God is Sovereign, Part 1
God is Sovereign, Part 1
Characteristics of God, God is Sovereign
A while ago, I asked you to vote on what Bible study topic we should pursue next. The top vote was for Bible Essentials: Stories in Genesis. But before we begin that study, I wanted to dive into another characteristic from our Characteristics of God study. Going into a study from Genesis, it’s important to understand the role that God plays. We must understand that God rules over everything. He owns everything; he controls creation and people; he has a plan for this world that he created. We see that best by understanding God’s sovereignty.
The word sovereign refers to someone who has supreme or ultimate power. In our world, this is often a political leader, such as a king or queen. Therefore, it’s no surprise that when the Bible talks about God’s sovereignty, it uses language related to kings and kingdoms. The Bible has so much to say about God’s sovereignty, or God’s ultimate rule over everything, that we are going to split this discussion into four parts:
This week, we’ll look specifically at God as King. Key words in relation to this include kingdom, throne, and reigns. We’ll also look briefly at the characteristics of God’s kingdom.
God is King
The first thing we must establish is that God is King. The Bible has many verses that support this point. Here are just a few.
Psalm 47:2: For the Lord Most High is awesome,
the great King over all the earth.
Psalm 74:12: But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.
Psalm 95:3: For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
Isaiah 33:22: For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
it is he who will save us.
1 Timothy 6:15b-16: 15 God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
God Sits on the Throne
As King, God sits on his throne. From his throne, God can see everything, and those who are around his throne worship him.
1 Kings 22:19: Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left.”
Psalm 11:4: The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
Psalm 103:19: The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Isaiah 6:1-3: 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The Bible also describes what God’s throne look like and what God looks like as he sits on his throne. It’s quite the description!
Ezekiel 1:26-28: 26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Daniel 7:9: 9 “As I looked,
“thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.”
Revelation 4:2-3: 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
God’s throne is a place of judgment. From his throne, God will judge all the peoples of the world.
Psalm 9:4: For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
Revelation 20:11-13: 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.
From this picture, we see the glory of who God is as he sits on his throne. His throne is where he does all of his work as King.
God Has a Kingdom
Along with the fact that God is King and sits on a throne, the Bible also indicates that God has a kingdom. He has a land or territory that he rules over. Another word used for this is dominion. We saw this when we studied Psalm 145.
Psalm 145:11-13a: 11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
God’s kingdom rules over all and will crush all other kingdoms.
Psalm 103:19: The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Daniel 2:44: “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.”
God’s kingdom is the greatest kingdom that ever was or ever will be.
God Reigns Over All
If God is a King, and he has a kingdom, then one of his main tasks is to rule or reign over that kingdom.
Lamentations 5:19: You, Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
Psalm 9:7-8: 7 The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
Psalm 47:8: God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
1 Chronicles 16:31: Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
These verses indicate that God rules over everything—heaven and earth, people and nations. All of creation is under God’s authority. We’ll look more at this next week.
Characteristics of God’s Kingdom
What type of kingdom does God have? How is it described in the Bible? The picture the Bible draws of God’s kingdom is like nothing we can imagine here on this earth.
God’s kingdom is eternal:
Psalm 45:6: Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
Psalm 145:13a: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
God’s kingdom has glory and splendor:
Psalm 145:11-12: 11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
God’s kingdom has righteousness, peace, and joy:
Romans 14:17: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
God’s kingdom has power:
1 Corinthians 4:20: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
God’s kingdom gives grace and mercy:
Hebrews 4:16: Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
God’s kingdom has power and glory and splendor, yet it also has peace and joy. God’s kingdom has righteousness and justice, yet it also gives grace and mercy. These seem like opposite ends of the spectrum, but they represent who God is. He is a God who is above all, yet he still draws near and cares for us. That’s the kind of kingdom I want to be in.
Conclusion
It’s clear to see that the imagery of God as King is prevalent throughout the Bible. As King, what does God rule over? We caught a glimpse of it in this lesson, but we’ll explore it more deeply next week. I hope you’ll join me!
Premium Resources
Each individual characteristic of God study will come with two resources: a word search just for fun (including an answer key), and a list of verses for if you want to investigate that individual characteristic of God more completely.
You can access these resources by clicking here: God Is Sovereign Resources
Or you can download them here:
