Two views (there are more) that I have read recently:
“I believe God knows the end from the beginning and all history is going exactly where he knows and ultimately controls it. Somehow, I also believe that things happen in real-time to us and that we have the ability to make choices that affect others. I see this as a sovereignty-free will paradox similar to paradoxes in physics, such as problems that involve frames of reference.”
“I totally get the view that one can get comfort from a loved one dying and going to heaven at the hands of God, it’s when there loved one is not christian and one has to reconcile that it’s part of God’s perfect plan to have one of your kids or your father to spend eternity in hell.”
What about you?
If God is sovereign over all things then what does that include? We know it includes the fate of all humans because he has chosen the elect from before the foundations of the world were laid. We know that He is sovereign over the angelic realm, even demons. In Job, Satan asks for permission to test Job, and God gives him permission but with limits. Satan also asked to sift Peter. Why would Satan need to ask God's permission to do anything unless God has absolute sovereign control over everything? We know that God has control over nature, as you can see in God's mocking commentary of humans and Job in Job. Did God know that Satan would rebel and that Adam would sin when He created them? Of course. If he is omnipotent then he would have to know. So, what about sin? Does God have control over that? Yes He does. When we sin we mean it for evil, but God means it for good. He uses our sin to move a million pieces to affect His goal What is the goal? Calvary! "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him." Colossians 1:16, NASB. "FOR ALL THINGS.." this is not some things, but all things. "For Him" is talking about Jesus Christ. Even sin was created by God for the purpose of the cross so that heaven can be full of redeemed elect that look like Jesus. As John Piper eloquently put it at the 2009 Resurgence Conference put it, "The universe was setup the way it was for Golgatha."
ReplyDeleteIf you want a better understand you should listen to John Piper's sermons from the 2009 Resurgence Conference. The mp3s can be downloaded.
I hold very rigidly to the Sovereignty of God. To me, without a sovereign God, then suffering becomes random, we become a product of the machine and we get eaten. Our dignity is violated.
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