Featured What is "Sovereignty"??

Derf, I do not know where you get the idea that God can lie or has the potential to lie...
But it seems to me that you are reasoning this out, instead of sticking strictly to His word alone for your understanding of the subject.
Please correct me if I am mistaken.

God, potentially and according to His word, does not have the capability to lie.
Here is Hebrews 6:13-18:

" For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14 saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation [is] to them an end of all strife.
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed [it] by an oath:
18 that by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:"

Here's what I see when I read this:

13) When God promised Abraham, because He could not swear by anyone or anything greater than Himself, He swore by Himself.
14) He said, " Surely in blessing, I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply you"...speaking of making a nation of him ( Genesis 22:16-17 ).
15) So, after Abraham had patiently waited, he obtained ( was given ) the promise...Isaac was that promise and was miraculously given to him by the Lord, who had made Sarah, an old woman, able to have a child when before she was barren.
16) Men truly swear by something greater than themselves, and swearing an oath in front of witnesses is to us as men something that puts to rest all fighting among ourselves.
17) In which God, willing to show to the heirs of His promise the immutability ( unable to be changed ) of His counsel ( advice, consultation ), confirmed to them by an oath.
18) That by two immutable ( unable to be changed ) things, in which it is impossible for God to lie...we ( believers ) might have strong consolation ( comfort in knowing ), we have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope ( what hope? the hope of eternal life ) that is set before us.


God's word cannot be changed, God cannot lie.
So, to me I can both trust His words, and I can trust Him in every dealing with me that He makes.

Anything He says is 100% trustable, while anything outside of God's word I cannot ever completely trust.
See Proverbs 3:5-7.

There is none good but God.

 

I agree in that Jesus was tempted to sin, but that He was able not to.
Do you know why He succeeded where we as mere men have repeatedly failed?

 

@Derf B

I think perhaps it's a good idea if I summarize how I view the subject of God's sovereignty so that there is no misunderstanding on my position:


1) God has the power to effect His will over His creation.

2) He can and does work all things after the counsel of His own will.
While some of those things may look like a disaster to us as men, under the surface, God's will is actually being done, in the greater sense.

3) When it comes to the salvation of sinners, God's will, not ours, is done.
When the Lord makes a person born again, it frees them of their slavery to sin and they then naturally seek to do God's will over whatever else comes along.
It's not perfect, but it does grow as the believer grows, spiritually.

4) God is completely sovereign in the sense that He tolerates sin for His own purposes, and will someday judge the actions of those outside of Christ.
The only reason He is withholding His wrath is until the fullness of the Gentiles who are elect, are gathered to Him.
Until then, He is very patient towards sinners for the sake of His elect.

Make no mistake about it, He can and does rule over the affairs of men, who will answer to Him for the wrongs they have committed.
For example, He will hold the governor who misuses his or her authority in office, accountable for how he or she has executed that office.
The only ones who will escape this judgment are those of us who have believed on Christ from the heart...

Those whom God has had the mercy and kindness to rescue from our own love of sin and hatred of Him and His ways.
But we will still be there to be witnesses and to take part in the Judgment.


This is my final reply in this thread, sir.
I wish you well, and may you have a good afternoon.

 

No. Bv virtue of Having the divine nature not ceasing to be God. He was still fully human being born by His virgin mother. Hebrews 4:15. Mark 10:18.

 

God, in his sovereignty, chose to allow angels and men the kind of free-will that could and does thwart his will for them in many areas, except in matters where he states he won't allow that to happen.

That's the Biblical presentation of "sovereignty" and it's wonderful.

 

Yes, exactly: “Verily, verily I say unto you…’ How else would a prophet who is the LORD say it? He wasn’t just expressing Lordship, but Divine Lordship—Yahweh walked among them. “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

 

Being Sovereign does not mean that sin would never be permitted.
When God wills for something to happen, it happens. For example, God would not allow Balaam to curse Israel. At the same time, God willed for Nebuchadnezzar to remove Judah into exile.
It was by God's ordination that Eve and Adam could disobey. Adam didn't do something outside of God's ordained plan. Does that make God evil? No. It Makes God Sovereign in allowing sin to happen to fulfill a greater plan that we finite creatures cannot comprehend.

 

Whoever reacts is controlled by whoever causes what they react to. This is not God but an idol.

 

God must first save a person before they can want forgiveness. Until then you love sin and hate God.

 

You would have to have God answer this question. However, I do know that God always accomplishes exactly what he has ordained. There is no surprise, no need to readjust and reconfigure. God takes the rebellion of man and works it perfectly into his fulfillment of his will.

 

God is like a Father, and indeed He is our Father in Heaven, and in being such, He exerts His authority over His children, but a child has the freedom to obey or disobey the father and thus, gets the consequences or rewards of his/her actions in doing so. The Bible has always presented God in this way as far as authority goes. He is sovereign, knowing all things and having power in all things, but saying God uses His power to force His children to decide to trust His son or not is making Him seem like an abuser, not a loving, merciful Father who Loves His children regardless of what they choose.

 

Both statements are accurate. You must be saved before you can want to repent. It's foolishness until then.