How do we reconcile God’s sovereignty and power with Bible verses that tell us we are living in a broken world controlled by Satan?  I think the paradox is resolvable when we recalibrate our understanding of sovereignty and omnipotence to align with what the Bible actually teaches and with facts on the ground, namely war, pain and suffering, and evil here in God’s creation.

What do we mean when we say God is Sovereign?

Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines God’s Sovereignty as his “absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure.”   Does God’s sovereignty mean that God causes all things that happen?  No.  Sovereignty means that all things are under his authority, but not that all things are therefore determined by him.  We can think of God as a King, but not as a dictator.  Kings establish laws; dictators control events.  Sovereignty means that no one can impose their will on God, not that God therefore imposes his will on us.

The words “sovereign” and “sovereignty” don’t appear in the King James Bible, and the New American Standard translation uses the word only once.  The NIV substitutes the word “sovereign” for the word “God” over 300 times.  Instead of “Lord God” they substitute the term “sovereign Lord.”  The NLT uses “sovereign” to translate the Hebrew word “Adonai,” though it can also be translated as “Lord” or “Master”.  The word “sovereign” was introduced into theology during the reformation, primarily by John Calvin. 

We’re tempted to think that God must be determining every event and outcome on Earth, or else he would not be omnipotent and sovereign.  It’s appealing to think that a sovereign and omnipotent God would not permit anyone to resist or oppose his will, and that this represents the highest and most respectful attitude we could have toward God.  But God doesn’t need us to “defend” his honor by defending a mistaken concept of sovereignty.

When we claim God controls everything, that implies he is responsible for everything, and that would include all the evil in the world.  And while God is sovereign, he will never do anything that is opposed to his character, so it would be wrong for us to blame God as the final source of the evil and sinful choices of mankind and Satan.  When we overemphasize God’s sovereignty, or misinterpret it to mean that he dictates every event, we turn God into a force who enables the wicked to do evil, instead of the suffering servant God who redeems us. 

There’s a surprising statement in Jeremiah that makes it clear that God isn’t controlling every event on earth:

They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.

Jeremiah 19:5 NIV

When God tells us that things happen that never even entered his mind, we can be confident that his sovereignty doesn’t extend to determining every event and outcome.

God is sovereign, but he also gave humans free will, and we can make real and consequential choices.  Our choices often involve hurt and pain and sorrow, both for God and for us, but God still allows and respects our free will.  Even so, our free will can never override God’s sovereignty or his final authority. 

If God isn’t determining every event on earth, does that mean he’s a hands-off Creator, content to leave us and the world to our own devices?  No, that isn’t the case.  It’s clear in the Bible that God is very involved in the world. 

He’s constantly patrolling the world to keep track of all that’s going on:

The rider standing among the myrtle trees then explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent out to patrol the earth.”  Then the other riders reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been patrolling the earth, and the whole earth is at peace.”

Zechariah 1:10-11 NLT

God raises up prophets to speak for him:

I chose some of your sons to be prophets and others to be Nazirites. Can you deny this, my people of Israel?” asks the LORD.

Amos 2:11 NLT

God raises nations up and tears nations down:

He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.  He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.

Daniel 2:20-21 NLT

God raises up leaders for his people:

“Return home, you wayward children,” says the LORD, “for I am your master.  I will bring you back to the land of Israel – one from this town and two from that family – from wherever you are scattered.  And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah 3:14-15 NLT

And he replaces leaders:

“This is the message that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.  This is what these words mean: Mene means ‘numbered’ – God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end.  Tekel means ‘weighed’ – you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.  Parsin means ‘divided’ – your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”  That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.

Daniel 5:25-28,30 NLT

The world God has given us is more complex than we will ever know, and the question of God’s sovereignty doesn’t have a simple explanation.  I think at the level of individuals and how any of us acts, God lets us exercise our free will.  But at another level of leaders and nations, God may sometimes govern events without us even being aware of it. And if God has determined to do something, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.  So when God makes a promise, we can trust him to keep it. A favorite verse for many believers is Romans 8:28 –

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Paul goes on to explain that if we love God, he is able to use whatever circumstances life throws our way to help mold us into the image of Jesus.  We can’t understand how this is possible in a broken, confusing world, but the Bible assures us it’s true and I certainly believe it.  And though I don’t understand it yet, I think it’s one of the keys to how God exercises his sovereignty in our world.

And Isn’t God Omnipotent?

God is all-powerful but God doesn’t use power the way we might.  God wins when, to human eyes, it looks like losing. 

There’s a story in Mark and Matthew that shows us the difference between human ideas about power in our broken world, and power in God’s kingdom.  James and John came to Jesus and asked him, “teacher, when you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor on your left and right sides”.

They were convinced that Jesus was the promised messiah, and they expected him to ride into Jerusalem, take hold of the reins of power, and put the Romans in their place.   They wanted to share in that power, to have a say in how things should go in the future.  But Jesus told them things were going to be different in God’s kingdom:

So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.  But among you it will be different.  Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:42-45 NLT

Jesus acknowledged that’s how the world works: those in positions of authority lord it over those under them.  They bend the world to their will and dictate how others will live.  But then he told them that whoever wants to be first must become the servant of all.  God’s kingdom doesn’t operate the way the kingdoms of the world operate.  God doesn’t override our free agency in order to control our actions.  Controlling our actions wouldn’t change our hearts.  Instead, God invites us to join his kingdom, but he doesn’t demand it.

The Bible tells us that we see God’s power most clearly when we look at the crucified Jesus.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

1 Corinthians 1:18-19 NIV

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

1 Corinthians 1:27 NLT

The Bible tells us that God’s power was on full display when Jesus was on the cross:

• On the day Jesus knows he will be crucified, he tells his disciples to be of good cheer – he has overcome the world… (John 16:33)
• As Jesus suffers and dies on the cross, the Bible tells us that we’re witnessing God’s victory over sin and darkness… (Colossians 2:13-15)
• Jesus told his disciples that when he was beaten, humiliated, and nailed to a cross, he would draw all men to himself… (John 12:31-33)
• At the moment when the world looked darkest, Jesus defeated the powers of darkness… (Matthew 27:51)
• At the moment when it looked like sin had triumphed over good and hope was gone, Jesus redeemed us from the power of sin… (Ephesians 1:7-8)
• When Jesus died, it looked like defeat to his followers, but the Bible tells us that’s when he opened the gates of heaven, reconciled God and mankind, and initiated God’s new covenant… (Hebrews 9:15)
• Jesus overcame sin by becoming sin for us… (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• Jesus defeated death by joining us in death… (Mark 12:27)
• At the moment when human sin reached its peak, when we murdered the creator of the world, Jesus forgave our sins… (Luke 23:34-38)
• And when Satan thought he had defeated God, the Bible tells us Jesus had actually disarmed Satan… (Colossians 2:15)

From a human perspective, none of this makes sense.  To us, victory over Satan and evil would have looked like an epic battle, with heaven’s armies appearing at Jesus’ side and destroying Satan and his minions.  But God uses his power in ways that draw or attract us to his side; he doesn’t force us to come to him.

So with all the power in the universe available at his fingertips, God has chosen to exercise his authority through service and sacrifice.

For the present, the Bible calls Satan the prince of the power of the air, the ruler of this world, and the god of this world.  We’re told that the world lies in his power.  But Satan does not have absolute power, and the power he has won’t last forever.  At his Second Coming, Christ will exercise sovereign power over this earth, and then we’ll see God’s omnipotence clearly: 

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”  The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him.  And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.”

Revelation 11:15-17 NLT

We’re living in a broken world, ruled by Satan and filled with spiritual darkness.  We can’t avoid its side effects, but we don’t have to participate in it:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12 NIV