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I eat because I'm hungry. I sleep because I'm tired. I work to earn the
money required to live. All my choices are dictated by the circumstances
that surround me. The books I read, the people I meet, the tapes I listen
to all influence the decisions I make. Understanding the Sovereignty of God is about understanding God's
control over my circumstances in accordance with His plan. What choice did
I have over the time and place of my birth, who my parents would be or the
environment I would grow up in? I think I have
a free will but how free is it really? Am I a "free agent" or is God
in control? Don't leave this area without reading 1. God's plan is eternal:,2. God's plan is unchangeable:3. The divine plan includes the future acts of men:4. The divine plan includes the fortuitous events or chance happenings:5. Some events are recorded as fixed or inevitably certain:6. Even the sinful acts of men are included in the plan and are overruled for good.1. God's plan is eternal:,II Tim. 1:9; (It is God) who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal. Ps. 33:11: The counsel of Jehovah standeth fast for ever, The thoughts of His heart to all generations. Is. 37:26: Hast thou not beard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? Is. 46:9,10 I am God and there is none like me; declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. II Thess. 2:13: God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Matt. 25:34: Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 1 Peter 1:20: (Christ) who (as a sacrifice for sin) was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world. Jer. 31:3: Jehovah appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Acts 15:18: Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old. Ps. 139:16: Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. 2. God's plan is unchangeable:James 1:17: Every good gift and every perfect gift Is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. Is. 14:24: Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as 1 have purposed, so shall it stand. Is. 46:10, 11: My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure: ... yea, I have spoken, and 1 will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, 1 will also do it. Nu. 23:19: God is not a man, that He should lie, Neither the son of man, that He should repent; Hath He said, and shall He not do it; Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make It good ? Mal. 3:6: 1, Jehovah, change not; therefore, ye, 0 sons of Jacob are not consumed. 3. The divine plan includes the future acts of men:Dan. 2:28: But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and He hath made known to the King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. John 6:64: For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who it was that should betray Him. Matt. 20:18, 19: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day He shall be raised up. (All the Scripture prophecies which are predictions of future events come under this heading. See especially: Micah 5:2; Cp. with Matt. 2:5, 6 and Luke 2:1-7; Ps. 22:18, Cp. John 19:24; Ps. 69:21, Cp. John 19:29; Zech. 12:10, Cp. John 19:37; Mark 14:30; Zech. 11:12, 13, CP. Matt. 27:9, 10; Ps. 34:19, 20, Cp. John 19:33, 36.) 4. The divine plan includes the fortuitous events or chance happenings:Prov. 16:33: The lot is cast into the lap; But the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah. Jonah 1:7: So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Acts 1:24. 26. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show of these two the one whom thou has chosen . . . And they cast lots for them; and the lot fell on Matthias. Job 36:32: He covereth His hands with the lightning, And giveth it a charge that it strike the mark. 1 Kings 22:28. 34: And Micaiah said, If thou (Ahab) return at all in peace, Jehovah hath not spoken by me . . . And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armour. Job .5:6.: For affliction cometh not forth from the dust; Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground. Mark 14:30: And Jesus said unto him (Peter), Verily 1 say unto thee, that thou, today, even this night. before the cock crow twice shall deny me thrice. (Cp. Gen. 37:28 and 45:5; Cp. 1 Sam. 9:15, 16 and 9:5-10.) 5. Some events are recorded as fixed or inevitably certain:Luke 22:22: For the Son of man indeed goeth, as it hath been determined; but woe unto that man through whom He is betrayed. John 8:20: These words spake He in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no man took Him; because His hour was not yet come. Matt. 24:36: But of that day and hour (the end of the world) knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. Gen. 41:32: And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established of God, and He will shortly bring it to pass. Hab. 2:3: For the vision is yet for the appointed time. and it hasteneth toward the end, and shall not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Luke 21:24: And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Jer. 15:2: And it shall come to pass when they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them. Thus saith Jehovah: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity. Job 14:5: Seeing that his days are determined, And the number of his months is with thee, And thou has appointed bounds that he cannot pass. Jer. 27:7: And all nations shall serve him (Nebuchadnezzar), and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come; and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondman. 6. Even the sinful acts of men are included in the plan and are overruled for good.Gen. 50:20: As for you, ye meant evil against me (Joseph), but God meant it for good. Is. 45:7: I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I am Jehovah that doeth all these things. Amo.s 3:6. Shall evil befall a city and Jehovah hath not done it? Acts 3:18: The things which God foreshowed by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer. He thus fulfilled. Matt. 21:42: The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner. Rom. 8:28: To them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to His purpose. |
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