The objective of this lesson is to focus the student's awareness on "desire" as our primary spiritual motivation as opposed to "necessity." Conversion produces a desire to develop God's nature and the desire to come closer to God. Godliness is chosen by desire, not forced on us.
From God's perspective, what does it mean for Him to be sovereign? Many things! It means God is totally capable of functioning as God without any human or group of humans telling Him what to do or how to act. It means God is superior to humans in every consideration. It means God is not [in any manner!] dependent on humans. It means that humans are [in every way] totally dependent on God [whether they admit it or not!]. It means regardless of our intellect, our understanding, our education, our experience, or our perceived sense of importance, God's superiority is far beyond us. [God is not limited or defined by human comprehension!] It means that God never needs to explain His thoughts and actions to humans. [God never needs our approval. Human approval is nonessential to God's existence, planning, decisions, thoughts, and behavior.] God's sovereignty means that people never are in a position to tell God what He can or cannot do. Because God is sovereign, He can do anything He wills to do.
God is sovereign. This world exists because God in His sovereignty acted. Jesus came because God in His sovereignty acted. God's people, His church, exists because God in His sovereignty acted. Thus, I exist physically and spiritually because God in His sovereignty acted. The fact that God is sovereign means God is in no way is dependent on me, on people, or on people's approval--past, present, or future.
For American Christians, God's sovereignty is difficult to accept. We are accustomed to policy decisions being the result of public opinion. "Human public opinion" polls have no influence on God's thinking or actions. God functions consistently with His nature and His purposes--regardless of our reactions or opinions.
The basic concept of sovereignty is a difficult concept for most Americans to accept. Just because a person commits himself or herself to Christian existence does not make this concept simple to understand. American minds and emotions are trained to think from a democratic perspective based on democratic concepts and definitions. Rarely do Americans think from a sovereignty concept based on sovereign concepts and definitions.
God's sovereignty does not involve democratic processes. As a people, Americans are comfortable telling the world what to do and not to do. American Christians are comfortable telling the church what to do and not to do. In our American presumptuousness, we are often comfortable with the thought [commonly held quietly] that we can tell God what He can and cannot do. We are quite capable of telling God, "Because You are God, You must do this, and You must do it in this way!" [If you doubt that, listen carefully to requests made in prayer.] In the same manner, we are quite capable of saying to God, "You cannot do that! These are my understandings of Your revelation, and Your actions [thoughts] must be consistent with my understandings!"
A basic understanding of God's sovereignty must involve these awarenesses: (1) people never tell God what He can do; (2) people never tell God what He cannot do; (3) people never serve as legitimate monitors of God's behavior; (4) God is never controlled by human concepts, expectations, or definitions. We belong to God. He made us. God does not belong to us. We did not [and do not] make Him. We are the dependent. God is not.
From the perspective of an understanding Christian, what does God's sovereignty mean? Many things! God's will and purposes shall prevail. In spite of human rebellion, evil's assaults, and Satan's railings, God's will and purposes shall prevail. In New Testament terminology, God is the Master and the Christian is His slave. God determines who and what the Christian is. God is the supreme "why" for the Christian's behavior. The Christian does not exist to please himself or herself, but God. The Christian is not his or her own person; he or she literally is owned by God (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). To the understanding Christian, God's sovereignty means, "I exist to serve Him by doing His will and working for His purposes."
From a New Testament perspective, our best model for understanding the sovereign God's relationship with Christians is the relationship between a benevolent, loving master and his slave. While this master seeks the slave's genuine best interest, he still owns the slave.
Why? Why does the Christian accept the role of God's slave? Why does he or she willingly humble self before God's sovereignty? For many reasons! "Evil killed me, but God made me alive" (Ephesians 2:1-10). "Evil focused me on hopelessness, but God focuses me on hope" (Romans 6:1-11). "Evil promised me the consequence of my failures, but God promises me gifts" (Romans 6:23). "Evil guarantees my destruction, but God guarantees my rescue" (Ephesians 1:7, 8a).
Most Americans, including most American Christians, consider the basic concept of sovereignty as distasteful and the basic concept of slavery as sickening. Regardless of how any person views God's position in reference to humanity, the reality is this: God is completely independent and we are completely dependent. Any person can rebel, but he or she who concludes that "I establish independence through my rebellion" is self deceived. A person can act in any way he or she chooses, but human acts or decisions cannot destroy the fact that God is sovereign.
Evil's justice demands people pay for their mistakes, but God in love destroys human mistakes (Romans 3:21-26). Evil offers people the temporary pleasure of now, but God offers people the unending joy of a continuing inheritance (Hebrews 11:13-16). Evil offers people accountability, but God offers people redemption (Hebrews 4:14-16).
The basic point in these two paragraphs: evil destroys us, not God's sovereignty.
One master uses people selfishly to their own destruction. The other Master loves people and seeks what is best for them. Our "slave status" is not a choice. This is our only choice: who is our master?
The issue to be resolved is this: "Do I, by choice, accept and yield to God's sovereignty?" The issue to be resolved is never, "Is God the sovereign?" God's position as sovereign does not depend on people's acknowledgment of His sovereignty. God's sovereignty never depends on human acknowledgment.
A person's decision and behavior do not destroy or confirm God's sovereignty. Human decisions and behavior merely accept or reject God's sovereignty. God's sovereignty is unalterable. Human acts and behavior declare our attitude toward His sovereignty, but do not affect the reality of His sovereignty.
Though God's sovereignty is reality, humans are at liberty to accept or reject His sovereignty. Each of us acknowledges God's role and position in the universe and in our lives by personal choice. A Christian confesses, accepts, and yields to God's sovereignty because he or she has faith in, trusts, and wishes to serve the sovereign God. The Christian declares, "God is my sovereign because I want Him to function in that role in my life." Though God is sovereign, He functions as the sovereign in a person's life because the person desires for Him to do so. God is not a person's sovereign because God by force captured him or her. God functions as the person's sovereign through his or her desire. He or she wants to yield to God.
We do not continue and mature in relationship with God because God's power forces us to yield. We continue and mature in relationship with God through personal choice based on personal desire.
The Christian has a specific objective in allowing God to function in life as his or her sovereign. What is that objective? He or she aspires to move toward the divine nature.
A man or woman converted to Christ's lordship and God's sovereignty personally desires for God's nature increasingly to become his or her nature. They want to be holy, righteous, compassionate, merciful, forgiving, kind, etc. While they realize their nature will never be [on this earth] God's nature, they want God's attributes to increasingly form their character.
Consider a statement made by several New Testament writers.
Note this fact in each statement: Christians have a basic desire to allow the attributes of the sovereign God [expressed in Jesus Christ] to determine their character and nature.
Peter: 2 Peter 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Paul: Ephesians 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Author of Hebrews: Hebrews 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
John: 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
Christians submit to God's sovereignty in the desire to grow toward God's nature! They want to partake of the divine nature, want to be measured by Christ's fullness, want to share in divine holiness! They want to acquire the Lord's nature and reflect God's nature! In physical life we feebly grow toward God's nature expressed in Jesus. In the next life we shall be like him. This is not forced on us! This is what we want! We want God's sovereignty to change us!
Link conversion and desire. Stress desire as the motivation of the converted.
Discussion question: how can a human reflect God's nature in his or her life?
Answers and suggestions can go in different but correct directions. Be certain you as a teacher understand what the student means by what he or she says. A person reflects God's nature by allowing Jesus to be his or her spiritual model. Jesus perfectly reflected God's nature in human attitudes, human values, human priorities, and human behavior. If my life is to reflect God's nature, these concepts must characterize who and what I am:
Surrender to God demonstrated in dependence and obedience
Surrender to God demonstrated in service to people
Worship of God
Letting God's Spirit be a primary influence in a person's life
Compassion
Forgiveness
Mercy
Kindness and consideration
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 12