The sovereignty of God is established. He is the only true Sovereign being. He alone is not affected by anything or anyone outside of Himself and His design. It is a difficult attribute to grasp. It is even more difficult to grasp that, in His sovereign will, He designed to create us (mankind) in His image and likeness.
After creating animals each “after their kind” in Genesis 1, He said [Genesis 1:26-28 NASB95] – 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We are created in His image. And do note that we have been given a degree of sovereignty to rule and have dominion over all else living on earth. This sovereignty means we will be faced with choices. Creating us in His image and likeness meant He had to create us with at least some degree of sovereignty of choice, albeit, what I might call, “limited sovereignty”. Limited because He alone is truly sovereign. And, although He has created man with a degree of His sovereign character attribute, because to do otherwise would make us automaton robots, we do not have complete autonomy to control His design.
As I have said and written in other places ; We can all end up frustrated and sour if we are unhappy and unsatisfied when we finally realize, discover, that He is God and we are not. And we discover, realize, that we are not Lord, despite our valiant efforts and desire to be. And, we also discover that God, although He is sovereign, is not pulling our strings to control us like a puppet. He has created us in His own image, giving us a degree of the sovereignty in His nature and character, which we call free will. He will not force us into, or to do, anything. He will draw us toward Himself and try to love us into the right choices. When we screw up He does not throw up His hands in dismay and give up, writing us off as hopeless. He is not surprised by our wrong choices. As He is omniscient, He cannot be surprised. He will, sometimes, discipline us as a good Father does His own children. But, that discipline is not punitive or punishment. It is loving and corrective, protective, and for our instruction, and for our good.
You can shake your fist at Him and cry “Give me a break!”or “Why can’t I ever get a break”.. “Why can’t I be Lord”…”Why can’t anything ever be easy”…”Why can’t anything go right?” (as I often do) Or, you can look for His hand and the fullness of His love and provision to you in Christ… even in the midst of whatever is happening and affecting you, and wherever you are.
From the Garden forward this relationship between choosing life and good in the fullness of His love and provision, or choosing death through sin in disobedience has been placed before us. The choice has been set before us. In the Garden the consequence for choosing the Tree of Life (about which there was no command/law associated) or choosing The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (which did have a command/law associated) and through it death was set before man.
[Genesis 2:9, 15-17 NASB95] – 9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. … 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.“
Cain was presented with a choice after his offering was not accepted, and he felt rejected and the sting of rejection. Depending on his choice he could master/rule sin, or it could master/rule him.
[Genesis 4:6-7 NASB95] – 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 “If you do well, will not [your countenance] be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Sin is always waiting to master us in our choices to do well, or not to do well. But it can be mastered. In next passage in Genesis 4 we find Cain did not do well, killing Abel, and he reaped the curse; of the ground fighting him and his being consigned to nomadic wandering out from the presence of the Lord. Yet, even in that, the LORD marked Cain with a grace so that no one would slay him.
Looking at and considering blessings and curses, perhaps the most poignant choice in the Old Testament was set before Israel in Deuteronomy 30. Life & Death, Good and Evil.
[Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NASB95] – 15 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity (Literally: prosperity=Good), and death and adversity(Literally: adversity=Evil); 16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 “But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong [your] days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.
19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Choices were life and death, good and evil. Much as it was in the Garden. And, the way life was still through loving the LORD, shown by obeying His voice and holding fast/embracing/staying close to Him.
As we look at these Old Testament examples, the consequences of mankind’s choices were clear, and left under God’s sovereign will. From these examples it is easy to think that the relationship between God and man is based in “works” and in the law. Our relationship with God, and particularly with God in Christ, is not works based. It is love based. It is based, even as indicated to Israel as his people here, in loving the LORD, and finding the fullness of His love in staying near His presence to hear His voice and enjoying His full provision. But it could be said, the blessing is always for obedience in both covenants. That is why hearing His voice is so critical to the relationship and obedience is the desired result.
You see, Obedience is the outcome of laying down our limited sovereignty to walk in, and under, His complete sovereignty …out of love. And, Obedience is the place where the blessing resides in the fulfillment of His word, in whatever He speaks, or has spoken/promised, being realized. Again, as I have said and written many times. The outworking of Hearing is Faith, the outworking of Faith is Obedience, the outworking of Obedience is seeing the Completion/Fulfillment of His plan and purpose in that which He has spoken to you. The more we hear and walk in obedience the more of Himself He reveals and the more we find our abode in Him and His abiding with us. To the degree that you comprehend the fullness of His love and provision for you in Christ, to that same degree will you bow the knee to His Lordship in obedience
[John 14:15, 21, 23 -24 NASB95] – 15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. … 21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” …] –23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
In Romans Paul puts forth the argument in the first 3 chapters that we, all mankind, have been shut up under sin. We are condemned as it rules in and over us. In the next 3 chapters He makes our hopelessness sure, clearly arguing that we cannot do right or produce a righteousness of our own and in our own efforts. And then, he also makes it clear that the law will not help or save us, in fact cannot save us. It has no power to do so since its primary purpose was to show us our sin and lacking under it. This is a simplistic outline, and I will not plumb depths here but to focus for a moment on a few passages from Romans 6 where the apostle puts all hope in the choosing of the life there is in Christ Jesus who conquered death.
[Romans 6:5-11 NASB95] – 5 For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with [Him,] in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
This scripture and the victory over sin through conquering its outcome/consequence – death – is clear and needs no exposition. Please do note the reference to no longer being under sin as its slaves and it as our Master. We are and have been set free in Him/Jesus, for in Him we have died and have come back to the fullness of life God has intended us to find in Christ as the Tree of Life.
This is glorious! But you say…. “I still struggle, almost daily, in a battle with sin!” Paul was aware of our hearts and pointed us in context toward our being given the choice of whom we will serve. Perhaps most foundationally he sets up what our paradigm/mindset/thinking must be grounded in, in verse 9 &14
[Romans 6:9, 14 NASB95] – 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. … 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
We are in Christ dead to sin through the law! Death is no longer master over Him! Sin is no longer master over us because His grace has released us from the law.
Paul then turns to what is THEREFORE the choice we are empowered to make. He is very direct in outlining the choice to submit yourselves as slaves to God, not to sin. You choose.
[Romans 6:12-19, 22 NASB95] – 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin [as] instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone [as] slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in [further] lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. … 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
Note the active verbs and your choice of obedience. The consequence of sin, death, has been dealt with. Sin may still crouch at the door, as it did with Cain, to reestablish its dominion and drive you from His presence. But you have now tasted the fruit of the Tree of Life, and have been empowered by the Spirit, so you may choose life, and choose to do good, and choose to do well and choose to listen to His voice and choose obedience.
Paul turns the corner on all this when the records another huge THEREFORE in Romans 8:
[Romans 8:1-2 NASB95] – 1 THEREFORE there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
In light of all that he recorded in Romans chapters 1-3; that we have all been shut up under sin and death. And, in Romans chapters 4-7 that we are hopelessly helpless, having ability to produce a righteousness of our own, and that the Law has no efficacy, power or help to give us to do so. Our only hope is the Spirit of life Jesus He has by grace made ours, and choosing life in Hm free from condemnation that came in the law of sin and death, and choosing the blessing that comes in living under obedience to His lordship.