Sovereignty God is

Copyright © Simon G. HarrisScripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission

We can never fully understand God

Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;his greatness no one can fathom.

Firstly ….

We can never fully understand God

Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;his understanding has no limit.

Firstly ….

We can never fully understand God

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!How unsearchable his judgements,and his paths beyond tracing out!

Firstly ….

God is incomprehensible

Don’t settle for the CV

Psalms 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Secondly ….

You can meet him & know him

Don’t settle for the CV

Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the LORD for ever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

Secondly ….

You can meet him & know him

Don’t settle for the CV

Psalms 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Secondly ….

You can meet him & know him

His incommunicable attributes Attributes he does not share

(“communicate”) with us

The characteristics of God

His communicable attributesAttributes he does share

(“communicate”) with us

(i) God’s glory

Exodus 40:34-35 … and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle

His Incommunicable Attributes

(i) God’s glory

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

His Incommunicable Attributes

(i) God’s glory

Acts 17:24-25 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, …

His Incommunicable Attributes

God is independent

(i) God’s glory

Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were bornor you brought forth the earth and the world,from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

His Incommunicable Attributes

God is independent

(i) God’s glory

Psalm 102:25-27 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; ..But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

His Incommunicable Attributes

God is immutable (unchanging)

(i) God’s glory

1 Tim. 6:16 … who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen.

His Incommunicable Attributes

God is infinite

(ii) God’s lordship

Isaiah 45:6 so that from the rising of the sunto the place of its settingmen may know there is none besides me.I am the LORD, and there is no other.

His Incommunicable Attributes

(ii) God’s lordship

Jeremiah 32:27 "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

His Incommunicable Attributes

God’s omnipotence (Lord of all power)

(ii) God’s lordship

Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

His Incommunicable Attributes

God’s omnipotence (Lord of all power)

(ii) God’s lordship

Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go from your Spirit?Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

His Incommunicable Attributes

God’s omnipresence (Lord of all space)

(ii) God’s lordship

Jeremiah 23:23-24 "Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?"

His Incommunicable Attributes

God’s omnipresence (Lord of all space)

(ii) God’s lordship

Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were bornor you brought forth the earth and the world,from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

His Incommunicable Attributes

God’s eternal nature (Lord of all time)

(ii) God’s lordship

Jude 1:25 to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

His Incommunicable Attributes

God’s eternal nature (Lord of all time)

(ii) God’s lordship

Isaiah 40:14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?

His Incommunicable Attributes

God’s omniscience (Lord of all knowledge)

(ii) God’s lordship

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

His Incommunicable Attributes

God’s sovereignty(Lord of all people)

(i) A relational being

John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

His Communicable Attributes

(ii) A functional being

Psalms 34:19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

His Communicable Attributes

(iii) A moral being

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

His Communicable Attributes

God is love

(iii) A moral being

1 John 4:9-10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us …

His Communicable Attributes

God is love

(iii) A moral being

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

His Communicable Attributes

God is love

(iii) A moral being

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

His Communicable Attributes

God is love

(iii) A moral being

Psalm 106:1 Praise the LORD.Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;his love endures forever.

His Communicable Attributes

God is love

(iii) A moral being

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

His Communicable Attributes

God is love - goodness

(iii) A moral being

John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

His Communicable Attributes

God is love - grace

(iii) A moral being

Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God,

His Communicable Attributes

God is love - jealousy

(iii) A moral being

Leviticus 11:44 I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.

His Communicable Attributes

God is holy

(iii) A moral being

Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.

His Communicable Attributes

God is holy

(iii) A moral being

Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another:"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;the whole earth is full of his glory."

His Communicable Attributes

God is holy - separate

(iii) A moral being

Deut. 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

His Communicable Attributes

God is holy - righteous

(iii) A moral being

Psalm 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways

His Communicable Attributes

God is holy - righteous

(iii) A moral being

Psalm 96:13 They will sing before the LORD, for he comes,he comes to judge the earth.He will judge the world in righteousnessand the peoples in his truth.

His Communicable Attributes

God is holy - just

(iii) A moral being

Ephesians 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

His Communicable Attributes

God is holy – angry (wrath)

(iii) A moral being

Colossians 3:6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

His Communicable Attributes

God is holy – angry (wrath)

A crisis in God

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you,

A crisis in God

Sin separates

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death,

A crisis in God

Sin brings death

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin£ for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

A crisis in God

Sin brings death

God’s response: the cross

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A crisis in God

Sin brings death

God’s response: the cross

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

A crisis in God

Your response?

God’s response: the cross

God is sovereign… and saviour