God's Sovereignty: Total or Limited!

Psalm 7:17 reads, "I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High." David exclaimed this after crying out to God during a season of injustice in his life. "The LORD Most High" is the translation of the Hebrew name El Elyon which emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the One who controls all things!

Most belivers say they believe in the sovereignty of God. However, most have a limited view of God’s sovereignty. Take, for instance, Rick Warren who was on Larry King Live on Thursday night, October 5, along with Ashley Smith, the woman who made headlines around the world last March. She was held hostage for several hours by an alleged killer in the Atlanta courthouse rampage, Brian Nichols. She talked her way out of it and now has written an extraordinary book with some amazing revelations. The book is “Unlikely Angel,” the untold story of the Atlanta hostage hero. In the interview there were some interesting observations: But one exchange showed a real flaw in Warren’s theology on the truth of God’s sovereignty:

WARREN: Well, there are three or four truths. God works through people. We’ve talked about this, Larry, lots of time, like where was God in Katrina?

KING: Yes.

WARREN: Well, God was in the people who were helping them out of Katrina. That’s where he was. He’s in the . . .

KING: Where was he when the wind came?

WARREN: Exactly, well we know that . . .
KING: Why did the wind come?

WARREN: Well, we know that the world is a broken place. This isn’t heaven. That’s why we’re to pray thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven because God’s will is not always done on earth.

KING: So, he gets mad and sends wind?

WARREN: Well, no, no, no. I don’t blame — if I get drunk and I go out and I hit a woman in a car with a pregnant daughter with a baby and she dies, that’s not God’s will. That’s evil. And there is evil in the world.

KING: But the wind whose will is that?

WARREN: Well, because there’s evil in the world there are consequences about it and the Bible, I don’t want to get into theology on this but the Bible does say the world is broken.

Did you catch that? Warren basically says that Hurricane Katrina (and other natural disasters by logic) are not God’s will. To defend this position, he misinterprets part of the Lord’s prayer. William Hendrickson offers the correct in his commentary on Matthew, says, “It is the ardent desire of the person who sincerely breathes the Lord’s Prayer that the Father’s will shall be obeyed as completely, heartily and immediately on earth as this is constantly being done by all the inhabitants of heaven.”

At this point Rick Warren sounds close to what Open Theist John Sanders has written about tragic events and God’s will:

“The overarching structures of creation are purposed by God, but not every single detail that occurs within them. Within general providence it makes sense to say that God intends an overall purpose for the creation and that God does not specifically intend each and every action within the creation. Thus God does not have a specific divine purpose for each and every occurence of evil. The “greater good” of establishing the conditions of fellowship between God and creatures does not mean that gratuitous evil has a point. Rather, the possibility of gratuitous evil has a point but its actuality does not. … When a two-month-old child contracts a painful, incurable bone cancer that means suffering and death, it is pointless evil. The Holocaust is pointless evil. .. God does not have a specific purpose in mind of these occurences.”

But that is not God, El Elyon. He is "the Most High"! Not the "Almost High"! Rather, I urge you to embrace the view of complete sovereignty just celebrated this weekend at John Piper’s Conference in Minneapolis. In the opening address to “Ten Reasons to Celebrate God’s Sovereignty over All” (HT: Tim Challies)

1. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s delegated world rule. We know that Satan has been given dominion over the world because he was able to offer it to Christ. Satan plays a huge role in the rise and rule of evil in this world, but he does this only by degree permission and within God’s appointed limits. The Bible makes this abundantly clear.

2. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s angels (demons, evil spirits). Satan has thousands of cohorts that are known by various names and titles. There are wars and skirmishes on a spiritual level that we read about in Scripture, but we know that God is sovereign over even them.

3. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over persecution. While Christians do suffer in the jaws of Satan’s persecution, they do so within the government of God. Jesus knew this, for in the night He was taken from the garden he expressed that the Father had ordained that they had an hour, just one brief period of time, in which they could take and kill Him. But then He would break free.

4. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s life-taking power. Satan is a murderer who wants nothing more than to destroy. He does so successfully in this life. But none live or die but by God’s decree.

5. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s hand in natural disasters. The story of Job shows that Satan has the ability to control natural forces such as wind and fire from heaven (which is probably lightning). God his given Satan sufficient authority to do this. But we can learn from Job in this, for he did not focus on Satan’s agency, but on God’s sovereignty. There is small comfort in concentrating on the agency of Satan. Our focus needs to be on God for this is where we will find hope and security.

6. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s sickness-causing power. Satan causes much of the sickness we suffer. But as witnessed through the life of Christ, He has authority over Satan. Even today it is God’s delight to heal us.

7. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s use of animals and plants. Satan is able to use animals and plants to wreak havoc and bring death. Animals and plants are used to cause great suffering as part of Satan’s plan. But they cannot do what God does not will for them to do.

8. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s temptations to sin. Much of the suffering in the world is caused by man’s sin against man. Satan is called “the temptor,” as he tempts others to do his evil work for him. But God is sovereign over even this and He will not allow more than we can bear.

9. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s mind-blinding power. The greatest suffering, beside Christ’s will be the suffering of hell. Satan’s aim is to take as many of us with him into this suffering. He does this by blinding our minds to the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

10. Let us celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s spiritual bondage. Satan enslaves people in two ways. One is through pleasure, by making us think we don’t need God because we already have all we need. The other is through pain, by making us think God is not sovereign over pain. Both these sins demand repentance. Satan is not fully sovereign over his captives, for God can always grant repentance if He so desires.

The evil and suffering in this world are greater than we can ever imagine. But evil and suffering are not ultimate or sovereign. No, only and always it is God who is sovereign over joy and pain, evil and suffering. God is El Elyon--the Lord Most High! Embrace Him as sovereign over all!