.5But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”6And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.8And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” [fn1] In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job 13:15 Though he slay me, I will hope in him; [fn1] yet I will argue my ways to his face.
John 6:43Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.44No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.45It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—46not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.47Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.48I am the bread of life.49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”53So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.54Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.56Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”59Jesus [fn3] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
The Words of Eternal Life
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”61But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?63It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.64But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)65And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.67So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,69and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”70Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”71He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
c. God's Sovereignty vs Free will (NO CONTEST)
1. God has the authority to do as he sees fit. He owns it all
(including you).
2. We are given the ability to choose but all our choices come under
the sovereign reign of God.
3. We will be held accountable for the choices that we have made.
4. Everything is ordained by him, that is, nothing happens in this
universe that
he doesn't know about or have the power and authority to stop it.
5. Everything that is happening is either caused by God or allowed by
God. He then
works all things together to bring about his purposes, and
his will being accomplished on Earth as it is in heaven.
6. Christians trust him because he is trustworthy and because we
have no one else to go to. He is God. We are relying on His grace
and mercy. will work all things ESV: Romans 8:28 And we know
that for those who love God all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to his purpose.
7. The rest of the world will endure his wrath. He will punish anyone
who is not justified by faith in Christ. There is no force in Heaven or
in all of creation that can stay his hand of judgement. John 3:18
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only Son of God.
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