God Is Sovereign: I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

Inigo Montoya, in one of many famous lines from The Princess Bride, tells Vizzini, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”  Lately, I’ve noticed quite a few references to God’s “sovereignty” that have left me scratching my head and silently repeating Montoya’s line. There seems to be a misunderstanding in at least part of the Christian community about what the sovereignty of God is. I’d like to offer a few thoughts in hopes of straightening out some of these errant beliefs.

                The general misunderstanding I have observed is the belief that if God is sovereign, and he is, then whatever happens must be his will. It only takes a few moments of rational thought to realize the logical consequence of this belief is that our righteous, just, loving God must cause evil. How can this be?  It can’t. I John 1:5 assures us there is no darkness (evil) at all in Christ, the Son of God. Peter reminds us that “…he who called you is holy…” (I Peter 1:16 NIV). The four creatures continuously praised God on his throne as “Holy, holy, hoy” (Revelation 4:8 NIV). Do I really need to go on about God’s purity, righteousness and aversion to evil?  It is perhaps the most basic truth about God, and I must believe even the most wayward believer accepts this truth.

                Then why the persistent belief that everything that happens must be his will?  It may have to do with too much proof-texting. Actually, any proof-texting is too much. I have noticed that people will pull certain verses out of context to explain some action, often one of their own actions, that many would called a bad or evil action or result of a bad decision. One verse that comes up often in this context is Romans 8:28. This is one of those taken-out-of-context verses that are used to justify stupid decisions. Did you foolishly spend your rent money on a new toy or wardrobe accessory?  No worry, God works everything out for good!  Did you choose your friends carelessly, listened to their advice, and end up the county jail for a year?  Not a problem; it’s all part of God’s purpose for your life!  Did you end up single and pregnant, or an unmarried father responsible for the care of a child because you sought to gratify desires you should have run from?  Rejoice, God meant it for your own good!  No matter what kind of mistakes we make, we Christians don’t have to regret any of it because God works everything out for our good. (Note the sarcasm dripping from that last sentence)  The faulty reasoning that goes along with this kind of misinterpretation is usually along these lines: I learned something from that experience, and I am now closer to God than I was before, so God must have planned that experience for me for my own good. You notice how the responsibility for disobeying God has been completely removed?  It reminds me of the old line by comedian Flip Wilson, “The devil made me do it!” 

                What about Joseph?  He was sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt where he eventually was put in a position that allowed him to save his people from starvation. Then he told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20 NIV). Doesn’t that prove God was the one who prompted his brothers to do evil by selling him into slavery?  No, it does not. What they did was wrong, and they had to bear the responsibility for their sin. What is does prove is that God’s ultimate purpose is not thwarted by the evil actions of men or Satan. That is not the same as redefining evil as good because it wasn’t as successful as the evildoers had hoped it would be.

                Sovereignty means absolute power. It does not mean absolute control. I am not suggesting God is incapable of absolute control, only that in a discussion about sovereignty, control is not the issue. Authority is. Since God is in absolute authority, he can decide to exercise complete control, delegate some control, or give up all control. He’s the final authority. He can do as he pleases. If he decides to force select individuals to respond positively to his call to salvation, he can do that. If he decides to give each individual the opportunity to reject his offer of salvation, he can do that. Similarly, if he decides to give Satan a certain amount of control over things on earth, he can do so. He is the sovereign ruler. He sets the rules, the parameters, and the conditions.

                This means we are subject to whatever decisions he makes about how the world will be run, how our volition will play a role in our lives, how much influence Satan will have on us, and how severe the consequences of our actions will be. It does not mean we can look back at all the sinful, disobedient, foolish decisions we made and the actions we took as a result of those decisions, and claim God wanted us to do all those things. He is holy, and he demands we be holy. Nor does it mean we can carelessly live our lives with little or no discernment of right and wrong, or good and evil, assuming that since he is in control, anything I do will be his will. He does not and will not approve of sin, no matter how much we say we love him or how much we believe we learned from experiencing the consequences of that sin. He is a great healer, though, isn’t he?  He can fix things so we can continue to love and serve him, even while living with the, sometimes painful, consequences of our sin. Now that’s real power.