I must say that this (above) is a simplistic and doctrinaire statement which if believed would tend to kill all sense of responsibility on our part. It would tend to excuse us from obedience to the word of God.
Cool! It’s all up to God. Let’s party.
We must certainly accept God’s KINGSHIP– His right to rule over us and our vital need to obey Him and to depend on Him.
Sadly we mostly disobey Him and yet he loves us and woos us back.
He has given us the awesome facility to reject His loving ways of freedom and wholeness and choose the pathetic lies of the evil one. Eve and then Adam in the garden for starters.
The “sovereignty of God” in those stated terms is a doctrine. But is it what Jesus taught and lived out? God loves us–He acts by our relationship with Him, lavishing grace, mercy, blessing and glory by us becoming his lovers, indwelt by God Himself, the person of the Holy Spirit actually living within us! We are His Children, He is our Father. We are encouraged by Jesus to treat Him as far more generous than any earthly father.
Permission? Actually the Biblical narrative has many examples of the way he seeks our cooperation and partnership in carrying out His will. Here are two examples . . . .
God never acted in the story of the Exodus without securing the cooperation of Moses. Simply extraordinary. Moses has to obey God before the waters opened up and then again when God commanded the return of the waters Moses cooperated!
God calls the young girl Mary to bear the baby Jesus and waits for her response! She responds with “OK, according to your word, Lord”.
Many other examples abound in the Bible.
God commands us to pray unceasingly in the Spirit, to make disciples, to heal the sick, to cast out demons, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to walk in purity and holiness. To all these callings we must respond willingly and wholeheartedly. Because these are what our sovereign Lord, or Abba Father desires.
We pray to the Lord God, our King of Kings, who is able to do anything we ask—that is His wonderful “sovereignty”.
So will we respond in obedience? or will we just say “well it’s all up to God–let Him do whatever?”
Ian Thomson 