Audio Transcript

Sovereign. God is sovereign. God is in control. People say God is in control of all things, but what exactly does sovereign mean for us when life feels chaotic? Or when grief and loss and sorrow hit our lives, like we talked about on Monday? Today we define sovereignty straight from Scripture, test it against very real events, and discover why nothing — not luck or chance — can derail God’s divine purposes. Today on Ask Pastor John: The God over dice.

We’re reading Psalm 115 together tomorrow. Psalm 115:3 is such a potent text: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” And that leads us to this new question to us from a listener named Jessica: “Pastor John, hello! I am trying to get my head around this whole concept of God’s sovereignty. I hear this term thrown around a lot in theological discussions, but I’m realizing I don’t have a clear understanding of what it actually means. When we say, ‘God is sovereign,’ what exactly are we saying? Is this a biblical concept, and if so, where do we see it taught in Scripture? I feel like there’s so much confusion and debate around this topic. Some people seem to think it means God controls everything down to the smallest detail, while others push back and say that undermines human freedom and responsibility. I’m getting lost in all the arguments. Could you help me understand what God’s sovereignty really means from a biblical perspective?”

Great question, Jessica. Here’s how Pastor John answered this same question from Stephen in 2019.

Well, I like to make every effort to keep things clear and simple, and I think one of the reasons we sometimes don’t speak with much clarity is that we don’t start with definitions. That’s where I like to start on almost every conversation I have. Let me propose some definitions, test them with the Bible, and then we’ll end with maybe what he’s asking: “What are some of the big issues surrounding it?”

When we say God is sovereign, we mean God is powerful and authoritative to the extent of being able to override all other powers and authorities. That’s my effort at a definition. Nothing can successfully stop any act, event, design, or purpose which God intends to certainly bring about. Is it biblical? That’s the question, because what I think really doesn’t matter — but if it’s a reflection of what the Bible says, it matters a lot.

Sovereign Over All

I’m arguing that nothing can thwart or stop his purposes. When all is said and done, Job says, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). I think that’s the best definition of sovereignty in the Bible. “He does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35). Nobody can stop it.

Here’s the positive way of saying that he will accomplish all his will: “I am God, and there is none like me.” In the following verse, he says this about his God-ness: “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose” (Isaiah 46:9–10). There’s nothing that he purposes that he does not accomplish. Nothing can stop him, and he does it all.

One of the most sweeping statements of sovereignty in the Bible comes from Ephesians 1:11: “In 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.” Whatever happens, it accords with the counsel of God’s will. Then, you can test those general statements about God’s sovereignty with lots of examples that the Bible talks about.

Random Events

God is sovereign over seemingly random events, like Proverbs 16:33: “The lot [or the dice] is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” He is sovereign over something as random as rolling dice or casting a lot.

Nature

God is sovereign over nature. “Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses” (Psalm 135:6–7). Or Matthew 8:27: “The men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?’” The winds and sea do his bidding.

Animals

God is sovereign over animals. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29). I think that’s Jesus’s way of reaching for the most minute, seemingly insignificant occurrence in the world. In this case, it’s a little bird dropping out of a tree in the midst of some jungle nobody knows about but him, and he decides when it will fall.

Nations

God is sovereign over nations. This is at the other end of magnitude. Second Chronicles 20:6: “You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.” No nation does anything that God has not purposed.

Or Psalm 33:10–11: “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”

Human Decisions

God is sovereign over every single human decision.

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. (Proverbs 16:1)

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. (Proverbs 21:1)

This next sentence ought to be written like a banner over every evil and sin that’s ever been committed. Joseph says to his brothers, who sold him into slavery, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). The very same event you intended for evil, God meant it for good. And then you could go to Psalm 115:3: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

So, my answer is, yes, it is biblical to say that God is sovereign, meaning that he has such power and such authority that nothing can successfully stop any act or purpose which God intends to certainly bring about.

Two Big Truths of Sovereignty

Now, Stephen asked, “What are the big things to see and grasp?” So, let me just mention two big things.

First, the sovereignty of God is governed by his wisdom. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33). Everything that is unsearchable and inscrutable to us is governed by the deepest divine wisdom. God never does or allows anything whimsical — that is, anything as meaningless or random or without an infinitely wise purpose. That is a big thing we must come to terms with when we think about God’s sovereignty.

Second, his sovereignty is governed by his justice and his mercy. “The Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18). Or, “Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!” (Romans 9:14). God never, never wrongs anyone. All that he does is righteous and just.

But even justice is not the final and highest aim of God’s wisdom. The ultimate aim is that he be glorified for his mercy and grace toward undeserving rebels. He sovereignly planned and accomplished salvation for sinners by the death of his Son so that the nations “might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:9). Or, as Ephesians 1:6 says, “To the praise of his glorious grace.”

So, those, it seems to me, are the big things to grasp about God’s sovereignty. First, it is unstoppable power and authority over all things, including the human will. Second, it is all in accord with infinite wisdom, infinite justice, and infinite mercy through Jesus Christ.