Concept in Christian theology
Sovereignty of God
in
Christianity
can be defined as the right of
God
to exercise his ruling
power
over his creation. Sovereignty can include also the way God exercises his ruling power. However this aspect is subject to divergences notably related to the concept of God's self-imposed limitations. The correlation between God's sovereignty and human
free will
is a crucial theme in discussions about the meaningful nature of human choice.
Definition
[
edit
]
Theological dictionaries give fairly uniform definitions of the notion of God's sovereignty. At first, it can be seen as His "absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure."
With more nuances, it can be seen as the teaching "[...] that all things come from and depend upon God. [...] [It] does not mean that everything which occurs in the world is God's will."
More precisely, it can be defined as a twofold concept: "First, it may be seen as the divine right to rule totally; second, it may be extended to include God's exercise of this right. As to the first aspect, there is no debate. Difference of opinion arises in respect to the second aspect."
According to these definitions, God's sovereignty in Christianity can be defined as the right of God to exercise his ruling power over his creation. The way in which God exercises his power is subject to differing views.
Calvinists
typically view this exercise as an inherent aspect of the broader concept of sovereignty.
Conversely, non-Calvinists may also integrate this exercise of power within the concept of sovereignty
or consider it distinctly, then through the concept of
divine providence
.
The sovereignty of God must be distinguished from God's
eternal
attributes
. For example, God's omnipotence is his quality of having unlimited power. This attribute is not
contingent
upon something else other than God himself, and is therefore one of his eternal attributes.
God's sovereignty, as the right to exercise his ruling power over his
creation
, is contingent upon his creation. God's sovereignty was only first expressed after a creation existed to be expressed upon. If the sovereignty of God is considered one of his attributes, it is a temporal one.
God's sovereignty should then be seen as his right to express his eternal attribute of omnipotence over his creation
qualified by his other eternal attributes such as
omnibenevolence
and
omniscience
.
Theological views
[
edit
]
Perspectives on God's sovereignty in action
[
edit
]
Throughout history, Christian theologians have advocated for a free-will
theodicy
.
Besides, the question whether God's way of expressing his sovereignty is consistent with meaningful human decisions which are free from compulsion is a significant theological question in Christianity.
The debate on this question was first clearly expressed by
Augustine of Hippo
in the 4th century.
The debate has continued through various forms notably through the
Calvinist-Arminian debate
until today.
Theologians have subsequently articulated various perspectives on how God's exercise of sovereignty corresponds to distinct self-imposed limitations.
Early Christian views
[
edit
]
The Greek
church fathers
believed in classical
free will
theism
and opposed
theological determinism
as a means of exercising God's sovereignty.
For instance,
Saint Maximus the Confessor
(
c.
580 ? 13 August 662) argued that because humans are made in the image of God, they possess the same type of self-determinism as God.
The theological tradition before Augustine (354 ? 430) uniformly emphasizes the freedom of the human will.
However, Augustine expressed God's sovereignty as his continuous control and unifying governance over the
universe
.
Catholic views
[
edit
]
Christian teaching on providence in the
High Middle Ages
was most fully developed by
Thomas Aquinas
in the
Summa Theologica
(1274). It viewed the concept of providence as a care exercised by God over the universe.
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church
(1993) express the concept of God's sovereignty as his rule over his creation, allowing human
libertarian
free will
and co-operation with him: "God is the sovereign master of his plan. But to carry it out he also makes use of his creatures' co-operation. This use is not a sign of weakness, but rather a token of almighty God's greatness and goodness. God grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, [...]".
[22]
Eastern Orthodox view
[
edit
]
In general,
Eastern Theology
places much more emphasis on human freedom and less on God's sovereignty than do the Augustinian and Reformed strands of Western theology. Orthodox view of human free will is close to the
Wesleyan-Arminian
view.
Reformed view
[
edit
]
Orthodox
Reformed
(both historical and
Edwardsian
) view God's sovereignty as expressed through
theological determinism
.
This means that every event in the world is determined by God.
[28]
As the
Westminster Confession of Faith
put it: "God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatever comes to pass."
From this perspective, God alone possesses
free-will
in the sense of ultimate
self-determination
.
Moreover, God acts through
voluntarism
in its
nominalist
sense.
This means, what God does is good not because it is guided by his character or moral structure within his nature, but only because God wants it.
Besides, Calvinism affirm a
soft determinism
involving
semicompatibilism
, which implies the compatibility between
human responsibility
for an act and its determination by God.
[33]
Concerning
salvation
,
Calvin
expressly taught that it is God's sovereign decision to determine whether an individual is saved or damned.
He writes "By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death."
Indeed, human actions leading to this end are also predetermined by God.
Concerning
prayer
, from an Edwardsian Calvinist view, it can be seen as a predetermined means for a predetermined purpose.
More generally, from the majority Calvinist view, prayer can't change by itself what is predetermined by God.
Specifically, prayer for salvation will not change the predetermined
damnation
of some.
Nor will prayer for salvation cause the predetermined salvation of the elect.
Arminian view
[
edit
]
Arminianism accepts
classical theism
, which states that God is
omnipresent
,
omnipotent
, and
omniscient
.
In that view, God's power, knowledge, and presence have no external limitations, that is, outside of his divine nature and character.
Besides,
Arminianism
view on God's way of expressing his sovereignty, i.e. his
providence
, is based on postulates stemming from God's character,
especially as fully revealed in
Jesus Christ
.
On the first hand, divine
election
must be defined in such a way that God is not in any case, and even in a secondary way, the author of
evil
. On the other hand, man's responsibility for evil must be absolutely preserved. Together these two postulates are viewed as necessary to correspond to the character of God
and describe the manner in which God chooses to manifest his sovereignty when interacting with his creatures:
On one hand, it requires God to operate according to a voluntarily limited mode of
providence
. This means that God deliberately exercises sovereignty without determining every event.
On the other hand, it requires God's
election
to be a "
predestination
by foreknowledge".
In that respect, God's foreknowledge reconciles with human free will in the following way: Human
free will
is limited by
original sin
, though God's
prevenient grace
restores to humanity the ability to accept God's call of salvation.
God's foreknowledge of the future is exhaustive and complete, and therefore the future is certain and not
contingent
on human action. God does not determine the future, but He does know it. God's certainty and human contingency are compatible.
To Arminians, then, the decision to believe and
repent
is a decision which a sovereign God granted to humanity. Thus, free will is granted and limited by God's sovereignty, but God's sovereignty allows all men the choice to accept the
Gospel
of Jesus through
faith
, simultaneously allowing all men to resist.
Notes and references
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
John Paul II 1993
, Section II, Ch. 1, Article 1, §4 Providence and secondary causes, item 306.
- ^
Alexander & Johnson 2016
, p. 204. "It should be conceded at the outset, and without any embarrassment, that Calvinism is indeed committed to divine determinism: the view that everything is ultimately determined by God."
- ^
Alexander & Johnson 2016
, p. 4. "Calvinists are committed to saying that moral responsibility and any sort of free will that is necessary for moral responsibility are compatible with whatever sort of determinism is entailed by Calvinist views of providence."
Sources
[
edit
]
- Alexander, David; Johnson, Daniel (2016).
Calvinism and the Problem of Evil
. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publication.
- Baaren, Theodorus P. van; Stefon, Matt. (2020).
"Providence"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
.
- Bathrellos, Demetrios (2004).
The Byzantine Christ: Person, Nature, and Will in the Christology of Saint Maximus the Confessor
. Oxford: Oxford Academic.
- Brice, Ben (2023).
Theological Voluntarism and Protestant Critiques of Natural Reason
. Oxford: Oxford Academic.
- Calvin, John (1845).
Institutes of the Christian Religion; a New Translation by Henry Beveridge
. Vol. 2. Translated by
Henry Beveridge
. Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society. books 2, 3.
- Cammenga, Ronald; Hanko, Ronald (2002).
Saved by Grace ? a Study of the Five Points of Calvinism
. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Assn.
- Clark, Gordon H. (1961).
Religion, Reason, and Revelation
. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed.
- Easton, Matthew G. (1897).
"Sovereignty"
.
Illustrated Bible Dictionary
. London: Thomas Nelson.
- Fairbairn, Donald (2002).
Eastern Orthodoxy Through Western Eyes
. London: Westminster John Knox Press.
- Flowers, Leighton (2014).
"Is sovereignty an eternal attribute of God that the non-Calvinist undermines ?"
.
Soteriology 101
.
- Grudem, Wayne (1994).
Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine
. Leicester, England & Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press & Zondervan.
- Helm, Paul (2010).
Calvin at the Center
. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- John Paul II (1993).
Catechism of the Catholic Church Second Edition Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum
. Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
- Karkkainen, Veli-Matti (2017).
"Human Action within the Sovereignty of God: Christian Perspectives"
.
Cuman Action within the Sovereignty of God: Christian Perspectives
. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
- Leonard, William (1991).
"Sovereignty of God"
.
Holman Bible Dictionary
. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman.
- Lewis, C. S. (2001).
The Problem of Pain
. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco.
- McCall, Thomas H. (2008).
"I Believe in Divine Sovereignty"
(PDF)
.
Trinity Journal
.
29
(2): 205?226.
- McGrath, Alister (1998).
Iustitia Dei : a history of the Christian doctrine of justification
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Oke, Norman R. (1983). "Divine Sovereignty".
Beacon Dictionary of Theology
. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.
- Olson, Roger E. (2009).
Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities
. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
- Olson, Roger E. (2010a).
"One more quick sidebar about clarifying Arminianism"
.
Roger E. Olson: My evangelical, Arminian theological musings
. Patheos
. Retrieved
2019-08-27
.
- Olson, Roger E. (2010b).
"A Much Neglected Basic Choice in Theology"
.
Roger E. Olson: My evangelical, Arminian theological musings
. Patheos
. Retrieved
2020-08-08
.
- Olson, Roger E. (2014).
Arminianism FAQ: Everything You Always Wanted to Know
. [Franklin, TE]: Seebed.
- Olson, Roger E. (2018).
"Calvinism and Arminianism Compared"
.
Roger E. Olson: My evangelical, Arminian theological musings
. Patheos
. Retrieved
2019-08-27
.
- Packer, J.J. (April 2003).
"Prayers for Salvation"
.
Christianity Today
. Retrieved
12 April
2017
.
- Picirilli, Robert (2002).
Grace, Faith, Free Will: Contrasting Views of Salvation
. Nashville: Randall House.
- Pink, Arthur (2001).
The Sovereignty of God
. Lafayette, IN: Sovereign Grace Publishers, Inc.
- Piper, John (2016-01-18).
"Is God Sovereign Over My Free Will?"
.
Desiring God
. Retrieved
9 April
2017
.
- Plantinga, Alvin (1974).
God, Freedom, and Evil
. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
- Ryrie, Charles (1986).
Basic Theology
. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
- Sproul, R. C. (2011a).
Essential Truths of the Christian Faith
. Carol Stream, IL: Tindale House Publishers, Inc.
- Spurgeon, Charles (1860).
"The Wailing of Risca"
.
The Spurgeon Center
. Retrieved
2023-05-20
.
- Tenney, Merrill C. (1975).
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible
. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
- Walker, Leslie Joseph (1911).
"Divine Providence"
.
Catholic Encyclopedia
. Vol. 12.
- Warfield, Benjamin (1971).
Calvin and Augustine
. Philadelphia: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Co.
- Westminster Assembly (1946) [1646]. S. W., Carruthers (ed.).
The Confession of Faith of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster
. London: Presbyterian Church of England.