Even to discuss the authority of Almighty God seems a bit meaningless, and to question it would be absurd. Can we imagine the Lord God of Hosts having to request permission of anyone or to apply for anything to a higher body7 To whom would God go for permission? Who is higher than the Highest? Who is mightier than the Almighty? Whose position antedates that of the Eternal? At whose throne would God kneel? Where is the greater one to whom He must appeal? “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
The sovereignty of God is a fact well established in the Scriptures and declared aloud by the logic of truth. But admittedly it raises certain problems that have not to this time been satisfactorily solved. These are mainly two.
The first is the presence in the creation of those things that God cannot approve, such as evil, pain, and death. If God is sovereign He could have prevented their coming into existence. Why did He not do so?
The Zend-Avesta, sacred book of Zoroastrianism, loftiest of the great non-Biblical religions, got around this difficulty neatly enough by postulating a theological dualism. There were two Gods, Ormazd and Ahriman, and these between them created the world. The good Onnazd made all good things and the evil Ahriman made the rest. It was quite simple. Ormazd had no sovereignty to worry about, and apparently did not mind sharing his prerogatives with another.
Verse
“This is what the Lord says— / Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty; / I am the first and I am the last; / apart from me there is no God.” Isaiah 44:6
Thought
The sovereignty of God is a fact well established in the Scriptures and declared aloud by the logic of truth.
Prayer
Give us a bit of understanding to know why good and evil exist—and the faith to believe that in Your Sovereignty.