Sovereignty – With God or With Man?
by David Cross
The issue of spiritual sovereignty between God and man goes back to the Fall. Sovereignty can be defined as the position of authority which requires no accountability. From a biblical perspective, this position can only be held by the God of creation. It is only logical that the Creator of human life must be the One to whom we are accountable, but the fallen nature of man is such that we would much rather hold the place of sovereignty ourselves.
Man has tried at least three solutions to overcome this carnal conflict between his authority and the authority of God. The first solution, which we see at the Fall, is to rebel against God, ignore His instructions, act as if man is sovereign and hope that the consequence will not be too severe.
The second solution, which was evident, for example, at the time of the French Revolution, was to adopt the view that there probably is a distant Supreme Being but, having somehow set the universe in motion, he, or perhaps it, cares little for our daily well-being. Such a deity certainly would not require us to be directly accountable to divine opinion, so our claiming human sovereignty is unlikely to cause much divine upset.
Man’s third solution has been to adopt the ideology of the secular humanist and declare that there is no God, our existence is entirely the consequence of chance and, therefore, human beings inevitably hold the place of sovereignty in the known cosmos, by virtue of their unsurpassable intelligence.
Jesus came to deal with all of man’s sin, not least his pride, and to make it clear to us that all authority has been given to Him, both in heaven and on earth. He gives mankind the opportunity to abandon his foolish assumptions of sovereignty and surrender to the King of kings. He loves us too much to leave us so confused and so spiritually vulnerable.
Prayer: Father God, You are indeed sovereign. You are accountable to no-one. I am so thankful that You have made a way for me to be a citizen of Your Kingdom, and able to serve the King with all my heart. Amen.
David Cross David is part of the Executive Leadership of Ellel Ministries, with particular responsibility for the Ellel centres in Western Europe. He is married to Denise and they have three grown up children and eight grandchildren. David has been a civil engineer and ski-touring instructor in the Highlands of Scotland. He is passionate about the teaching and practice of the healing and deliverance ministry of Jesus and has written several books: Soul Ties, Trapped by Control, God’s Covering, The Dangers of Alternative Ways to Healing(co-authored with John Berry), an A to Z Guide to the Healing Ministry, What`s Wrong with Human Rights? and, most recently, God`s Way out of Depression. You can follow a daily thought from David on Twitter: @dmcross62
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