According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, sovereignty is defined as supreme power, freedom from external control, controlling influence. In this book, we will look at sovereignty from a biblical perspective. Yet, in this case, the dictionary definition aligns well with how the Bible uses the word, especially as it applies to God. To level-set and ensure that we are thinking along the same lines when we use this word, let’s consider the facets of what defines the term.
Also, let us understand that there are varying degrees of sovereignty. Think of this as a continuum with some or little sovereignty at one end and absolute sovereignty at the other end of the continuum. So first, let’s break down this definition. We will do so by looking at sovereignty in our physical world because I think it may be easier to understand it this way and then apply it to the spiritual world, which may be harder to understand.
Supreme Power
Power is the ability to make and impose decisions upon others. It’s where the buck stops. As we said earlier, we can examine sovereignty through a power continuum. For example, in the family unit, the parents exhibit supreme power. When a decision needs to be made and enforced, the parents trumps the children. Why? Because they have the power. Parents control the finances, provide the means for survival, and are physically more powerful than the children (at least in the early years of the family unit).
However, when you bring in local governments, you see the power continuum expanding. Cities have power over parents, which limits the parent’s sovereignty over their children. And as we move up the governmental structure, sovereignty expands. States have power over the cities, and the federal government often has power over the states. This power is exercised through a series of laws and punishments and backed up with the ability to use force to impose their will. The more power an entity has, the more supreme its sovereignty.
Beyond a country’s national sovereignty, we see this continuum expand more. While, in theory, all nations are sovereign, in reality, some countries extend power over others. A threat of military force can manifest this power if one country doesn’t comply with the power imposed by another. It may be displayed by the promise of funds or the threat to withhold aid. Military and economic power have been historical measures of supreme authority. At any given time, one, or a few countries at most, exhibit supreme power over others. This is usually decided after a war where the victor imposes its will over the vanquished.
The supreme power is supreme only to the extent that no other authority can impose its will upon the one with supreme power. This is sovereignty. It is the right, or the ability, to act in whatever way you wish simply because you can act that way, and no power can stop you. Sovereignty due to supreme power doesn’t exist because of moral authority. Just because you have supreme power doesn’t make you just, good, or even right. A just country can have supreme power just as easily as an evil, tyrannical country which enforces its will through murderous cleansings. Our ideals of fairness or justice have little to do with the reality of sovereignty. Simply, the strongest nation is sovereign over other countries because of might, not right.
Freedom From External Control
Another aspect of sovereignty is the freedom from external control, usually derived from the supreme power we just discussed. This is a crucial yet often neglected concept to understand as we study the idea of sovereignty. Let us go back to our example of national sovereignty. We said that supreme power is often exerted over other countries through military or economic power. The inverse is true as well. A country that possesses true sovereignty is exempt from the external threats of military or economic control. Why? Because the supreme sovereign nation does not fear these threats believing that the threatening country lacks the ability or power to carry out the threats.
When there are no perceived credible threats, the sovereign country continues to act in whatever way it sees fit. If that means it can act just and fairly, it will do so because it can. If that means it can act tyrannically, it will do so because it can. No one, or country, can stop them. And until that changes and someone steps us to challenge this power, sovereignty will rest upon this country.
Let’s look at the other end of the continuum to illustrate this point. A company has workers, supervisors, managers, directors, vice presidents, CEOs, and a board of directors. Each is given a certain level of sovereignty over the level below them. But the extent of that sovereignty, or authority, is defined and restricted by the level above them. Workers listen to their supervisors because their bosses can exert power over them. But the supervisors are free from the control of their workers. Supervisors don’t act because their workers can do anything to them. However, they subject themselves to the manager because the manager has that power. And this chain of command works this way up to the board of directors. Each level of the organization is free from the external control of the level below them. So then, whether we talk about countries, companies, or any other structure, sovereignty can be defined as being free from the external control of another.
Controlling Influence
This is an interesting aspect of sovereignty and may challenge our ability to understand its importance, especially as it relates to the sovereignty of God. The first two definitions, supreme power and freedom from external control are tangible ideas we can easily see and recognize. But controlling influence is a little more nebulous, yet it is still an attribute of sovereignty. It’s the idea that one may be sovereign without exerting direct power over another. It is by nature of their attributes that they control others and exercise sovereignty. It is the promise of what someone believes an association with the sovereign will do for them. Let’s explain.
The United States is considered by most to be a sovereign nation. It has the power to impose its will on other countries and is free from external control. No other country can force the United States to do what it does not want to do. However, the United States does not always have to threaten military or economic power over other nations to control them. Often, countries will fall in line with the United States’ national interests and values simply because the nations are drawn to the power of the United States to put themselves in its good graces. They may do so in hopes that the United States may treat them with deference economically, protect them if needed, or make another nation think twice about exerting its sovereignty over them. It’s the “If you mess with me, you are messing with my big brother over my shoulder” idea.
Let’s look at the other end of the continuum to illustrate this definition of sovereignty. Consider a young boy at school. He is socially awkward and prone to be picked on as an easy target by his classmates. To mitigate his challenges from stronger classmates, our friend seeks a strong friend who may take a liking to him. He then idolizes and does whatever he thinks this stronger friend may want him to do. You know the type. Or instead of finding a stronger friend, the boy finds a larger organization he can join. It may be a band, sports, or a high school club. We know the adage- there is safety in numbers, right? Isn’t this precisely why young people are attracted to gangs? And in all of these cases, the sovereign didn’t have to “conquer” the person. They didn’t have to threaten them to join or die. The kid was drawn to them because of what he perceived an association with the stronger person or group would bring to them. Once the association was made, the kid would bring himself into subjection to keep that association.
So then, controlling interest is simply sovereignty exerted over one entity by what it thinks the sovereign entity can do for them.
These aspects of sovereignty- supreme power, freedom from external control, and controlling influence- are easy to see and understand when we look at how our world exerts sovereignty. But how do we see them applied to an Almighty God? If you picked up this book, it’s precisely what you are interested in learning more about, isn’t it? After all, the book is entitled, The Sovereignty Of God, not An Analysis And Study Of Sovereignty, right? We want a better understanding of His sovereignty.
I have some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that we will look at God and His sovereignty in light of this definition and hopefully walk away with such a rich and deep understanding of this amazing attribute of God that it will change our lives and how we approach each day. I believe the more we understand God’s sovereignty, the easier it will be to align our will to His will, and the easier it will become to live the way God wants His children to live. Living in the sovereignty of God is how we find the strength to conquer the sins we have struggled with over and over. Understanding God’s sovereignty is the first step in bringing ourselves into subjection to Him and living fully in His grace. If you are like me, what you learn from His word about His sovereignty will be life-changing.
And here is the bad news. God is God. That means He is above us, and there are some things about Him we may never be capable of figuring out or understanding…
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV).
What this means for our study is that as powerful as this lesson on sovereignty is or as life-changing as I believe it will be, it will not scratch the surface of the true nature of God’s sovereignty. It is simply far beyond our human ability to comprehend fully. That said, I am excited to dive into what we can know about His sovereignty. What the Spirit has revealed is life-changing for us who choose to understand and apply what we learn.
We talked about sovereignty being a continuum. At one end, we have limited sovereignty; at the other, we have absolute sovereignty. In this book, we will explore the extreme to which sovereignty can exist; perfect sovereignty in all its power and glory. Sovereignty in which there is no lack or no imperfection. When we talk about God’s supreme power, we talk about the only supreme power. There is simply no greater power that exists. When we talk about God not being controlled by any external power, we are talking about Him being exempt from the control of any existing power. When we talk about His controlling influence, we talk about an influence so powerful it can perform the impossible in our lives.
By now, you probably have many Bible verses running through your head that demonstrate the sovereignty of God. No doubt, we will examine many of them in this book. But I am most excited about the “So what?” of this study because this is where the power to transform us will come. Consider these questions...
How can living in the sovereignty of God help me conquer through my battle to overcome sin and temptation?
How can bowing the knee daily to a sovereign God equip me to persevere through any trial?
How does my free will intersect with the sovereignty of God?
How will God’s sovereignty change how I view suffering and unanswered prayers?
How will God’s sovereignty realign how I look at my fellow man who is created in His image?
How will the sovereignty of God cause me to reevaluate my role as a steward of God?
This is a taste of what awaits us as we dive into this study. But it all begins with clearly understanding what we are talking about. The definitions and aspects of sovereignty discussed in this chapter are a great starting point. The next chapter will examine the Scriptures’ claims about God’s sovereignty.
I encourage you to read this with pen and paper in hand to take notes and write down your observations and questions. When I first decided to write a book on The Sovereignty of God, I thought it would be a quick and easy process; one straightforward and non-confrontational. But the more I dove into the study, the more I realized that this would become the most challenging book I have ever written. I encourage you to take notes because I am convinced you will spend the rest of your life studying this subject and shaping your view on God’s sovereignty over time.
And I ask for your grace. This book is not the book I would have written on God’s sovereignty ten years ago, and I suspect it will not be the same book that I will write ten years from now. As study matures and we live life and gain experiences, it will help shape our understanding of biblical sovereignty. God has designed His word to be something we can spend a lifetime studying and learning from as we grow. I’m sure that most of us would agree that we will never get to a point where we have a perfect and complete understanding of the Word of God; there will always be more we can learn.
Couple that with the idea that God’s ways are higher than our ways and that we can never fully understand every aspect of God, we can see why the fundamental nature of God will be something that we may never be able to understand or explain fully. Some things are meant by God to be taken on faith. It may sound like a cheap copout for an author to say, “I can’t explain it; we just have to believe it,” but that may end up being exactly what we need to do at times.
But let’s dive into the meat of our book. Let’s see what God says about His sovereignty through His inspired Word… at least what He has chosen to reveal to us.