Christ Has Sovereignty Over All Events and Circumstances

[KenH]

"And hath put all things under his feet." Ephesians 1:22

How vast, how numerous, how complicated are the various events and circumstances which attend the Church of God here below, as she travels onward to her heavenly home! But if all things as well as all persons are put under Jesus' feet, there cannot be a single circumstance over which he has not supreme control. Everything in providence and everything in grace are alike subject to his disposal. There is not a trial or temptation, an affliction of body or soul, a loss, a cross, a painful bereavement, a vexation, grief or disappointment, a case, state or condition, which is not put under Jesus' feet.

He has sovereign, supreme disposal over all events and circumstances. As possessed of infinite knowledge he sees them, as possessed of infinite wisdom he can manage them, and as possessed of infinite power he can dispose and direct them for our good and his own glory. How much trouble and anxiety should we save ourselves, could we firmly believe, realise, and act on this! If we could see by the eye of faith that every foe and every fear, every difficulty and perplexity, every trying or painful circumstance, every looked-for or unlooked-for event, every source of care, whether at present or in prospect, are all, as put under his feet, at his sovereign disposal, what a load of anxiety and care would be often taken off our shoulders!

J.C. Philpot, Daily Portions, February 29

 

[Paleouss]

Greetings KenH. Hope you are doing well and experiencing life abundantly in our Lord Jesus Christ.

To be transparent, I do believe that God has sovereignty over all events and circumstances, however...I'm not sure that I agree with J.C. Philpost that this verse should be used to make that particular case. The verse He uses is intended, imo, to refer to the Son of God's Cosmic Triumph over (1) the power of the Devil, (2) the power of sin, (3) all dominion (like Hades as it relates to death), (4) power of Darkness, (5) all authorities and powers, etc, through His life, death and resurrection.

God's inherent providential authority from the very beginning is another matter entirely than the Son of God's Cosmic Triumph through His death and resurrection.

Don't get me wrong, as I said, I hold that God holds complete sovereignty over His creation. I just think this Eph 1:22 is the wrong verse to support this concept.

We find that Paul, standing "in the midst of the Areopagus" (Act 17:22), addressing the men of Athens made seven significant assertions to these polytheist pagans:

1. There is only one God “who made the world and everything in it” (Acts 17:24).
2. There is only one God that gives “life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25).
3. In Him “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)
4. This God “made from one blood every nation of men” (Acts 17:26).
5. This God “has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries to their dwelling” (Acts 17:26).

Common sense would seem to tell us that this knowing and determining of "preappointed times" and boundaries takes an immense about of knowledge and control. For the wills of men, natural disasters, plague events, all need to be known and under some form of control to accomplish such a task. The only debate, for me, would be what form of control does God use.

We know that God has “worked out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph 1:11) before the creation of the world. Our Lord, the one and only, has made "everything for its purpose" (Pro 16:4). The word 'everything' would seem to include, well, everything. In Psalms 139:16, the psalmist tells us that God saw his "unformed substance" before he was born and that every day of his life, "every one of them", in His "book were written" before he was ever born. That takes a lot of sovereignty.

I could give many more biblical examples, but we all get the point (I think).

Peace to you brother