Theme · theological
Sovereignty of God
From the opening declaration 'In the beginning God created,' sovereignty is the backdrop of the entire biblical narrative. God hardens Pharaoh's heart to display his power, raises up and casts down kings, and uses even pagan empires as instruments of his purposes. Joseph summarizes it: 'You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.' Daniel sees four kingdoms rise and fall, all under the Ancient of Days. Paul's argument about the potter and the clay in Romans 9 pushes sovereignty to its sharpest edge, while Revelation assures that the Lamb who was slain holds the scroll of history.
Related doctrines
Passages expressing this theme
- 1Chr 29:11 — Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exa
- 1Chr 29:12 — Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
- 1Cor 1:20 — Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
- 1Cor 8:6 — 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.
- 1Cor 10:22 — Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
- 1John 3:8 — He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
- 1John 5:19 — And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
- 1Kgs 12:15 — Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
- 1Kgs 17:1 — And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my w
- 1Kgs 19:11 — And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the
- 1Kgs 22:19 — And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
- 1Pet 1:20 — Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
- 1Pet 4:5 — Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
- 1Sam 2:9 — He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
- 1Sam 8:7 — And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
- 1Sam 15:29 — And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
- 1Tim 1:17 — Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- 1Tim 6:15 — Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
- 1Tim 6:16 — Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
- 2Chr 16:9 — For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henc
- 2Chr 20:6 — And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withs
- 2Chr 20:12 — O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
- 2Cor 3:5 — Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
- 2Cor 11:3 — But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
- 2Kgs 1:10 — And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him
The Church Fathers on Sovereignty of God
The primal and necessary Being, the Creator, has sovereignty de facto as well as de jure. He has the power as well as the kingdom and the glory. But the de jure sovereignty was made known to me before the power, the right before the might. And for this I am thankful. I think it is well, even now, sometimes to say to…
Or, because the name of God is given by idolaters, and those who are in error, to idols and creatures, it has not as yet been so made holy, as to be separated from those things from which it ought to be. He teaches us therefore to pray that the name of God may be appropriated to the only true God; to whom alone…
The Father reigns, the Son reigns, the Holy Spirit reigns. Of the Father the Gospel says, "If one is not reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Of the Son it is said, "Say to the peoples, 'The Lord reigned from the wood.' " In Solomon it is said of the Holy Spirit, "Your sovereignty…
"God shall reign over all nations" [Psalm 47:8]. Who reigned over one nation, "shall reign" (says He) "over all nations." When this was said, God reigned over one nation. It was a prophecy, the thing was not yet shown. Thanks be to God, we now see fulfilled what before was prophesied. A written promise God sent unto…
"Therefore I judge not to trouble." That is, not to upset matters, because if God called them, and these impositions upset the calling, then we are opposing God. He speaks with authority: I "judge."
(Vers. 22) Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. LXX: Turn to me and you will be saved from the ends of the earth. I am God, and there is no other. And elegantly He joins together: God is just, not of one nation alone, but of the whole world, to whom He speaks: Turn…