ipods, iChristians and give me my iSovereignty

ipods, iChristians and give me my iSovereignty
By Kenneth Mattson

A number of us who grew up in a Charismatic/Word of Faith Church were incorrectly taught like myself that God can't and won't move on earth unless we or man allows him too. Meaning the Creator is subject to the creature, like in non-Christian religions of the East. There are just way to many Scriptures that say the complete opposite of this type of teaching though.

Protestant Christianity has always stated that God who is Triune is not limited by time or space or this world or his rational creatures(mankind), but by his council he controls whatever comes to pass. Wayne Grudem simply puts God's sovereignty, "as his exercise or rule over his creation". God's sovereignty is also the identification of his Lordship over everything created. He is Lord and everything on the earth comes to pass because of him either in history past or presently only after the counsel of His will. Ephesians 1:11

As Christians we have to listen to what the Christian majority or Orthodoxy has said concerning a number of things such as who God is like-the Trinity, the Person of Christ being completely God and completely man, the Virgin Birth, justification by faith alone, and also a correct teaching on God's sovereignty. If we aren't able to listen, than we ourselves become sovereign unto ourselves, and unteachable, and we will end up with a man-centered theology like the heretic Pelagius(google his name). That is always the danger of pride isn't it?

As John Piper rightly puts it in his book, Brothers, we are not professionals, "God's ultimate commitment is to Himself and not to us. And therein lies our security. God loves His glory above all. "For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off...For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another"(Isa. 48:9, 11)." God loves his own glory, and it's his chief end.

Cornelius Van Til in his book called, The Defense of the Faith goes on further concerning God's nature and says, "God is in no sense correlative to or dependent upon anything besides his own being. God is the source of his own being, or rather the term source cannot be applied to God. God is absolute. He is sufficient unto himself." In other words, God is infinite, he is dependent on nothing beyond his own being.

Now that is strikingly different from any man-centered teaching that would say otherwise, like God can't move on earth unless man allows him too. Its as different as the creature is to the uniqueness of his Creator. Although we share in likeness to our Creator, we will never be like Him as God, because we are only created, finite and fully dependent on Him, even in heaven.

So why is the Biblical Doctrine of God's Sovereignty important? Because it's intrinsically connected to God's nature itself, and thus connected to every other doctrine in Christianity. No biblical doctrine is unrelated by itself, but all doctrine is connected and interrelated to one another and that's why it's so important that you have a solid theological understanding. As John Frame rightly puts it in his definition of theology, that theology is "the application of the Word of God by persons to all areas of life."

So now do you see how important a correct understanding of God's nature is, being his sovereignty? For the bible says this in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Don't you see that the profitable parts are not only the small portions of Scripture that include you as a christian? But as Timothy puts it, Scripture is also profitable in those parts that teach on the glorious Nature of Christ being the God-Man, and the nature of God being The Trinity, and that includes his sovereignty over creation.

It is a wonderful thing to think on the sovereignty of God, because it's a reflection of his majesty as Lord.

Ken

Some further thoughts: What is the Trinity? Why is the Trinity important? How is God Triunely involved in my life? What is the Evangelical teaching of Justification by faith alone?