Sovereignty of God Term Paper

Sovereignty of God

Many Christians struggle with the issue of God's supremacy as opposed to the apparent free will that the same God has given to humanity. The Garden of Eden seems to be a case in point. Why did God give Adam and Eve the ability to choose if he knew they were going to make the wrong choice? In the same way one could ask why sin is part of society, and indeed part of the lives of devout Christians. Why do we sometimes choose to do wrong? Why do we have a choice in the first place? Why does God let us do wrong things? The answers to these questions I believe are complicated and many, but one can also attempt to find satisfactory answers using one's own God-given common sense in combination with biblical teaching.

In Romans 9 Paul attempts to explain not only to himself, but also to his fellow Christians the way in which God's sovereignty works. He quotes from Exodus 33:19, proving that like human beings, God also has a choice in using his supremacy.He has mercy on whom he chooses, and hardens those he wishes (like the Pharao at the time). God's choices are made from the perspective of omnipotence and for the purpose of his own glory.

In support of this argument, it can be said that, in given free will to human beings, God has acted according to his own power of choice, for his own glory and for the benefit of his followers. Furthermore the Bible states that God has created human beings in his own image. The benefit of free will forms part of this image. When applying this concept to the example of Adam and Eve then, one can argue that God has chosen to give his first people the power of choice in order to help them represent his image on earth. The fact that they chose incorrectly indirectly adds to his glory in that God is able to show his mercy to those who choose to accept it.

As far as Moses and the Pharao are concerned, God shows his supremacy by choosing to harden Pharao's heart….....