Fix Your Eyes: A 5-Day Plan on Knowing God RightlyParaugs

DAY 5

Sovereign

God’s lordship extends into all areas of the universe. There is no place where God does not possess total and rightful authority and rule.

Having surveyed God immutable and incomprehensible, God self-sufficient and self-existent, and God all-powerful and all-knowing, it should not surprise us that he is also totally and perfectly sovereign over his creation. The doctrine of God’s sovereignty speaks to his rightful place as King over creation—and that as a result of who he is in his nature and what he does in his acts towards men, God is on the throne of the universe. His authority is unrivaled.

Lest we mistake God’s place of sovereign rule over creation as a throne we set him on, this doctrine is not the result of democracy. God hasn’t campaigned for the place of universal authority, listing his incommunicable attributes as the traits that would make him a fitting king. We are not voting on whether or not God takes the position of the unrivaled ruler; it belongs to him. Authority is his because he is the author of all.

If this sounds a little scary, it’s likely because, like me, you have seen authority go awry in human relationships. The pastor who doubles down on his position of authority when lovingly confronted with sin; the parent who inflicts harsh punishment on a child to make her succeed; the boss who can’t keep a team together because of his bullish or authoritarian approach to the workplace. In human hearts and lives, unquestioned authority goes bad quickly.

But God’s sovereignty, like all of his other attributes, is tied to the others. They are all perfectly who God is, which is why God’s authority in creation leads him to the sacrifice of the cross, the power of the resurrection, and the rule in the new creation. God wields his sovereignty in ways congruent with all his other attributes. He rules, yes, with goodness. He reigns, indeed, with mercy. He governs, yes, with justice. He’s an uncorrupted King with a kind hand, wisely directing all that goes on in the universe.

This plan was adapted from another resource. Learn more at fixyoureyes.com.