The doctrine of God’s sovereignty affirms all things are under His rule and that nothing in the universe happens unless He either causes or permits it. I love these quotes from J. I. Packer about God’s sovereignty:
“Men treat God’s sovereignty as a theme for controversy, but in Scripture it is a matter for worship.” (Affirming the Apostles’ Creed)
“To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints.” (Hot Tub Religion)
Here are several verses that speaks of God’s sovereignty:
“Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (Isaiah 46:10)
“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” (Proverbs 21:1)
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” (Ephesians 1:11)
“Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.” (Psalm 135:6)
“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:19)
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2)
One of the greatest books I’ve ever read is J. I. Packer’s Knowing God. Knowing God came out in 1973, when Nanci and I were in our first year at Bible college. We read it right away. It was an instant classic. (Nanci reread it when she had cancer and got even more out of it then.)
I had the privilege of knowing Dr. Packer, who truly lived out his faith. Packer wrote in Knowing God about five basic truths of the knowledge of God:
1. God has spoken to man, and the Bible is His Word, given to us to make us wise unto salvation.
2. God is Lord and King over His world; He rules all things for His own glory, displaying His perfections in all that He does, in order that men and angels may worship and adore Him.
3. God is Savior, active in sovereign love through the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue believers from the guilt and power of sin, to adopt them as His sons, and to bless them accordingly.
4. God is Triune; there are within the Godhead three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost; and the work of salvation is one in which all three act together, the Father purposing redemption, the Son securing it, and the Spirit applying it.
5. Godliness means responding to God’s revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service. Life must be seen and lived in the light of God’s Word. This and nothing else is true religion.
In the early 2000s, I was asked to be on a panel about Heaven at a bookseller’s convention in Dallas. I asked who else would be on the panel. They said among several others, it would include J. I. Packer. I said I would do it as long as I got to sit next to Packer. (I had met him years earlier, and we had talked a couple of times at conferences.)
Nanci and I deliberately arrived half an hour early. Packer showed up second, and of course I introduced him to Nanci, who was beaming, and I sat him down next to me where we would sit on the panel. He took out a cookie and said, “If only I had coffee.” Nanci said enthusiastically, “I will get you coffee!” She ran out to a Starbucks at the conference center and brought him back his “black coffee only” within 10 minutes. He was delighted and showered her with praise (to the extent that an older British male can do that!), and only then started eating his cookie. He said the coffee was wonderful. The look on his face and hers was unforgettable. When the session was over, and we finished talking with him, Nanci was smiling broadly, squeezed my arm, and said, “I bought coffee for J. I. PACKER!” ♥️♥️♥️
