The Intimate Sovereign Control Of God

THE BIBLE:

God is in intimate sovereign control over what the Bible means to each individual. God also is in control of the extent to which we will try to change the mind of others about the meaning of the Bible, and He controls the extent to which we will be successful in changing the mind of others. In fact, He has in universal control of all things! I personally believe that the Bible basically teaches the following things.


THE WILL OF GOD:

is in intimate and imminent sovereign control over the comparatively confined and limited will of every created being. There is no such thing as absolute "free will" except in the operation of God's own divine will. Every choice humans make are the product of influences that have been brought to bear upon them in the past, plus the influences that are being brought to bear upon them right now. God alone retains sovereign control over these influences and their accompanying circumstances. His sovereignty is in both allowance and restraint.


We are accountable for every choice but we are not ultimately responsible for every choice. God is. Choices we make are often the only one we could have made, and God will see to it that the result of every choice will be used to fit us into His master-plan in our own unique way. All loss is temporary. Even Esau's loss was only a loss from the human point of view. From God's point of view, Esau was fulfilling His predetermined plan for Him. From God's point of view Esau's apparent loss was God's way of fitting Esau into His master-plan in His own unique way. Even rewards are predetermined and are the result of responses to God's irresistible grace.


We differ from robots in a large extent because we have emotions and feelings. Satan's greatest delusion is that he thinks he has an absolute free will. Yet the Bible reveals he is merely a tool in the hands of God. Congruently, but not surprisingly, the absolute free will fallacy in reference to mankind is fallen humanity's greatest delusion as well.


Many believers in Christ suffer from this same delusion, but God is in intimate sovereign control over every delusion. Most believe that God will never influence His creatures against their will. However in countless cases He does influence their wills to change, for their own good, and for His own glory. The Bible is full of such examples. Even the lake of fire, which is the second death, is for the purpose of influencing our will for our own good. Everyone is believing what they are allowed or left to be believing at any given point in time. This is man's portion of free will. They will not, nor can they, change their beliefs until God specifically wants them to and therein divinely sets the process in motion.


SALVATION:

Even though man in his self-centred ego would like to think himself to be in control, God is in ultimate and intimate sovereign control of everyone's salvation. The essential meaning of salvation is that God will change every negative thing that happened into something better than if it had not happened, and God will do it for every created being that continues to exist, everyone without exception.


Salvation is always a process, a process wherein God, not man is in supreme sovereign control. It will be completed for the firstfruits of election at the first resurrection, and for the rest of mankind after the second resurrection. God alone, is in intimate sovereign control of the timing and activating of that process. He will not and cannot fail to fit everyone in a positive and predetermined way into His master-plan.


All the negative powers as well as the consequences of sin and evil will everywhere be eradicated from existence. God will not just make it up to us. He will not just do a patch-up job. He will not just bring things back to where they were before sin came on the scene. He will see to it that a far greater glory will result for everyone because of the allowance of sin and death. Had sin not temporarily prevailed, the glory that prevails beyond sin, would no doubt be diminished.


It should counted a privilege and a gift from God that He has allowed some in His irresistible grace to see into these mysteries in creation. Only a comparatively few people see these things, so they should consider themselves blessed. I also believe that God is in intimate sovereign control over the reaction of everyone who reads these words. GOD IS IN DIVINE, INTIMATE SOVEREIGN CONTROL OVER EVERYTHING ALL OF THE TIME! HE EVER ACTS, REACTS, DESISTS, REFRAINS OR WITHDRAWS AT ANY ONE TIME IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS OWN SUPREME WILL. IN HIS PROVIDENTIAL AUTHORITY AND DOMINION, HE IS NOT AT ALL AT ODDS OR IN CONFLICT WITH MAN'S DIVINELY ALLOTTED BUT SOVEREIGNLY RESTRICTED FREE WILL. In all of this it matters little whether we believe it or not! For if we do not yet believe it, God is in that as well!


For detailed scriptural support concerning these truths go to "For Who Hath Resisted His Will" and " God Omnipotent Reigneth".