Divine Sovereignty

“Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” -Romans 9:21-24 [KJV]

Men sometimes tell us that they just don’t understand what we mean by divine sovereignty. I disagree; I believe most have a very good understanding, they just don’t like what it signifies. Divine sovereignty clearly denotes that the Lord does what He will with His own. The root word is “reign.” God reigns – that’s what divine sovereignty means. He reigns in creation, in providence and in grace. The Lord declared, “My counsel shall stand, and I WILL DO ALL MY PLEASURE” (Isaiah 46:10).

He is the Potter and we are the clay. A very uncomplicated illustration will demonstrate sovereignty. A little boy takes in his hands a ball of playdough. The young fella can do whatever he wants with that lifeless, moldable clay. To think that such a small mass would have any control over the child would be insane! What power could that lump of clay possibly have over the boy?

Even so, the Lord likened all of the human race to a lump of clay in His hands and, according to His own sovereign will and purpose, He makes one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. It is absurd to think that any man could have dominion or control over the Lord! Do you understand what we mean by divine sovereignty? Of course you do. Simply put, it means the Lord God does exactly what He wants to do with everybody and everything.

-Gospel report by preacher Jim Byrd