Are you worried about a "terrific tornado?"
Let me pick up where I left off in my previous post. God willed us into Creation…
I think that if there is one thing that we can agree on it is that God chose to create the world, and by His will it was created. Let me refer again to Revelation 4:11:
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
If we can agree that God created the world by His own sovereign choice then we have a good starting point. And if we are saying that God created the material world by his own sovereign choice then I think that we must also admit that God sovereignly governs the material world. Why would God choose to create a world like a watchmaker would wind a watch, just to let it run on its own? If it was God’s will for the world to exists, why would He separate Himself from His creation?
Think for a moment about the implications of this type of Deism. If God was not in control of nature, and we were simply left governed by impersonal laws, where would that leave us?
If God is not in control how can we know for certain that the world will not be covered by the waters of a flood again? Sure God made a covenant with Noah, but if He is not in control…
A.W. Pink thoughts were this:
“If there is nothing more than impersonal laws of Nature regulating the wind then perhaps tomorrow, there may come a terrific tornado and sweep everything on the surface of the earth to destruction.”
If we deny that God is sovereignly in control of creation then any sense of security we might have is lost.
If God is not in control then we have a plethora of worries.
If we view God as in control in that he has established impersonal natural laws to governs the Earth then we must be very careful not to upset these laws, and in the end (because God has removed himself from direct control of the earth) there is no guarantee that these laws will be able to sustain themselves.
(This is the World View behind today’s extreme environmentalist. God is not at work in nature and therefore man has the ability to destroy nature. Have you ever put any thought into “global warming?” This idea that man has the ability to change the climate of the planet, and destroy nature is preposterous. We must remember that God is the one who controls the weather. Mankind has been given rule (to an extent) over the Earth, But God is the one who sovereignly rules it. But quite frankly I have ventured far enough off of the path on this issue.)
Scripture is not silent on God’s sovereign rule over creation, rather it is quite clear.
Look at Hebrews 1:3-4:
“And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”
When we read this we can be confident in Christ propiatory work because He is the one who “upholds all things by the word of His power.” Because God is in control we can have confidence that he will work his redemptive plan out to the finish.
What about Colossians 1:15-20:
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the {Father's} good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, {I say,} whether things on earth or things in heaven."
Christ is “before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Christ’s preeminence extends from all of creation (vss 15-16) to all of redemption (vss18-20).
There are many other passages that we could look at. But at this point I think that most would be in agreement that God is in sovereign over nature. But from the two passages that we just looked at this is not enough. God is not only sovereign over nature, but He is also sovereign over redemption. Both the Hebrews 11 passage, and the Colossians 1 passage links God’s sovereignty over creation with his sovereignty over redemption. The two are inseperable!
If a may digress for a moment…
As was stated earlier:
“Why would God choose to create a world like a watchmaker would wind a watch, just to let it run on its own? If it was God’s will for the world to exists why would He separate Himself from His creation?”
This speaks to God’s sovereignty over creation, but couldn’t the same truths be said about God’s sovereignty over redemption? Why would God choose to work out a redemptive plan for sinners, just to let it run on its own and see who will accept it? If it was God’s will for men to be saved why would He separate Himself from them to let them have the power to choose by themselves?
Let me stop here. I have a few more thoughts on this subject so look for me to pick up where I left off today.
I think that if there is one thing that we can agree on it is that God chose to create the world, and by His will it was created. Let me refer again to Revelation 4:11:
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
If we can agree that God created the world by His own sovereign choice then we have a good starting point. And if we are saying that God created the material world by his own sovereign choice then I think that we must also admit that God sovereignly governs the material world. Why would God choose to create a world like a watchmaker would wind a watch, just to let it run on its own? If it was God’s will for the world to exists, why would He separate Himself from His creation?
Think for a moment about the implications of this type of Deism. If God was not in control of nature, and we were simply left governed by impersonal laws, where would that leave us?
If God is not in control how can we know for certain that the world will not be covered by the waters of a flood again? Sure God made a covenant with Noah, but if He is not in control…
A.W. Pink thoughts were this:
“If there is nothing more than impersonal laws of Nature regulating the wind then perhaps tomorrow, there may come a terrific tornado and sweep everything on the surface of the earth to destruction.”
If we deny that God is sovereignly in control of creation then any sense of security we might have is lost.
If God is not in control then we have a plethora of worries.
If we view God as in control in that he has established impersonal natural laws to governs the Earth then we must be very careful not to upset these laws, and in the end (because God has removed himself from direct control of the earth) there is no guarantee that these laws will be able to sustain themselves.
(This is the World View behind today’s extreme environmentalist. God is not at work in nature and therefore man has the ability to destroy nature. Have you ever put any thought into “global warming?” This idea that man has the ability to change the climate of the planet, and destroy nature is preposterous. We must remember that God is the one who controls the weather. Mankind has been given rule (to an extent) over the Earth, But God is the one who sovereignly rules it. But quite frankly I have ventured far enough off of the path on this issue.)
Scripture is not silent on God’s sovereign rule over creation, rather it is quite clear.
Look at Hebrews 1:3-4:
“And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”
When we read this we can be confident in Christ propiatory work because He is the one who “upholds all things by the word of His power.” Because God is in control we can have confidence that he will work his redemptive plan out to the finish.
What about Colossians 1:15-20:
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the {Father's} good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, {I say,} whether things on earth or things in heaven."
Christ is “before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Christ’s preeminence extends from all of creation (vss 15-16) to all of redemption (vss18-20).
There are many other passages that we could look at. But at this point I think that most would be in agreement that God is in sovereign over nature. But from the two passages that we just looked at this is not enough. God is not only sovereign over nature, but He is also sovereign over redemption. Both the Hebrews 11 passage, and the Colossians 1 passage links God’s sovereignty over creation with his sovereignty over redemption. The two are inseperable!
If a may digress for a moment…
As was stated earlier:
“Why would God choose to create a world like a watchmaker would wind a watch, just to let it run on its own? If it was God’s will for the world to exists why would He separate Himself from His creation?”
This speaks to God’s sovereignty over creation, but couldn’t the same truths be said about God’s sovereignty over redemption? Why would God choose to work out a redemptive plan for sinners, just to let it run on its own and see who will accept it? If it was God’s will for men to be saved why would He separate Himself from them to let them have the power to choose by themselves?
Let me stop here. I have a few more thoughts on this subject so look for me to pick up where I left off today.
posted by Paul at 8:16 AM
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