Very often we say this in church, God is in control. But what do we mean when we say God is in control?
If God is in control, exactly what does He control?
Does He control the weather?
Does he control people?
Does he control the Covid? Or did the Covid somehow get out of control?
Some say the virus was created in the laboratory by this or that government because this or that government wants to dominate, to control and manipulate the world?
But if say, America wanted to control the world, and they are a world superpower: superpower in economy, superpower in military; they dominate those aspects of modern society, and in that sense we can say that they control the world. So if they control the world, where is God in all of that? Is God orchestrating everything as human history unfolds?
What about in our own personal lives, where is God in your life?
Is God in control in your life?
Did God control the things you did today? You probably did something stupid this morning. You had an argument with your spouse or something. Did God control all of that? I guess nobody would even dare to answer that in the affirmative.
But if God did not control the things you did today, then how is He in control? You may be confused already. But I did not plan to spread confusion here. I wanted to share these things with you in hopes of helping you cope with your thoughts, where you are probably struggling right now, as you are patiently and anxiously waiting for the current economic and health situation to end. Indeed this is not an easy topic.
Three wills of God
Theologians will answer this question by distinguishing the three wills of God. The first is called the decretive will of God, the second is the perceptive will of God, and the third is called the permissive will of God. Let’s define them briefly.
Decretive will of God pertain to those things that happen because God has decreed them. The creation event is an example of this where God has directly acted to bring things into being. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
During the Supernatural Seminar we had with Dr. Michael Heiser we have seen that God has a Divine Council and this council can make decrees and once God sets His stamp of approval, it becomes final and the decree comes to pass. We see this in Daniel 4, when Nebuchadnezzar lost his reason and lived in the wild as animal:
[Daniel 4:16-17 ESV] Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. [17] The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’
There we can see that the decree was given that Nebuchanezzar's mind be changed from a man's to a beast's, and it happened as it was decreed.
Perceptive will of God - an example would be the Old Testament laws. It is distinguished from the decretive will of God, in that the perceptive will of God is revealed through His commandments and the subjects of those commands are given the discretion or ability of whether to do the will of God or to disobey it. That's the perceptive will of God.
Permissive will of God - by the term permission it basically means those things that God allows to happen.
Sometimes theologians will just make two categories, (1) the determinate sovereign will of God, and (2) the permissive will of God.
But these are rather technical terms. How can they find relevance to our lives especially during these times? Can we theologize or philosophize our way out through the situation we are having right now? Indeed there is a sort of disconnect between what is academic and the human experience.
Scholarship gap
The gap between biblical scholarship and the church is quite huge. This is why I appreciate the work of Michael Heiser because he is collecting scholarship material and repackages them to make them comprehensible for the church. I welcome that idea. The popular church culture seems to have developed a sort of dislike toward biblical theology which I think is really unhealthy. Sometimes when I would consider the pentecostal, charismatic movement, I think to myself that we are like, we don’t do theology, we just speak in tongues. I find that funny and I don’t mean that to offend anybody.
Strive to go deeper
Not everybody is able to grasp academic material but the average christian should strive and recognize the need to go deeper into the Word of God. And how to go deeper? It is simple. Go read some other material than what you have been reading your whole christian life. It will open up other avenue of learning and knowledge of the Word of God. For example, if you have been reading and listening to Joel Osteen for several years now, and all you listen to is Joel Osteen, (and similar materials) you should begin to feel some dissatisfaction inside of you, a sort of feeling of wanting more from the Word of God. If the Word of God is food, I don’t think you can survive if all you listen to is Joel Osteen. As with natural food, you gotta have some variety. You can't have one food on the table all the time.
This is not to discredit Joel Osteen, I think that his message is also useful, but he only has one message. And if you have been listening to Joel Osteen for more than five years now, you should already be looking for other materials, for your own personal growth.
Personal experience
Early on in my christian life, I consumed a lot of Andrew Wommack’s material. His Gospel Truth program and his teaching series were really helpful for faith formation. In fact he has one series entitled Faith Builders. Those are excellent material especially if you are new in the faith. But I got to a point where I thought I had already consumed much of Andrew's teaching and yet I had this sense that there is still a big portion of the Bible that I have not yet touched on. I had that sense that the materials I had were just not enough for my personal growth as a christian. And it was around this time when during one meeting I really had to share with the Pastors the question that was starting to create a vacuum inside me asking: who will teach ROL?
This is not to say that we don’t have apt teachers in our church. We have a great team of Pastors, very talented and gifted. But all of us never had any formal training. Sabi nga ni Dr. Flores, kami yung mga tinatawag na mga Pastor sa bayabasan. He didn’t say that in any derogatory manner, it was just a statement of fact. We get trained out in the streets, while doing the ministry. And people like Dr. Flores are actually extending help by providing training to ministry workers like us.
Theology of suffering
Going back to our question, what do we mean when we say God is in control? I don’t think the average christian truly understands those words. And whenever there are tragedies, or catastrophes, or this pandemic that we have right now, how do we explain to people, especially to those outside the church that God is in control?
If we are to be honest, the fact of the matter is, even when we preach much about health, wealth and prosperity, still suffering abounds. This is the reality that we live in. We cannot and should not deny this. Especially for the next generation that comes behind us. They will start to ask questions, and once they see that our worldview does not conform to reality, that is enough reason for them to walk away.
If the weather is bad, the weather is bad for everybody. Christians are not exempt from that. Suffering is simply a part of life, even the christian life. In fact there is more suffering in this life for the christian, the Bible says. And therefore I think that a theology on suffering is necessary if we are to correctly answer the question what do we mean when we say God is in control?
Consider for example the following passages in the Bible:
[Acts 14:21-22 NIV] They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
At first glance, this immediately goes at odds with the chistian pop-culture we have right now. I had coined the phrase “christian pop-culture” this second time, what do I mean by it? It is this repacking of the christian message into something like this, receive the Lord Jesus and you will have a good life. This is the popular branding of Jesus, that He is the solution to all our problems. True, but what kind problems? And if I don’t have any problems, if I’m quite successful in my career, and I practically have everything I want, what do I need God for?
On the surface we only think about our personal problems with food, clothing, shelter, and etc. And we miss the much deeper problem of sin and depravity. I hope that you will think more on this in your own personal walk with the Lord.
[1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV] Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
[James 1:2-4 NIV] Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. [4] Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
The early church was set against heavy persecution and if you read those passages against that backdrop, the meaning is not hard to grasp. We live quite remote from those events and we haven’t really seen persecution upfront. And probably this is what gives us the tendency to skip over those passages because at the back of our heads, they don’t apply to us because we don’t have persecution. But is it correct to say they don’t apply to us? I don’t think so. Though we are not facing persecution the underlying question still remains the same, will you be willing to suffer for Christ?
[Romans 14:8 ESV] For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.
If there was no suffering in the world, it will be no problem at all to say God is in control. We would not even bother asking any more questions. Even atheists wouldn’t bother. But in reality, whenever we say God is in control, it immediately pushes us to ask more questions because suffering is present and we don’t know how to deal with it. And trust me, we can even leave the devil out in this. He is a no issue. We can include him, he has a role to play, but we can just leave him out of the discussion and it wouldn’t be a problem. We can go directly to God, just like Job, and bring our case before the Father.
The overarching design of God
I think about it this way, the overarching plan of God is to create a people in fellowship with Him. This is the fellowship that we see in the book of Revelation, a perfect fellowship between God and His creation. But creation is not perfect. I think this is crucial that we understand the creation story in Genesis. The Bible doesn’t mention anywhere that the creation was perfect. The creation was very good but it was not perfect. The fact that the fall happened only means that it was not perfect. Otherwise, the fall would not have happened. But as it is, Adam did sin. Even angels sinned. And all of that is in God’s plan. God is all wise and He knows not only what will happen in the future, He knows all the possible outcomes. And He was pleased and determined the way to make all creation perfect through the Messiah, through the Cross. This is why the Bible says, in 1 Peter 1:20 ESV “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.” Perfection was a process from Adam to Christ and onto forever.
Suffering is necessary
I think it is very important for us to understand that suffering is necessary, in whatever form we encounter it. We already read it in:
[1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV] Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
[James 1:2-4 NIV] Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. [4] Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
And we can add here:
[Hebrews 12:7 NIV] Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
Whatever sufferings we encounter, even a fiery ordeal, it is not something strange. These are all part of our experience. John Piper I think is accurate when he said that whether it is a life threatening persecution, a knife across your neck, or a lost job, a lost loved one, or some other tragedy, or sickness.. they all have one common objective and that is to make you renounce your faith. I think that’s very true. Even now you could be struggling with something, you are having anxiety or worry, and if they can’t get you to renounce your faith, they will at least make you doubt, and if that doubt is not dealt with, it can lead to something worse. But we must continue to believe even if it costs us our lives.
As far as temptations are concerned:
[Matthew 18:7 ESV] “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
[1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV] No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Unanswered prayer
Another source of suffering I think is unanswered prayers. Are there unanswered prayers? There are unanswered prayers. To say the opposite is again to deny reality. Perhaps one illustration will make this point clear. For single people who are still praying to God for their life partner, and for many years you have been praying to God an still you are single, is it possible that the reason why you are still single is because God wants you to follow and serve Him with an undivided heart? If it was a cross that you must carry, will you still follow Him? I’m not saying that it is exactly the will of God for you, but have you considered that thought?
Personal application
The Bible is filled with exhortation on endurance, perseverance, and long-suffering. I believe those things are key to christian maturity. They serve the purpose of the work that needs to be done in the saints.
[1 Peter 5:8-10 NIV] Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. [9] Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. [10] And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
God, in the end will turn everything to work for your good, for our good. We know the story of Joseph. He was already governor of Egypt and his brothers were saying sorry to him for the things that they had done to him, do you remember what he said to his brothers?
[Genesis 50:20 ESV] As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
So whether you are suffering right now, through a loss of job, you have no income, or that you have fallen sick, or maybe your boss is against you, the weather is against you, your parents are against, your friends have forsaken you, just everything is against you right now, let me encourage you, that God has placed them on you to endure them. This may be a hard saying to accept but the following passage is the real kicker:
[1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
That passage is quite striking isn’t it? All our circumstances, they are the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. Therefore, be encouraged, if you are in the middle of a storm, be strengthened, have peace and comfort in your hearts, because above all these, God is in control.
[Romans 8:28 ESV] And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
This concludes our message for today. I hope that you have been encouraged and strengthened. God bless you all.
Comments