The Absolute Sovereignty of God? Where did this doctrine come from?

[Dave G]

" When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. " ( Matthew 16:13-17 ).

Once again, a pre-detemined outcome.

God the Father was the one who actively revealed to Peter and the other disciples who Jesus really was, not men.
No "chance" was involved, as the Lord Jesus point-blank told Peter why he knew that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.


As always, Scripture tells us in no uncertain terms Who is, was, and always will be responsible for certain outcomes...
God, not men and definitely not "chance" or "luck".

When the Lord decides to do something, no man can stand against the outcome.
When He permits man's efforts to result in an outcome, He can and will step in and alter that outcome as He sees fit;
Or, He can and will let it take its course, knowing full well what can and will happen if He doesn't step in and alter the outcome.

That is "absolute sovereignty".

 

[Silverhair]

Silverhair,
I'm only going to answer you once on this subject, because as I've found in past interactions and in presenting His words to you, further discussion would probably result in neither one of us agreeing .
I have seen nothing so far that looks to me as if this pattern is changing, I'm sad to say, even though I hope that it will.

But to answer your question, yes, I do hear and understand my Saviour's words;
Keeping firmly in mind that the only reason that I do understand them properly, is because the Lord, through His Spirit, has promised to teach His children for Himself.
I listed some of those same passages where those promises are found, in post # 26 above.

God's people acknowledge that He blinds some and reveals Himself to others ( Matthew 11:25-27, Matthew 13::11, Romans 11:7-9, etc ), and that the reason that they hear and believe His words, is because the Lord, in His grace and mercy, has given them the privilege to do so.
Otherwise they would be blind, and unable ( and most of all unwilling ) to believe His every word.

My sincere hope is that God, in His mercy, has done this through the Spirit and for you as well... and that in time and with much study, you will begin to see the same truths that I have;


Especially with regard to His absolute soveriegnty over all things.

So you just answered my question. You are under the false impression that you have all the truth and those that do not agree with your view must be wrong.

It is truly sad to see someone so consumed by their own false views as you are.

The reason that we do not agree is because some of the views that you have presented are not biblical even though I am sure you will disagree with my assessment of those views.

 

[Van]

" Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, [saying], I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region." ( Acts 13:46-49 ).

Here in the above, an event occurred with a pre-determined outcome...
Some of the Gentiles believed, but it was only as many as were ordained to eternal life, that did.


" And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." ( Acts 2:46-47 )

Again, a pre-determined outcome...
The Lord added to the church at Jerusalem daily, such as should be saved.

Not what is said, the outcome was uncertain, perhaps wheat, perhaps something else. You can deny scripture till the cows come home, or strive to change the subject and bring up an endless list of non-germane verses. I have seen it all before.

For example Acts 2:47 does not say "such as should be saved." The verb is present tense, and "should be" "were being saved."

Here is the NKJV:
Act 2:47
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

 

[Silverhair]

Not everyone.
There is a remnant according to the election of grace even to this day, who hear, understand and believe His words.

Respectfully, it seems to me that you're appealing to man-made "logic" here, instead of the fact that God teaches His children through the Spirit and through His word;
That God gives them the Holy Spirit, so that they may know the things that are freely given to them of God ( 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 )...
Which things Paul spoke of.

My friend, just as I have urged Craig, I now do to you...

Avail yourself of the Scriptures and ignore the commentaries.
Institutions of men and their differing "interpretations" cannot ever take the place of something that God alone has promised to do for His people and through the power of His Spirit.


May God bless you.

So since you do not think you need anything but God to teach you then I would have to conclude that you do not have a bible as that is what men have written. Granted they are men led by the Holy Spirit but still just men. Plus the view that you have expressed would lead me to think you have listened to some men who have taught you the view you espouse.

Did Paul expound on the teachings of the OT, did Christ not do the same? Did Paul not tell Timothy to preach and exhort people to trust in the Lord? By your words you must even discount the various letters that the apostles wrote.

Do you really think that you have sufficient knowledge of Greek, Hebrew and the cultures of 2000+ years ago that you would not gain a better understanding of the word of God from various commentaries?

It is unfortunate that you have chosen to close yourself off from various sources of information that could help you grow but as I have seen before you think that is the best route for you.

 

[Silverhair]

" When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. " ( Matthew 16:13-17 ).

Once again, a pre-detemined outcome.

God the Father was the one who actively revealed to Peter and the other disciples who Jesus really was, not men.
No "chance" was involved, as the Lord Jesus point-blank told Peter why he knew that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.


As always, Scripture tells us in no uncertain terms Who is, was, and always will be responsible for certain outcomes...
God, not men and definitely not "chance" or "luck".

When the Lord decides to do something, no man can stand against the outcome.
When He permits man's efforts to result in an outcome, He can and will step in and alter that outcome as He sees fit;
Or, He can and will let it take its course, knowing full well what can and will happen if He doesn't step in and alter the outcome.

That is "absolute sovereignty".

You hear in theological circles, especially from Calvinists, that “God is Absolutely Sovereign.” They say this so often that a person would think it was a scripture – it is not.

In Calvinism, the idea of “Absolute Sovereignty” is that God planned, orchestrated, and causes absolutely everything that happens. That God prefers sin over holiness in every instance that sin occurs, because He could have decreed holiness instead of sin but chose sin instead.

That is the "absolute sovereignty" that we see in calvinism.