The Kingdom of God
The Sovereignty of God
Oprah is on record as saying that she cannot accept the concept of a “jealous” God (Ex 20:5). She has expanded this to claiming that God is love, so punishment cannot be a consideration, and that there are many ways to achieve whatever it is she is trying to achieve with whoever she considers to be her god. She can believe whatever she likes. This is a democracy. Believing in a green sky, though, does not turn the sky green. We are not at liberty to invent our own god.
Arguably, the greatest aspiration in politics is the achievement of democracy as a style of government. The word and concept invokes emotions associated with liberty and the voice of the people. This style of government is not unique to the last few centuries, but harks back to the ancient Greeks. The Romans developed a representative form of government that we emulate in the form of a republic. Democracy has been the best so far. Dictatorships and military juntas are despised, feared and condemned by democracies. So much emphasis is placed by us (especially in the West) upon freedom and democracy, that we tend to associate this with a Christian way of thinking; especially when considering the motives and beliefs of those who made history in developing the government and constitution of the United States. One result of this way of thinking has been to assume that democracy is the Christian way of doing things. We can continue on this thread by believing that God would not be anything but love and compassion, and that such a loving God could never punish sinners. Really?
In this series, I will use the Bible (with the help of the writings of great evangelicals Louis Berkhof[i], Matthew Henry and others) to conduct a study of God’s Word in order to establish why one cannot claim that God’s Kingdom can ever be a regarded as a democracy.
The God of the Bible has many names. Handel, in his anthem “The Messiah”, repeats that Jesus is the “King of Kings” and “Lord of Lords” (1 Timothy 6:15, Rev 17:14, Rev 19:16), and He shall reign for ever and ever! The Old testament refers to God as “Elohim”, “Elyon” and “Adonai” – all of which are names that stress God’s exalted nature – the possesser and ruler of all men (Berkhof, 1962:27). In the New Testament the name “Kurios” perpetuates the Old Testament qualities of our Lord.
Fundamentalist Christians worship God as the Creator, Lord and Ruler of all things. This mighty Creator effortlessly used His Word (The Word) to bring about His Creation[ii]. This God did not just create the universe and set it in motion. On the contrary, He rules and controls the universe in perpetuum (Luke 12:6). This God has a plan for the universe, and everything is conducted according to His will and His control for the good of those who love God; to those who are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). Ultimately the Bible leaves no alternative view for us but to accept that God is the undisputed Creator and Ruler of the Universe. This teaching from Scripture has been titled: “The Sovereignty of God”.
The God we worship as Sovereign is self-existent, unchanging, and infinite in all things, including outside of time and space. He is omnipotent, all-knowing, all-wise, and perfect (Berkhof, p32). God is loving, gracious, merciful and patient. But if we accept that, then we must also accept that the Bible teaches us that He is also holy, righteous and just (Ps 89:14). There are things that God cannot do. He cannot lie, sin or deny Himself (Berkhof, p34). God cannot look upon sin. He made it clear to Moses that His very presence consumes all that is not perfect (Ex 33:20).
This is why we cannot regard the
The only alternative would have us thrust away eternally from this supreme and righteous God. When Jesus claimed to be the only way, he was not being boastful nor demanding. He was merely stating the truth of God’s great plan for His people. There is no alternative. Only on His terms can we worship this Great Sovereign, our King and Lord.
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