Articles
God’s Sovereignty…Over Creation
Dictionary.com defines sovereignty as “having supreme power or authority” and “dominion, power or authority.” True sovereignty means having the right and ability to do whatever you want to do and never having to answer to anyone for your actions. It is being devoid of consequences imposed from an outside power or authority.
Today, we will look at God’s sovereignty in Creation. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Everything that is, is because He made it. Being the Creator carries with it the right over that creation: The right to make or destroy at will; the right to elevate or bring down at will; and the right to command and expect obedience at will.
In Roman’s 9:21, Paul asks, “Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” God, as nature’s Potter, can do with nature whatever He wills. Consider these examples of God’s sovereignty over nature:
- Exodus 14 God commands the wind to split the Red Sea and then returns the sea when He wills it
- Jonah 2 God creates a fish to swallow Jonah and then spit him out unharmed 3 days later
- Numbers 22 God causes the donkey to speak and teach Balaam a lesson
- Mark 4 Jesus rebukes the storm and immediately, it calms
- Exodus 17 God commands a rock to provide water to the people
- 1 Kings 17 God commands ravens to feed Elijah
- Jeremiah 5 God sets the boundaries of the seas, and they obey His limits
- Genesis 7 God commands animals to enter the ark, and they obey
King David understood that God is sovereign over the nature of man. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Ps 139:13-16)
Because God created man, no one can condemn God for how He chooses to create men. Moses said “no” to God’s call because he couldn’t speak well. How did God respond? “Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Ex 4:11)
God created the laws of nature, and all His creation obeys those laws. But as sovereign, He can, and at times, has caused his creation to act outside those laws. The power of the One we obey is immense, unlimited, and answers to no one, or no thing.
