What does the word sovereignty mean? What is a sovereign? We don’t use the word very often in the United States today, because a sovereign is a king – one who rules over his subjects. So, when we speak of God’s sovereignty, what are we talking about? When we speak of God as a Sovereign, we speak of his rule over everything in the universe.

Abraham Kuyper, a Dutch theologian and prime minister once said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” R.C. Sproul put it this way:

If there is one molecule in this universe running around loose outside the scope or the sphere of God’s divine control and authority and power, then that single maverick molecule may be the grain of sand that changes the entire course of human history, that blocks God from keeping the promises he has made to his people.

As we know, God created everything that exists. Scripture opens with those famous words, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), and the writer to the Hebrews tells us, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). God created all things, so he is the Author of all things. And, as the Author of all things, he has authority over them. The idea of God’s sovereignty presupposes God’s creation. Without God’s creation of all things, he would not be the Sovereign Ruler of all things.

But, when we speak of God’s sovereign rule over creation, to what extent does he rule? Just how much is he involved in this universe which he has created? In speaking to his disciples to comfort them, Jesus once said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows: (Matthew 10:29-31). God’s sovereign, watchful care extends even to the sparrows. He has even determined the number of hairs upon our very heads. Without getting overwhelmed with the minute details, God is all-knowing, and his rule extends to all things.

God’s sovereignty means that God does whatever he pleases. Actually, he is the only Person who has free will. In the Psalms we read, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3), and “Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps” (Psalm 135:6). Paul writes, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” (Romans11:34). Of course, the answer is “No one.” God does not have to answer to anyone for his actions, because there is no one greater than he.

After his God-induced bout of madness, Nebuchadnezzar declared:

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:34-35)

God does what he pleases, and he wants to do the best for his people. Therefore, Paul writes that, “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Proverbs 16:4 tells us that “The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” Even the actions of the wicked are used by God to accomplish his plan for his people. When Joseph’s brothers came to him fearing his retribution for their evil deeds toward him, he said, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:19-20).

At times he may chastise his people, in order to draw them back to himself. Thus we read in Scripture, “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). And, Amos asked, “Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?” What appears to us as both good and bad come from the Lord, in order to make us what he would have us to be.

Lastly, many complain that the idea of the sovereignty of God removes man’s responsibility and free agency. If God works all things toward the accomplishment of his will, then man is merely a robot or a puppet in the hands of a much stronger God. This, however, is not the case. Scripture itself speaks many times of man’s responsibility for his own actions. God simply allows those actions to take place and then uses them as they occur. The strongest example of this is presented in Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. In speaking of Jesus Christ, Peter said, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know – this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:22-23).

As Peter said, Jesus was delivered up to be crucified in God’s plan. God sent his Son into the world to die (John 3:16). But he was crucified by evil and lawless men. God did not make those men kill his Son. It was their own wicked action. Yet, God knew their hearts, and he knew that they hated his Son. Therefore, he used their wicked actions to kill his Son as the innocent sacrifice for the sins of his people. Thus, his plan was accomplished, and wicked men were responsible for their sin.