Dispensationalism and the Doctrine of Election

Refutation of Calvinism, Arminianism, and Covenant Theology

Chapter Six
Sovereignty:What Does it Mean?

     Trying to understand, let alone describe, God’s sovereignty is pretty much an operation in futility. Can the finite comprehend the infinite? Even when the Infinite One seeks to aid us with revelation of Himself in considerable detail, we must admit that no matter how logical and meticulous we try to be in interpreting all that data, we are going to miserably fail in being able to systematize it all into a congruous and harmonious understanding of Who God is and in understanding how He operates. This has been the failure of all logical systems of theology such as Augustinianism, Calvinism and Arminianism as well as all of the self-propagating constituents of these systems of logic. The problem begins the moment we take logic or rationalism one-step beyond the revelation of the inspired Scriptures

     Like a Pendulum, logical systems of theology only stop at the extremes. The logical systems of theology (using Aristotelian Syllogism) always lead adherents into extremes. Logical systems of theology such as Augustinianism and Calvinism lead adherents to the extreme of Closed Theism (Determinism or Fatalism). Logical systems of theology such as Arminianism lead adherents to the extreme of Open Theism (Neotheism, Chaos or, Deism). Most theologians following either of these systems of logic attempt to argue themselves away from the extremes. Some merely accept the extremes and propagate them as the only acceptable truth labeling any other position as heretical.

     Dispensationalist and Covenant Theologians have all had their own problems and variations of discussion around the issue of God’s sovereignty. These discussions have been wide and diverse in their approaches to this issue. Within Dispensationalism, the Theological discussion of God’s sovereignty centers on the discussion of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven and how these two Kingdoms differ and/or relate. The discussion varies on these two Kingdoms between Traditional Dispensationalist, Revised Dispensationalist and, Progressive Dispensationalist. Many individuals, who claim to be Dispensationalists and who are part of all three of these variations of Dispensationalism, may also consider themselves in varying degrees of Reformed Theology in their Soteriology.

     Traditional or Classic Dispensationalist saw the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven as distinct from one another. This position would have included such men as John N. Darby, Clarence Larkin, C.I. Scofield, Lewis S. Chafer, and Charles C. Ryrie (in the 1950s).1 This position would have aligned with the notes in the original 1917 Edition of the Scofield Reference Bible. The Revised Dispensationalist of the 1950s through the 1970s revised the traditional position on the two Kingdoms in two ways.2 The Editors of the New Scofield Reference Bible took the position that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven were interchangeable, but distinct. Others taking this revised position were Alva J. McClain, J. Dwight Pentecost, and John F. Walvoord. Others of this time period saw the two Kingdoms as synonymous with no distinction. This would have included Eric Sauer, Clarence E. Mason, Charles C. Ryrie (who changed his position in the 1970s), and Stanley D. Toussaint.3

     I personally would align myself with the position of the Traditional Dispensationalists seeing a clear distinction between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. I believe the problem that creates the other two positions is the failure to see levels of sovereignty as decreed by God. When God “created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), He created a physical existence that was considerably different than the existence in which He lived. He is sovereign over both of these existences; His own eternal existence and all that dwell with Him in that existence. The Kingdom of Heaven is a created existence of time, space, and matter. God retains sovereignty over that existence as well.

     However, God gave sovereignty (“dominion”) of the Kingdom of Heaven to Adam who relinquished that sovereignty to Satan when Adam chose to disobey God. Therefore, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are distinct. However, the Kingdom of Heaven continues to be under the sovereignty of God in that God has retained the authority of both judgment and condemnation within the lower Kingdom of Heaven. We know this because, although God gave dominion of the original creation (the Kingdom of Heaven) to Adam, God retained dominion or sovereignty over Adam when God retained sovereignty over “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17).

     Therefore, when Adam relinquished the dominion of the Kingdom of Heaven to Satan and Satan became “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), God retained sovereignty over Satan and could curse him and condemn the original creation to destruction (Genesis 3:14-19). Dispensationalism then becomes the historical paradigms through which God will restore dominion of the Kingdom of Heaven through the incarnation of the Son of God and through His death, burial, resurrection, glorification, and return to earth as the Last Adam of the New Genesis “in Christ.” These two kingdoms will always be distinct in that ultimately God will destroy the original creation and the Kingdom of Heaven over which Christ reigns sovereign will be melded into the Kingdom of God in “the regeneration” and the creation of a New Heaven/Earth.

     Within the varying circles of Covenant Theology (including both Calvinism and Arminianism), the Theological (pronounced: in-tl-ek-choo-uhl) discussion in this arena of logic involving God’s sovereignty usually centers on the meaning of words such as decreed, determined, ordained, foreordained, appointed and, predestined. The problems develop when the grammatical definitions of these words are taken beyond their contextual applications. Logic is naturally anthropomorphic. Secondly, logic tends to treat infinite things as finite things and incomprehensible things as comprehensible. Therefore, logic is fatally flawed as a methodology to establish a Systematic Theology. (That does not mean that Theology is illogical or alogical.) Thirdly, logic often results in eisegesis; logical suppositions of meaning are taken beyond Biblical usage and these meanings are then injected into the interpretation of Scripture. Such is the case when Calvinists take the verse, “for God so loved the world,” and inject their suppositions regarding election to make the verse say, “for God so loved the elect;” or when the Word of God’s says “whosoever,” they interpret that to mean “whosoever of the elect.”

     Calvinists tend to be Monothetic regarding God’s Sovereignty or Will. For the Calvinist, whatever God has decreed, willed, commanded or ordained must come to pass. What God decrees, God must cause to happen. Calvinists cannot separate God’s foreknowledge of future events from God’s ordination/decrees in His prophetic revelation of His unfolding historical Plan of the Ages. In this Monothetic approach, God’s Sovereignty (Lordship) must translate into God’s Mastery (control).

     “Monothetic and Polythetic Definitions - deriving from Greek for either one, alone (mono-) or many, much (poly-) that are ‘capable of placing,’ as in one-placement and many-placements. Monothetic definitions, which can be essentialist or functionalist, presume a limited set of necessary characteristics or purposes whereas polythetic (or what might also be termed multi-factoral) definitions identify a range of traits or functions, none of which is sufficient in order for the object to qualify as a member of a class.” (http://www.as.ua.edu/rel/aboutreldefinitions.html)

     The fact is that the Scriptural pattern is usually just the opposite of this Monothetic view of God’s Sovereignty/Will. What God is actually in His existence does not necessarily translate into what God is practically in the believer’s life and in this world. What do I mean by that? Simply, God’s will is not always obeyed. God’s authority can be rejected. This is called rebellion. We can emphatically declare that Jesus is Lord (the Sovereign). He is ALWAYS Lord, whether or not a person acknowledges His Lordship. The practical issue of Christ’s Lordship has to do with a believer yielding his will to the will of God (Romans 6:11-13). This does not MAKE Christ Lord. Neither does yielding bring the believer’s life within or under the Lordship of Christ because all lives exist under the Lordship of Christ. Yielding merely reaps the practical benefits of the Lordship of Christ upon the yielded believer’s life.

     “The term Lord in Acts 16:31 - or anywhere else it is used of Christ - does not mean Master over one’s life. Rather it is a descriptive title of who He is - the sovereign God”4

      There is a big difference in the meaning of the words control and cause. The pre-determination (to determine outcomes beforehand, foreknowledge; knowledge of what will actually happen in time before it actually happens in time) of something happening is not the same as causing something to happen. If I know all the facts about something, I can determine and foreknow the outcome without causing the outcome. For instance, a drunkard gets into a car with a .2 blood/alcohol level. He will drive that car in excess of 120 miles an hour on a curved road. The road will be icy in spots. A deer will jump out of the woods at mile marker 121 just before a curve in the road near a ravine to the right side of the road the man is driving on. The drunkard will swerve right to miss the deer. The drunkard will drive into that ravine and the steering wheel will crush his heart causing massive heart failure. From knowing all of these facts, I can determine the outcome. The more perfect my knowledge, the more perfect is my determination. The question then must be raised; just because I foreknew all the details, was I in any way the cause of his death?

     This leads us to a dictionary and grammatical definition of sovereignty. In most part, the definition of sovereignty has more to do with authority or Lordship than it has to do with cause or control. God’s sovereignty has more to do with Him regulating His creation than controlling/causing every decision. That does not mean God is not exerting His influence on every decision or, that in certain cases, He does not override certain decisions by divine interference. God is certainly involved in both the macro and micro management of the affairs of this world. Undoubtedly, God is sovereign. However discovering how God’s sovereignty extends into God’s creation is how we must define God’s sovereignty.

sov•er•eign•ty (n. pl. sov•er•eign•ties)

 1. Supremacy of authority or rule as exercised by a sovereign or sovereign state.

 2. Royal rank, authority, or power.

 3. Complete independence and self-government.

 4. A territory existing as an independent state.

 Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

 Sov•er•eign•ty: Variant: also sov•ran•ty /'sä-vr&n-tE, 's&-, -v&-r&n-/ Function: noun; Inflected Form: plural –ties

1 a : supreme power esp. over a body politic b : freedom from external control

 2 : one that is sovereign; especially : an autonomous state

 Source: Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

 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).

Source: Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary

     “Sovereignty in government is that public authority which directs or orders what is to be done by each member associated in relation to the end of the association. It is the supreme power by which any citizen is governed and is the person or body of persons in the state to whom there is politically no superior. The necessary existence of the state and that right and power which necessarily follow is ‘sovereignty.’ By ‘sovereignty’ in its largest sense is meant supreme, absolute, uncontrollable power, the absolute right to govern. The word which by itself comes nearest to being the definition of ‘sovereignty��� is will or volition as applied to political affairs.”

Source: Black’s Law Dictionary; Sixth Edition

     Sovereignty is primarily a term of governance. In secular use, it relates primarily to issues of law, government, and jurisprudence. Theologically the word carries similar meaning. Understanding this defines the issue of God’s Absolute Will as it relates to man’s will (Individual Soul Liberty). Defining these issues can only be accomplished through understanding the application of these terms within the context of that use in Scripture. The context is exemplary and, resultantly, definitive. We must be cautious not to read more into the definition of sovereignty than the examples of historical application and revelatory statements allow. This moves us first to the definition of Theism.

     “Theism denotes a supernatural, infinite, personal Being who created the material universe and who transcends it. The theist God can and does intervene in the world in a supernatural way from time to time.”5

     This is a simple definition of Theism. Theism is the cognizance of who God is, what He has done, and involves the believer in discerning God through the revelation of His past interventions within His creation and in interaction with His creatures. However, Theism becomes finite and philosophical in its definitions of who God is when we consider it involves the finite human cognizance of an infinite God.

     “The ETYMOLOGY of the word theism would give it a wide application, but in common usage it has come to mean a belief in God, and incorporates a system of beliefs which constitutes a philosophy, restricted, indeed, somewhat to those findings and conclusions which human reason suggests. . . In the Bible, man is ever reminded of the fact of his own limitations and of the knowledge-surpassing perfections of God. Antitheistic agnosticism has taken refuge in the denial of divine cognizability; but there is a true knowledge of God – true as far as it is able to go – which does not fully comprehend its subject. Such incompleteness, indeed, may be predicated of very much if not all of human cognizance. In his defense of antitheistic agnosticism, Hamilton declared: ‘The last and highest consecration of all true religion must be an altar . . . to the unknown or unknowable God.’ ”6

     This is not to say that Theism cannot be definitive to a great degree. Although God is incomprehensible, He is knowable to the degree He has revealed Himself through Scripture and His historical interactions with mankind. Exegesis is about the careful evaluation and discernment of God’s revelation regarding His attributes and character. Therefore, logic and human reason must take extreme care in not going beyond God’s revelation of Himself to extrapolate a God that really does not exist, thereby creating a philosophical idol.

     To begin a study of God’s Sovereignty, we must begin with the beginning of His revelation; i.e., Genesis. “In the beginning God” issued various sovereign decrees. He said “let there be” and there was. God’s decrees are relevant to the way God governs His creation. God has creative decrees where He causes what He decrees and physical decrees (the Laws of Physics) where He creates a system of laws by which His creation subsists or by which it is governed. The sovereign degrees of God’s creation encompass all the Laws of Physics that govern God’s creation.

“9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:9-12).

“22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. 23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. 24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; 25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: 27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out” (Job 28:22-27).

“4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, 10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? 12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? 14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. 15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken. 16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? 17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? 18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all. 19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof, 20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? 21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great? 22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, 23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? 24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth? 25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; 26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; 27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? 28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew? 29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? 30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? 32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? 33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? 34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? 35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? 36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart? 37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven, 38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? 39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, 40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? 41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat” (Job 38:4-41).

“22 The LORD possessed me {wisdom} in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. 27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: 29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: 30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; 31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:22-31).

“21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: 22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it” (Jeremiah 5:21-22)?

     There are also judicial decrees from God. This is the primary meaning of the word decree in Scripture. All of God’s commandments would come under this category of God’s decrees. It is important to note that judicial decrees carry with them judicial consequences should they be disobeyed. Soul Liberty is relevant only to God’s judicial decrees. The first of these judicial decrees is found in Genesis 2:15-17.

“15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:15-17).

An important issue here is that both the transcendence of God’s sovereignty and His immanency are embodied in the decree given by God to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17. Although God gave Adam dominion over all God’s creation, God retained His dominion over Adam’s soul and the souls of all mankind in Adam.

“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).

     In God’s creation of Adam, He created him as a free moral agent. God created man with moral consciousness and with the knowledge of right and wrong and a conscience intended to direct man in making moral choices. The human conscience works synergistically with God’s known judicial degrees and the influence of the Holy Spirit operating in the world. When the conscience comes to the place of a moral decision/choice, God’s judicial decrees must be considered along with their consequences and a moral or immoral choice is made in the exercise of the will given by God to all mankind. When a man makes a decision of the will contrary to God’s decree, the judicial consequences of that decision are enforced by God. The enforcement can come in the form of chastisement in this life, loss of rewards for a believer in eternity or, God’s eternal judgment in the “second death” for the lost.

     These three categories of decrees involve hundreds of individual decrees from God. Beyond these individual decrees we find an all encompassing decree of God in the progressive unfolding of “the regeneration.” We call this unfolding plan of God, Dispensationalism. This “regeneration” is the eternal purpose in God’s decrees to His own glory. All that God does within the time/space/matter of the original creation is to bring souls lost in the condemnation of the Adamic Fall into “the regeneration” to the full revelation of all that God is in His majestic attributes and character to which lost man is “blinded” by satanic deception and corruption of Truth.

     We might say that “the regeneration” is God’s ultimate purpose in His Eternal Decree to His own glory. Each dispensation is an individual decree within God’s Eternal Decree for the same purposes (“the regeneration” and bringing God glory). God’s individual decrees are always in perfect alignment with His Eternal Decree down through the Ages. Understanding how these decrees are fulfilled in the Eternal Plan of God and how God’s purposes are realized within the human predicament of a fallen creation involves numerous factors. First, this involves God and all of His attributes within the human predicament. This involves God’s omnipotence, His omnipresence and, His omniscience. It involves the Holiness that God is. It involves the Love that God is. It involves the Truth/Wisdom that God is. It involves God’s grace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, mercy, wrath, justice and, immutability.

     Beside all of this, God has chosen/elected to use human agents synergistically in the realization of His Eternal Plan. Historically, down through the Ages, God has chosen/elected the nation of Israel, the Church and, individuals within these two elect groups to accomplish His decrees. He then anoints or fills (depending on which dispensation the individual lives in) those individuals with His Holy Spirit to supernaturally enable them to fulfill the purposes to which they were/are called. The message of the gospel and the promise of a Savior is a hand-me-down truth to which every new generation is both responsible and accountable to distribute and propagate, beginning with the message of Genesis 3:15 to the intricate details of the gospel in the epistle to the Romans. Believers down through the Ages are culpable for the dissemination of the message of God’s redemption in the Promised One. This is one of God’s decrees within His Eternal Decree.

“18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).

      When considering God’s sovereignty, it is important to differentiate between God’s foreknowledge and God’s foreordination. Some questions must be asked and answered. Does God foreknow the outcome of His Eternal Plan because He has foreordained/caused (predestined) every detail of history resulting in a predetermined outcome (Monothetism/Determinism/Monergism or Fatalism)? Does God foreknow the outcome of His Eternal Plan merely because He is omniscient and knows all things actual and all things possible (Neotheism)? Is God dependent upon human agents to accomplish His Eternal Plan and outcomes (Humanism)? Or, is God actively involved in every minute detail of His creation through the omni-influence of His Spirit, through progressive revelation, through the ordination of kings, prophets, priests, apostles, evangelists and pastors/teachers, through the judgment of nations and, through dispensational transitions (Synergistic Theism)? It seems apparent to me that this latter scenario is what we consistently see through progressive revelation in God’s Word.

      We can answer these questions by quoting a number of proof texts taken out of context (Calvinism is primarily a Proof Text Theology) or we can answer these questions with the overwhelming inductive evidences of historical examples provided to us by God through His progressive revelation of His operations within the human predicament (Sola Scriptura).

     Would the earth ever have been populated if Adam and Eve had not obeyed God’s decree to “be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28)? Did God cause them or force them to produce children or did they choose to obey His decree? Where would mankind be today if Noah had not obeyed God’s decree to build a giant boat for a flood that would come a hundred years later? Did God cause Noah or force Noah to build the Ark or did Noah choose to obey God’s decree? Where would mankind be if God had not interfered in the judgment of the decadence of the human race through a universal flood? Did God cause or force the unbelieving world to reject His offer to go into the Ark or did they choose to disobey and reject His offer? We could go on and on. The idea here is that God worked miraculously and intricately through hundreds/thousands/millions of human agents and their innumerable failures to accomplish his ultimate goals: to bring about “the regeneration” and bring glory to His Name. I believe this takes God’s sovereignty to the infinite degree it deserves and the degree in which it actually exists. That God could instrument and orchestrate His ultimate purposes through all of this only magnifies His attributes and infinitely glorifies Him throughout history.

“5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. 7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: 13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory” (Isaiah 46:5-13).

     Joseph is certainly a good example of how God’s instrumentation and orchestration brought good results out of a bad situation. The extreme Calvinist would say God decreed the sin of Joseph’s brothers when they sold him into slavery. In other words, God caused the sin in order to bring about the outcomes that He wanted. That is a blasphemous proposition. Secondly, and most importantly, this is not what the Scriptures say regarding this.

“15 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. 16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, 17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. 19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them” (Genesis 50:15-21).

     God never is the cause of sin. God does not even tempt with sin (James 1:13). Simply because He foreknows the outcomes and is able through His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence to instrument and orchestrate good results out of sinful actions does not mean He caused those sinful actions in any way. The idea that God causes sin is a manifestation of a very low view of God, His holiness and, His sovereignty. However, God can work good out of the consequences of sinful actions. In fact, He promises He will do that for “them that love” Him.

“26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:26-28).

     Acts of sin, either our own or the sin of others in our immediate association, can bring us into horrendous and seemingly hopeless situations due to the natural consequences of sin or the supernatural chastisement of God. The great truth of God’s omni-influence is that He never leaves His chosen alone in the human predicament of sin merely to fend for themselves. God is always with them intimately and immediately working “all things . . . together for good . . . according to his purpose.” This is what defines God’s sovereignty. I like what A.T. Robertson7 says about Romans 8:26:

     “Here beautifully Paul pictures the Holy Spirit taking hold at our side at the very time of our weakness (associative instrumental case) and before too late.”

     Amos 3:6 is a text quoted by extreme Calvinists to support their idea that God causes “evil.” They do this knowing they take this verse completely out of the context of God’s chastisement upon the children of Israel for their sin. There is an “evil” which is immoral sin. God does not do this. There is also an “evil,” which is the consequences of sin, i.e., unpleasant and hurtful results of chastisement. God allows this.

“1 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? 5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it” (Amos 3:1-6)?

E. B. Pusey8 quotes Augustine on Amos 3:6.

     “Is there evil in the city and the Lord hath not done it? - Evil is of two sorts, evil of sin, and evil of punishment. There is no other; for evil of nature, or evil of fortune, are evils, by God’s Providence, punishing the evil of sin. Augustine, c. Adim. 26: ‘Evil, which is sin, the Lord hath not done; evil, which is punishment for sin, the Lord bringeth.’ The Providence of God governing and controlling all things, man doth ill which he wills, so as to suffer ill which he wills not. Only, evil which is by God’s Providence the punishment of sin is in this life remedial and through final impenitence alone becomes purely judicial.”

     Did God create beings that are evil? Yes, everything that exists came from God’s creative acts. However, God did not create evil beings. Evil beings became evil because they chose to oppose God’s order. God did not create evil beings. God gave dominion of all of His creation, including Angels, to Adam. In God’s order, angels became the servants of man. Some angels rebelled against that order and began to oppose God’s order by seeking to destroy mankind. They would seek to accomplish their purpose by tempting and influencing man to sin and thereby bring God’s judgment upon sin. God restrains their operations through the omni-influence of His Spirit and “in wrath remember[s] mercy” (Hab. 3:2).

     God’s judgment upon nations and His chastisement upon His children are accomplished by merely removing His restraint by degrees upon the destructive forces of evil. This is what we find in the book of Revelation during the time referred to as the Tribulation. As God progressively removes His restraint upon evil by degrees, the destructive forces of evil will be released more and more into world causing more and more destruction. God does not cause the evil. He simply removes His restraint upon the evil that already exists (as an act of justice/judgment and wrath).

     Another area of confusion regarding God’s sovereignty is the doctrine of ordination. The word translated “ordain” in the Old Testament Scriptures is the Hebrew word `asah (aw-saw'). It is used in a very broad sense throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. It is used of things men ordain and it is used of things God ordains. It is used of things God creates (“made,” Gen. 1:7, 16, 25, 26, 31, 2:2, 3, 4; etc.) and of what the thing made produces (“yielding,” Gen. 1:11-12). It is used of the things man does (Gen. 3:13). It is even used of things Satan does (Gen. 3:14). The Theological Workbook of the Old Testament9 provides some interesting insight into the use of this word.

     “When used of God, the word frequently emphasizes God’s acts in the sphere of history. These contexts stress one of the most basic concepts of OT theology, i.e. that God is not only transcendent, but he is also immanent in history, effecting his sovereign purpose. Moses could recall God’s great acts in Egypt, reminding the people of all that God ‘did’ (Deut. 29:1). That which God has done to the nations is a testimony to God’s intervention in history (Josh 23:3). Solomon, in his dedicatory prayer, could beseech God to ‘act’ (I Kgs 8:39). The word `asah is often used of signs and wonders performed by God in the course of history (Joh 24:17; Psalm 98:1; Isa 25:1), demonstrating again the heavy emphasis in the OT on the immanence of God.”

     A critical error of both Calvinism and Arminianism is that they equate God’s predestination with God’s election in the supposition that God has chosen certain individuals to be saved from eternal condemnation. They like to quote Acts 13:48 to Proof Text this point of their theology, when in fact this text does not mean what they say it means at all. “And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”

      “As the Gentiles heard this they were glad (akouonta ta ethnê echairon). Present active participle of akouô and imperfect active of chairô, linear action descriptive of the joy of the Gentiles. Glorified the word of God (edoxazon ton logon tou theou). Imperfect active again. The joy of the Gentiles increased the fury of the Jews. ‘The synagogue became a scene of excitement which must have been something like the original speaking with tongues’ (Rackham). The joy of the Gentiles was to see how they could receive the higher blessing of Judaism without circumcision and other repellent features of Jewish ceremonialism. It was the gospel of grace and liberty from legalism that Paul had proclaimed. Whether Ga 4:13 describes this incident or not (the South Galatian theory), it illustrates it when Gentiles received Paul as if he were Christ Jesus himself. It was triumph with the Gentiles, but defeat with the Jews. As many as were ordained to eternal life (hosoi êsan tetagmenoi eis zôên aiônion). Periphrastic past perfect passive indicative of tassô, a military term to place in orderly arrangement. The word ‘ordain’ is not the best translation here. ‘Appointed,’ as Hackett shows, is better. The Jews here had voluntarily rejected the word of God. On the other side were those Gentiles who gladly accepted what the Jews had rejected, not all the Gentiles. Why these Gentiles here ranged themselves on God’s side as opposed to the Jews Luke does not tell us. This verse does not solve the vexed problem of divine sovereignty and human free agency. There is no evidence that Luke had in mind an absolutum decretum of personal salvation. Paul had shown that God’s plan extended to and included Gentiles. Certainly the Spirit of God does move upon the human heart to which some respond, as here, while others push him away. Believed (episteusan). Summary or constative first aorist active indicative of pisteuô. The subject of this verb is the relative clause. By no manner of legerdemain can it be made to mean ‘those who believe were appointed.’ It was saving faith that was exercised only by those who were appointed unto eternal life, who were ranged on the side of eternal life, who were thus revealed as the subjects of God’s grace by the stand that they took on this day for the Lord. It was a great day for the kingdom of God.” (Underlining added)

     Henry Alford11 also makes a detailed explanation of Acts 13:48 contradicting the suppositions of Calvinism imposed upon this text.

     “The meaning of [tetagmenoi] must be determined by the context. The Jews had judged themselves unworthy of eternal life: the Gentiles, as many as were disposed to eternal life, believed. By whom so disposed, is not here declared: nor need the word be in this place further particularized. We know that it is God who worketh in us the will to believe, and that the preparation of the heart is of Him: but to find in this text pre-ordination to life asserted, is to force both the word and the context to a meaning which they do not contain. The key to the word here is the comparison of ref. [I Cor. 16:15 and Rom. 13:1] in both of which places the agents are expressed, whereas here the word is absolute. See also ch. xx.13…” [English alphabetizing of the Greek added.]

     The most critical argument against the abuse of God’s sovereignty as defined by particular election or God’s foreordination of particular individuals to eternal life is God’s Word itself.

“1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:1-6).

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9).

“11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:11-14).