What does it mean that God is sovereign?

Response

God’s sovereignty is a fundamental principle in Christian theology and a topic of intense debate. The consensus among mainstream Christian denominations is that God is supreme in power and authority. His sovereignty naturally stems from His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. The point of contention lies in the extent of God’s sovereignty—specifically, the degree of control He exercises over human wills. When we refer to God’s sovereignty, we acknowledge His governance over the universe, but discussions arise regarding the direct and indirect nature of His control.

God is portrayed in the Bible as omnipotent and omniscient, as seen in the verse, “Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). He is depicted as existing beyond time (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 90:2) and credited with creating everything (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1). These divine attributes establish the basic framework for God’s sovereign rule over the universe, indicating that nothing happens without His consent. With the ability and knowledge to prevent anything, any event must, at the very least, be permitted by God.

Simultaneously, the Bible presents God as granting humanity choices (Deuteronomy 30:15-19), holding them accountable for their decisions.Personally responsible for their sins «Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; », (Exodus 20:5), and being unhappy with some of their actions «And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. », (Numbers 25:3). The fact that sin exists at all proves that not all things that occur are the direct actions of God, who is holy. The reality of human volition (and human accountability) sets the maximum boundary for God’s sovereign control over the universe, which is to say there is a point at which God chooses to allow things that He does not directly cause.

The fact that God is sovereign essentially means that He has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation. Whether or not He actually exerts that level of control in any given circumstance is actually a completely different question. Often, the concept of divine sovereignty is oversimplified. We tend to assume that, if God is not directly, overtly, purposefully driving some event, then He is somehow not sovereign. The cartoon version of sovereignty depicts a God who must do anything that He can do, or else He is not truly sovereign.

Of course, such a cartoonish view of God’s sovereignty is logically false. If a man were to put an ant in a bowl, the “sovereignty” of the man over the ant is not in doubt. The ant may try to crawl out, and the man may not want this to happen. But the man is not forced to crush the ant, drown it, or pick it up. The man, for reasons of his own, may choose to let the ant crawl away, but the man is still in control. There is a difference between allowing the ant to leave the bowl and helplessly watching.

Imagining as it escapes. The animated version of God’s sovereignty suggests that if the man is not actively holding the ant inside the bowl, then he must be unable to keep it in there at all.

The depiction of the man and the ant is at least a loose comparison to God’s sovereignty over mankind. God has the capability to do anything, to take action and intervene in any situation, but He often chooses to act indirectly or to permit certain things for reasons of His own. His will is advanced in any case. God’s “sovereignty” means that He is absolute in authority and unrestricted in His supremacy. Everything that occurs is, at the very least, the result of God’s permissive will. This remains true even if certain specific things are not what He would prefer. The right of God to allow mankind’s free choices is just as essential for true sovereignty as His ability to enact His will, wherever and however He chooses.