Thursday, April 26, 2007

Sovereignty V. Evil

Jim:
Daniel 5:13-30
1 John 5:13-21
Luke 5:1-11
These readings might appear to be at cross-purposes on some key issues. For instance, the story in Daniel demonstrates very clearly the notion that God alone is sovereign over all the earth, including the rulers of nations other than Israel or Judah. But in 1 John the comment is made that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one (verse 19). How do these two ideas work together?

The answer may lie in the words of Simon in Luke, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (verse 8) In Jesus Simon recognizes the amazing reality of the gospel and of God’s presence. But he also recognizes that he is not the person he is intended to be. His fear may be that as a sinner, one who has done wrong (as we all do) it is dangerous or inappropriate to stand in the presence of God. For Simon, the thought of God’s sovereignty (as expressed in Daniel) “mixing” with the human tendency to choose evil or sinfulness (as 1 John suggests) is out of the question. But for Jesus there is no problem. Yes, the world has too often chosen to give power to sin and evil instead of faithfully and obediently serving God, but that does not negate the fact that God is sovereign and can and does act within human history to achieve the divine will. So even a sinful man like Simon can be used to “fish for people” as Luke says, to do what God calls us all to do. Ultimately there is no contradiction. God is sovereign, and though we may too often give our allegiance to the powers at work in the world, God still has something to say about it, and to do about it as well. Thank God.

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