God's Sovereign Control over Human Choices in Theology
God's Sovereign Control over Human Choices
The concept of God's sovereign control over human choices is rooted in biblical teachings that emphasize God's absolute authority and power over all aspects of life. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, God's sovereignty is defined as "his absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure" [1]. This understanding is supported by various biblical passages, including Daniel 4:25 and 35, Romans 9:15-23, and 1 Timothy 6:15.
The doctrine of predestination is closely related to God's sovereignty, as it concerns God's plan or purpose of salvation. Easton's Bible Dictionary notes that predestination refers to God's eternal, sovereign, and immutable decree regarding salvation [2]. The Greek word "predestinate" is used in several New Testament passages, including Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:5, 11, to describe God's foreordaining of individuals to salvation.
The biblical basis for God's sovereignty over human choices is evident in various passages. For instance, Daniel 4:17 states that God's decree is the determining factor in human affairs, while Psalm 82:1 emphasizes God's role as the ultimate judge. The apostle Paul also highlights God's sovereignty in 1 Corinthians 1:28, noting that God chose the lowly things of the world to bring to nothing the things that are.
Different Christian traditions have interpreted God's sovereignty in various ways. The Presbyterian tradition, as represented by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, understands God's foreknowledge as foreordination, emphasizing that God's sovereignty is not limited by human decisions [3]. In contrast, the Baptist/Reformed tradition, as represented by John Gill, emphasizes the role of God's decree in determining human affairs, while also acknowledging the importance of human responsibility [5].
The Methodist/Wesleyan tradition, as represented by Adam Clarke, highlights the paradoxical nature of God's sovereignty and human freedom, noting that God's appointment of means for salvation is "infinitely beyond the highest degree of human wisdom" [4]. The Nonconformist/Puritan tradition, as represented by Matthew Henry, emphasizes the importance of reverence for God's word, which is seen as the standard of righteousness and the basis for God's judgment [8].
The Protestant academic tradition, as represented by Tyndale House, notes that God's sovereignty is exercised over all aspects of creation, including the natural world and human history [6, 7]. According to this view, God's sovereignty is not limited to salvation, but extends to all areas of life.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Sovereignty — Of God, his absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure (Dan. 4:25, 35; Rom. 9:15-23; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11).”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Predestination — This word is properly used only with reference to God's plan or purpose of salvation. The Greek word rendered "predestinate" is found only in these six passages, Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29, 30; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:5, 11; and in all of them it has the same meaning. They teach that the eternal, sovereign, immutable, and unconditional decree or "determinate purpose" of God governs all events. This doctrine of predestination or election is beset with many difficulties. It belongs to the "secret things" of God. But if we take the revealed word of God as our guid”
- 1 Peter (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Peter 1:2: foreknowledge--foreordaining love (Pe1 1:20), inseparable from God's foreknowledge, the origin from which, and pattern according to which, election takes place. Act 2:23, and Rom 11:2, prove "foreknowledge" to be foreordination. God's foreknowledge is not the perception of any ground of action out of Himself; still in it liberty is comprehended, and all absolute constraint debarred [ANSELM in STEIGER]. For so the Son of God was "foreknown" (so the Greek for "foreordained," Pe1 1:20) to be the sacrificial Lamb, not against, or without His will, but His ”
- 1 Corinthians (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 1:25: The foolishness of God is wiser, etc. - The meaning of these strong expressions is, that the things of God's appointment, which seem to men foolishness, are infinitely beyond the highest degree of human wisdom; and those works of God, which appear to superficial observers weak and contemptible, surpass all the efforts of human power. The means which God has appointed for the salvation of men are so wisely imagined and so energetically powerful, that all who properly use them shall be infallibly brought to the end - final blessedness, which he has promised to ”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 2:2: But we are sure that the judgment of God,.... By "the judgment of God", is not meant what is exercised on and towards men in this life, but what will follow after death; which is called judgment to come, is represented as certain, will be universal as to persons and things, and is here called "the judgment of God", in opposition to the judgment of men; and because it will be carried on by God only, who is omniscient and omnipotent, and will be definitive: this is and will be, according to truth, against them which commit such things; in opposition to all hypocrisy an”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 107:33: 107:33-42 These two sections (107:33-38, 39-42) expand the theme of the Lord’s sovereignty over things that humans cannot control. 107:33-35 The Lord can choose to make the earth fertile or barren (74:15; Isa 35:6-7).”
- Daniel (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Daniel 4:35: 4:35 He does as he pleases: God has absolute power in heaven and on earth.”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:142: Observe, 1. That God's word is righteousness, and it is an everlasting righteousness. It is the rule of God's judgment, and it is consonant to his counsels from eternity and will direct his sentence for eternity. The word of God will judge us, it will judge us in righteousness, and by it our everlasting state will be determined. This should possess us with a very great reverence for the word of God that it is righteousness itself, the standard of righteousness, and it is everlasting in its rewards and punishments. 2. That God's word is a law, and that law is tr”