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Truth Rightly Divided| God’s Sovereignty

“He's either in full control or He's not on the throne at all.” ~ Michael Youssef, Joseph: Portait of a Winner (2008)

 

God's Sovereignty

“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” ~ Revelation 19:6

God is everything. He reigns with all power and all authority. There is nothing He cannot do. God is in charge and in control of everything.

Before the beginning of the earth, God saw everything that would happen and responded to it. Because God exists in and out of time, our future is in His past. He answered every prayer and filled every need before Adam was formed.

He saw every thought we would have and every action we would take. And He has already responded accordingly! He now waits for us to catch up in time. Who can compare with Him?

 

Man’s Desire to be Sovereign

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” ~ Isaiah 14:14

A Facebook post was brought to my attention recently. It stated something to the effect that “God takes action only when He is asked to do so”. Through our prayers we “bring Him on the scene” instead of Him having been there all along. God “put us in charge” of the affairs of the earth.

We live in a world in which we think we're able to do anything we want. And that we can do it without God! Even in church these days we say, “I bind, I loose, I command, I decree, I call forth, etc…”

When did God become a stand-in or movie stunt double? I thought all belonged to Him and we serve Him, not the other way around…

 

God is Supreme

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” ~ Isaiah 43:10

Our Father in Heaven is supreme. The very fact that He created all things makes Him so. How can His creation ever be His equal?

“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” ~ Colossians 1:17

 

Man's Dominion

Man is on a quest for godhood. This mentality invaded the Church centuries ago. Now we think the earth belongs to us.

Well, the scripture does say “The meek shall inherit the earth”. But the operative word is ‘shall’. What dominion do we have currently?

…and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” ~ Genesis 1:26, 28

Note that God said, “let them have dominion…” Does that sound like God is giving something up? If we are in charge of anything, this is it!

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. ~ Genesis 2:15

“…and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” ~ Genesis 2:19

“…into your hand are they delivered.” ~ Genesis 9:2

So, what was mankind to do? According to these verses, we are to care for the earth and have dominion over its creatures. This is man's dominion! Did you see any spiritual aspects included in that list? Hmm…

God did not go ‘hands off' and give man charge of the earth. God is always in charge! We are given responsibility and stewardship of the earth and its creatures. This stewardship is our authority to perform needful work in that care. As Adam was to care for the Garden. We care for the present earth and will care for the new earth to come!

“The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” ~ Psalms 24:1

Where do we get this idea we can do as we please in the earth and God is subject to our desires? Why would we imagine we could be equal with God? Maybe we had help in that area early on…

 

Men Walking as Gods

A very interesting thing happened in the Garden of Eden. When Eve walked within view of the forbidden tree, Satan was waiting. He deceived her. But few realize he told her not one, but two lies.

“… Ye shall not surely die:” ~ Genesis 3:4

“… ye shall be as gods…” ~ Genesis 3:5

This has spawned the teaching of the ‘god-man’. This teaching is preached by many of today’s popular ministers. This teaching follows that we are NOT subordinate to God, but are spirits with equality to God! Some even state that “We are gods”.

They teach that we are ‘little gods’ and that we are anything God is. We rule the earth and have the same power and authority God does on earth and in the spirit realm. Doesn’t that sound like the same lie Satan told Eve…?

 

The God/Man Doctrine

“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” ~ Psalms 82:6-7

From this, you would think they were right. The bible says we are gods! And you would be mistaken! Here is why.

First of all, the chapter is a chastisement of rulers who favored the (possibly wealthy) wicked over the poor. Most importantly and to the heart of the doctrine, God is not speaking at all! These words are being spoken by Asaph, a seer.

“Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.” ~ 2 Chronicles 29:30

Isn’t that strange that these learned men didn’t catch that? In Isaiah 41:23, Isaiah uses the same words, but here, the Lord is mocking the very fact that men think they can do what only He can! The comeback to this might be that Jesus also called us gods. Did he?

“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” ~ John 10:34

Jesus did not call them gods here. He is just reminding them of what Asaph said in Psalms! The I in ‘I said' is Asaph!

 

No Other Gods

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” ~ Exodus 20:3

Look closely at this verse. “No other gods before me…” God is actually saying, as far as his people are concerned, He doesn’t want any other gods in his sight! Do you think it’s ok with Him if we have other gods, as long as we put Him first? I don't think so.

“And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” ~ Exodus 23:13

So why would God call us “little gods” if He feels this way about it?

“For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.” ~ Psalms 86:10

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” ~ Isaiah 43:10

The world may have many gods. They are gods (idols) of wood, stone, silver, and gold. People make gods of themselves and each other.

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” ~ 1 Corinthians 8:6

You can also review Isaiah 44:6, 45:5-6, and 46:9.

 

God Cannot be Man-Handled

“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? ~ Hebrews 12:9

We do not enter the presence of God. We live in it!  God is ever present. Pulling God down is never an option. God is omnipresent!

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” ~ Psalms 8:5

If we are made a little lower than the angels, how can we possibly be equal with God? How can we be spirit beings? We are not even equal with the angels! We are flesh. Since when do we handle God? It is He who handles us. Like the glory and honor of the men and women of the Military have in serving their country, our glory and honor is had in serving our Lord!

 

Only One Equal

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation, and 1took upon him the form of a servant, and 2was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion as a man, 3he humbled himself, and 4became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Wherefore 4God also hath highly exalted him, and 3given him a name which is above every name:

That at the name of Jesus 2every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

And that 1every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” ~ Philippians 2:5-11

Let me show you something special. It is called a chiastic structure. A chiastic structure is formed when two ideas open and close in a symmetric structure. It is a literary technique in narrative motifs and other textual passages.

Did you notice the blue superscript numbers next to some of the bold words? They increase from 1 to 4 then decrease from 4 to 1? For every debasement Christ took on himself, the Father exalted him equally! Isn't that amazing?

Note in verse 6, Jesus said he did not mind sharing the personage, place, or position of God. He did not come telling us to look to him as God alone. It was not a slight or affront to him to be on equal standing with the Father.

While Jesus is God in the flesh, he did not use this as a platform. He came to do the will of the Father! He humbled himself unto death. How can we be equal to him who is our High Priest and advocate!

“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;” ~ Hebrews 3:1

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” ~ 1 John 2:1

 

 Revere God and Be Humble

“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:” ~ Hebrews 12:28

We are not to speak to or of God like He is our flunky. He is the Creator of all! Our words to and about Him should reflect His person, position, and power.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.” ~ Psalms 104:1

The blessings of God come to those who know their God! This means we know He is Lord and has all authority.

“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” ~ James 4:6

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” ~ 1 Peter 5:6

The arrogant way Christians speak and are taught to speak to God is appalling! Man already has a problem submitting to the authority of man (law). The lie of Satan causes man to think he can be equal with God. He thinks he can talk to God as an equal, demand things of Him and control Him.

 

Yet, God is patient and long-suffering with us. Mercy will one day end for those who misuse God and abuse their relationship with Him.

Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” ~ 1 Samuel 2:3

 

I hope this article is helpful. Thank you for visiting!

 

This article was written at the request of one of my readers.

 

Source –

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiastic_structure

According to Psalm 8:6, God Himself put mankind in charge. He doesn’t intervene in the affairs of earth whenever He…

Posted by Kenneth Copeland on Wednesday, August 24, 2016

http://www.creflodollarministries.com/BibleStudy/StudyNotes.aspx?id=1577