The Supremacy of God: The Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth

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Introduction

In one of his letters to Erasmus, Martin Luther wrote: “Your thoughts of God are too human.” It was a serious rebuke, but it was deserved.

Sadly, the same can often be said today. Many people, even among those who profess to be Christians, have a view of God that is shaped more by human opinion, religious tradition, sentiment, or popular preaching than by the Scriptures themselves.

Instead of searching the Word of God carefully, many simply accept what others say about God. As a result, the God of the Bible has become unknown to many.

God once rebuked Israel because they imagined Him to be like themselves:

These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
Psalm 50:21 NKJV

This same accusation may also be brought against much of modern Christianity. Many imagine that God is ruled by human emotion, rather than by His eternal wisdom, holiness, justice and purpose.

They think that if God has a plan, it must be uncertain and constantly changing. They speak as though God’s power must be limited, otherwise man’s “free will” would be violated. They reduce the atonement of Christ to a mere offer which sinners may accept or reject as they please. They reduce the work of the Holy Spirit to an invitation that can be resisted, altered or ignored by man.

But this is not the God of Scripture.

The God of the Bible is not weak. He is not frustrated. His will cannot be overthrown. His purposes cannot fail. He is not a servant of man’s decisions. He is the living God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

A “god” whose will can be resisted, whose purposes can be defeated, and whose plans can be frustrated has no true claim to deity. Such a “god” is only an invention of the human mind.

The God of Scripture is supreme.

The Lord Reigns Over All

God is the Creator. We are His creatures. He is the Potter; we are the clay in His hands. The whole universe belongs to Him, and all power, glory, majesty and authority are His.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honour come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.
1 Chronicles 29:11–12 NKJV

Notice carefully: God reigns now. He is not waiting to become sovereign. He is already exalted as Head over all.

No ruler, government, empire, church leader, political system, technology, army, nation or spiritual power can stand against Him.

O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?
2 Chronicles 20:6 NKJV

Before God, kings, presidents, emperors, rulers, religious leaders and the most powerful people of this age are nothing. They may appear great in the eyes of man, but they are completely subject to the authority of God.

God’s Purpose Cannot Be Stopped

The God of Scripture is not a symbolic ruler. He is not a powerless monarch. He is not a heavenly observer hoping that things will work out. He is the eternal God who does what He pleases.

But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
And whatever His soul desires, that He does.
Job 23:13 NKJV

Job also confessed:

I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
Job 42:2 NKJV

Everything God has designed, He will accomplish. Everything He has decreed, He will perform. Nothing can overthrow His counsel.

But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
Psalm 115:3 NKJV

There is no wisdom or understanding
Or counsel against the Lord.
Proverbs 21:30 NKJV

This is a great comfort to the believer. God is not reacting in panic to the actions of men. He is not trying to repair a broken plan. He rules over all things according to His own wisdom and purpose.

God Rules Over Creation

The supremacy of God is clearly seen in His rule over creation. The natural world obeys His command.

In Scripture, we see that:

• The Red Sea divided, and its waters stood like walls when God delivered Israel from Egypt. Exodus 14
• The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the rebels who stood against Moses. Numbers 16
• The sun stood still in the days of Joshua. Joshua 10
• The shadow went backwards on the sundial of Ahaz. Isaiah 38:8
• Ravens brought food to Elijah. 1 Kings 17:4-6
• Iron floated on water in the days of Elisha. 2 Kings 6:5
• Lions were restrained when Daniel was thrown into their den. Daniel 6:20-21
• Fire did not burn Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego when they were cast into the furnace. Daniel 3:24-25

Creation is never independent of its Creator. The sea, the earth, the sun, animals, fire and every force of nature are subject to His command.

Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.
Psalm 135:6 NKJV

God rules in heaven. God rules on earth. God rules in the sea. God rules in the depths. There is no place where His authority does not reach.

God Rules Over the Nations

God’s supremacy is also seen in His rule over nations and people. No kingdom rises or falls apart from His sovereign rule.

In Exodus, God commanded the men of Israel to appear before Him three times a year. Humanly speaking, this could have left their homes, land, wives and children vulnerable to attack. Yet God gave them a remarkable promise:

Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
Exodus 34:23–24 NKJV

This promise reveals something powerful: God is able to restrain even the desires of men. He did not merely promise that enemies would not attack; He said that no man would even covet their land while they were away.

This shows that God rules not only over outward actions, but also over the hidden intentions of the heart.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,
Like the rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.
Proverbs 21:1 NKJV

Even the heart of a king is in the hand of the Lord. No ruler is too powerful for God to direct. No human authority is beyond His control.

God’s Counsel Will Stand

Man may rebel against God’s commands, but man can never overthrow God’s eternal purpose.

God has given us His Word as the rule by which we must live. We are responsible before Him for our conduct, obedience and faith. Yet even when men act wickedly, God’s eternal counsel is never defeated.

His purposes are accomplished down to the smallest detail.

The clearest example of this is the cross of Christ. Wicked men rejected, betrayed and crucified the Lord Jesus, yet even this was not outside God’s sovereign plan.

Man was guilty. God was sovereign. Evil men acted according to their sinful desires, yet God accomplished redemption according to His eternal purpose.

This is the mystery and majesty of God’s sovereignty: man is responsible, yet God reigns supreme.

God’s Supremacy in the New Testament

The New Testament teaches the supremacy of God just as clearly as the Old Testament.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.
Ephesians 1:11 NKJV

God does not work some things according to His will. He works all things according to the counsel of His will.

Paul also writes:

For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counsellor?
Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:34–36 NKJV

All things are of Him, through Him, and to Him. God is the source, the sustainer and the final purpose of all things.

Man may boast in his plans, his freedom, his strength, his wisdom and his future. But Scripture warns us against such arrogance.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
James 4:13–16 NKJV

Man plans, but God directs.

A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 NKJV

This does not make life meaningless. Rather, it gives the believer great comfort. Our lives are not ruled by blind fate or random chance. Every detail is under the hand of the living God, the One we call Father.

Jesus Himself said:

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Matthew 10:30 NKJV

If even the hairs of our head are numbered, then nothing in our lives is outside the knowledge, care and rule of God.

A Sure Resting Place for the Believer

The supremacy of God is not a cold doctrine. It is a warm and powerful comfort to the child of God.

If God reigns over all things, then the believer can rest. We may not understand every trial, every delay, every loss or every season of waiting, but we know that our lives are in His hands.

David said:

My times are in Your hand.
Psalm 31:15 NKJV

This means our past, present and future are under God’s care. Our days, our opportunities, our trials, our victories and even our limitations are not outside His rule.

Therefore, we are called to trust Him patiently.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.
Psalm 37:7 NKJV

This is where the heart finds peace. Not in human control. Not in favourable circumstances. Not in the wisdom of man. But in the absolute supremacy of God.

God’s Sovereignty Defines True Worship

A small view of God produces shallow worship. A weak view of God produces anxious faith. A man-centred view of God produces man-centred religion.

But when we see God as Scripture reveals Him — holy, sovereign, supreme, almighty and unchangeable — worship becomes reverent, faith becomes stronger, and the soul finds rest.

God is not trying to become King.

He is King.

He is not waiting to see whether His purposes will succeed.

They will succeed.

He is not dependent upon man’s approval, permission or cooperation.

He is the Lord God Almighty.

For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
Psalm 47:2 NKJV

The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.
Psalm 103:19 NKJV

This is the God of Scripture: not a god made in man’s image, but the eternal Lord who made man in His image.

He is supreme over creation.

He is supreme over nations.

He is supreme over rulers.

He is supreme over history.

He is supreme over salvation.

He is supreme over our lives.