The Inconvenient Truth of God’s Sovereignty
Pt. 2

Eph 1:11 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

Introduction

We are currently considering not only human discomfort with an absolute sovereign God but the often violent reaction that occurs when one is confronted with what Scripture says in this regard. The absolute nature of God’s sovereignty serves as a reality check. While distaste for God’s absolute sovereignty is deeply engrained in sinful human nature, modern Western culture has especially conditioned us to reject it. This is a self-reliant, independent, self-affirming society. The spirit of the age encourages us to arrogantly stand against divine revelation on the matter.

The Challenge From Deism

From the time of the 18th century enlightenment, much of Western civilization has tried desperately to escape this reality. First there was the rise of Deism. God was perceived as the grand architect, a celestial clock-maker, an unmoved-mover. He set everything up, started it in motion, and let it go. Now He just sits back and watches as things unfold. He may have started the whole thing but He doesn’t get inside the clock and tinker. He doesn’t speed it up or slow it down. That’s basic Deism. While most Christians don’t profess such a belief, there are some who hold to a kind of philosophical variation on this – a modified deism. For them, most everything sort of runs along on its own, but God does intervene when necessary. He does tinker; He does slow it down or speed it up. But He is certainly not causing every gear to turn and behave this way or that. So, their God is a sovereign starter and corrector. Now, no matter how reasonable this may sound to people, the question remains: Does this square with what God has told us about Himself in Scripture? Clearly, the answer is no. At any rate, Deism sees the universe as a machine with which God has no serious interaction.

The Challenge From Darwinism

After deism came Darwinism. The model changed from the universe as a machine to the cosmos as an organism. The world is dynamic and growing. The power for its own existence and the resources for its organization and expansion all come from within the material realm. After Darwin, there was no longer even a need for a Clock-maker. The material world explains its own existence. Of course, certain Christians, trying to seriously reconcile this notion with their faith devised what is known as “theistic evolution.” This is an organic deism where God set everything in motion and then “let nature take its course.” As with modified deism, God does occasionally intervene, as in the flood. Then again, perhaps God just knew it would happen that way. For the theistic evolutionist, God is also a sovereign starter and at least sovereign knower, if not a sovereign corrector.

Conclusion

We have all been raised in an intellectual culture that, in one way or another, affirms these basic assumptions. This way of thinking pervades our educational system. It is affirmed in the books we read, the movies we see, the approach of the evening news, and so on. Our society has a powerful, though often unspoken assumption – if there is a God (and most people believe there is), He does not seriously interact with this world. It’s okay to believe He is there and you go to Him when you die. It’s even okay to believe that He started the whole thing. But to think that He is intimately involved, much less in control – to believe that He is interacting with the real world moment by moment and day by day – to believe that has interfered with the created order (as in the flood, the burning bush, Christ’s resurrection, etc.) is just too disturbing to people who believe that they are sovereign. That’s about the extent of their reasoning: God can’t possibly be in control because I am!

In our next issue we will begin considering the biblical portrait of God’s absolute sovereignty and the implications for our lives that flow from it.

- Stan McGehee Jr