The question about sovereignty of God. If God knows everything then why? Is he God if he doesn't know something? If not then where is the limit and why?
The question arises due to misunderstanding few passages. Like: the one in Jeremiah 18.
Jeremiah 18English Standard Version (ESV)
The Potter and the Clay
Romans 9:20-23New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The question arises due to misunderstanding few passages. Like: the one in Jeremiah 18.
Sovereignty of God and Free Will of Men:
Is everything already written? I mean the very words that I
have chosen to write is not of my own ideology or thought but it’s wired. That’s
how some people think. There are two views. One everything happens as if there
is nothing I can do about, this is why it’s easy to explain the natural
disasters and death of babies, accidents… etc. The other one is to think like
the Newton’s third law of motion, “For every action there is an equivalent and opposite
reaction”. It’s like the butterfly effect, for every action. The Christian
worldview parted mainly into two streams due to this reasoning of “Work” and “Grace”.
But the Bible clearly tells us, “What is the right way of looking into these
topics? These topics if not dealt rightly most of time leave us into utter
confusion and misunderstanding about God.
God is Sovereign:
Jerimiah
Jeremiah 18English Standard Version (ESV)
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word that came to
Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you
hear[a] my words.”3 So I went
down to the potter's house, and
there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was
making of clay was spoiled
in the potter's hand, and he
reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
5 Then the
word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has
done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand,
so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare
concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation,
concerning which I have spoken, turns
from its evil, I will
relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I
declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my
sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had
intended to do to it. 11 Now,
therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says
the Lord, Behold,
I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’
12 “But they
say, ‘That is in vain! We will
follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore
thus says the Lord:
Ask among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?[b]
Do the mountain waters run dry,[c]
the cold flowing streams?
15 But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
not the highway,
16 making their land a horror,
a thing to be hissed at forever.
Everyone who passes by it is horrified
and shakes his head.
17 Like the east wind I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.”
Ask among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?[b]
Do the mountain waters run dry,[c]
the cold flowing streams?
15 But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
not the highway,
16 making their land a horror,
a thing to be hissed at forever.
Everyone who passes by it is horrified
and shakes his head.
17 Like the east wind I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.”
18 Then they
said, “Come, let us make plots
against Jeremiah, for the
law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word
from the prophet. Come, let
us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his
words.”
19 Hear me,
O Lord,
and listen to the voice of my adversaries.
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Therefore deliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For they have dug a pit to take me
and laid snares for my feet.
23 Yet you, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
Forgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
and listen to the voice of my adversaries.
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Therefore deliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For they have dug a pit to take me
and laid snares for my feet.
23 Yet you, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
Forgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
Romans 9:20-23New American Standard Bible (NASB)
20 On the
contrary, who are you, O man,
who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder,
“Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does not the potter
have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel [a]for
honorable use and another [b]for
common use? 22 [c]What if
God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known,
endured with much patience
vessels of wrath prepared
for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
Why would people think that everything is written? In one
sense they feel like they fully understand God’s Sovereignty and give him
glory, to say that God is powerful of everything, he should have pre-planned
everything to make it happen as he says. In one sense this is right, will deal
about this later. But the very problem of this is, “as God is in control of
everything”, he should be blamed for the wrong of any person, how can this be? Now
there is a problem. But here they change their stand by saying not everything
will be planned, evil things will be judged and punished. There is a Judgment
day, God knows that this would happen exactly and he gives Grace. He likes to
do what he wants. The problem with this thinking is that, “it’s not consistent”.
If God has written everything, every moment of our lives, how we should speak,
eat, dress, work…. Etc. we are not more than robots. There is no point for
Love, Grace and Mercy. Logically it is inconsistent. How to deal with this issue?
Is not God control of everything? Is not God Sovereign? Is he not omnipotent?
Human Freewill:
That’s where the other view lead some people to, They
believe in God and think that he ceased to exist and gave everything to the
human, time & effort, all the things in the universe he set an order and it
runs accordingly, but to men, he just gave complete freedom. To choose what he
want, to do what he want. Now, if the prior view is logically inconsistent.
This view lacks from the understanding of the universe and human life. There is
intervention of God in every aspects of our lives, even atheists believe
sometimes, they just deny that this intervention mostly leads us to the right
path of life. But those who believe in the complete freedom, that they have
this free will to choose and do what they want cannot explain the nature, the
problem of pain, etc. i.e., in most of the cases it is not because of what we
chose and do, but completely different. Say for example: Good people suffering –
Where logically Good people should be living happily without difficulties,
struggles and sickness. But that is not the case.
Now we see why it is important to have the right
understanding about God’s Sovereignty and Human Free will:
1.
Blame on: The most important aspect of extreme
in thinking it is only God’s Sovereignty or Human Free will is for blaming.
Both the views still could not explain many “whys” they blame on the whole
aspect of their view and will not humble to say, “My Heart”. People who does
not want to take risk, who are lazy, who just want a reason for their point,
wanted to excuse will try and manipulate using this views in the extreme sense.
2.
Pride: This has been the major problem, who
should be glorified and for what matters, in both the extreme views there are
flaws. If in case one is successful and if he thinks that his success is only because
of his efforts, he shows pride. When God is not involved, When God is not
glorified there is nothing called as success.
The Right Balance:
The Men & Women of the Bible, who by the Grace of God
lived as an example give us an idea about their live and understanding they had
on this issue.
When Jesus told that it would happen: To Peter Jesus told
that he would deny him thrice. How is it possible? Exactly thrice: Jesus was
specific about timing as to when and times as to how many times.
Matthew 26:34 NIV
"Truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "this very night,
before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times". Jesus knew exactly how many times Peter would be questioned. When he can understand the very thought of our heart doesn't he know what would be the response to a situation that demand the very life of one of his disciple. In telling the truth Jesus reveals that he is God. This is not the first time he told the exact thing, When he met Nathanael.
John 1:48 NIV
"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."
When he met, nicodemus, the women at the well, the pharisees... etc.
Jesus told about his death & resurrection.
John 2:19 NIV
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
Luke 24:7 NIV
The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' "
Resurrection assurance in the Psalm: Psalm 16:10 NIV
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
Matthew 12:40 NIV
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
John 10:18 NIV
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
Jesus told about the "Second Coming" but not when.
Matthew 24:36 NIV
"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Luke 22:42 NIV
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
Why do we have dilemma in this area of life,
Examples: David committing adultery - the power of sin, that blinded David going further to kill the servant the husband of Bathsheba. Its totally the fault of David, he confessed in Psalm:
Jesus’s virgin birth - Luke 1:35 NIV The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
The Sower and the Seed: Heart and the Matter.
The Vine and the vine dresser.
The progressive approval. The Time & Space. The case of only knowing by the event or happening of something. Pilate's answers indicate the very essence of what he wanted to hear, the Jews wanted to kill Jesus, Pilate tried to find ways to rescue Jesus, but he compromised more on his position than truth. The best example would be that of the Egypt's Pharoh. Who even after 10 plagues the final one killing his own son did not stop from "Hardening his Heart" against God.
Hebrews 12:16 NIV
See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.
It needs Holy Spirit help, our prayers. God will help us understand whatever we have doubts in this area of his Sovereignty and our Free will to act accordingly with understanding that would bring meaning to our life and joy to the fullest. He is in control of everything at the same time he gives us options. He does not leave us when we does not know the way or when we wander, but he comforts us through his Word, his Son Jesus Christ.
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