-----------------------
Dr. Piper will use the word "sovereign" and its variants 18 times but will never define it. In fact, it is quite clear that he does not use the actual definition. Let's explain what sovereignty is. Acts 4:24 reads,
Act 4:24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them..."
The Greek word for "sovereign" is despotés, a word used ten times in the NT: (despótēs) implies someone exercising "unrestricted power and absolute domination, confessing no limitations or restraints..."
Mostly used in terms of a monarchy, sovereignty describe a position of highest authority and absolute rulership. A king has unquestioned authority, with even the law itself being subject to him. His commands are law, his desires are carried out without question.
Sovereignty is a position, not an activity. Sovereignty doesn't describe actions, because the king as sovereign determines his own actions as he chooses. Further, his subjects operate according to his rulership, but he does not go to every field and tell the plower how to do his plowing. He does not show up to explain to the baker how to make bread. He does not personally go to the seamstress to see if she's sewing correctly.
The king is the ultimate authority, but he has no need to control every single thing in his kingdom, because he delegates his authority. He has agents to do his bidding, and they operate with authority under the king's authority. We see this in Gabriel's words:
I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. Lk. 1:19
The centurion amazed Jesus when he placed himself in subjection to Him:
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go," and he goes; and that one, "Come," and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this," and he does it. Lk. 7:8
This chain of authority descends down to the lowliest subject in his kingdom. Even the poorest sap has a modicum of authority as he lives out his life in the kingdom. That is why the king has no need to dictate every action of every soul in his kingdom. His authority descends down to the lowest place.
It is crucial we understand that sovereignty doesn't speak to actions. Sovereignty doesn't require action or forbid action, because the king determines the expressions of his sovereignty as it pleases him. He is not subject to any required action. He is not forbidden from any action. If he was required to to act, he would not be sovereign. If he was required to stand there and make sure the baker made every single loaf of bread correctly, he would be at the mercy of what he was required to do.
Thus sovereignty is a position, not an action. The actions of a sovereign are a matter apart from his position.
Audio Transcript
(...)
The question is from an anonymous listener to the podcast: “Pastor John... how important is God’s sovereignty in shaping the content of all our prayers?”
In Ezekiel 36, God says to the people of Israel,
Thus says the Lord God: This also I will [be sought by] the house of Israel . . . to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. . . . So shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 36:37–38)
Now, earlier in the chapter, God had promised he would do that (Ezekiel 36:10). He would multiply the people. He would fill the cities with his flocks, his people. But now in Ezekiel 36:37, he tells them how he’s going to do it: namely, “I will be sought to do it.” Now, that’s my literal translation of the Niphal form of the Hebrew verb darash, “to seek.” I think it says in the ESV, “I will let my people seek me,” or something like that, which is fine, but he’s telling them, “Here’s how I’m going to do it. I will be sought by you to do it.” That means “I will be prayed to.” “This also I will be sought, I will be prayed to, by the house of Israel to do for them.” (What, exactly, is Dr. Piper talking about? It seems that he was enjoying his new ESV Bible and came across this verse. He must have noticed that the translation plays right into his Calvinistic beliefs.
Despite the Calvinistic bias in the ESV, the word simply means:
We can be fairly certain that they did not predetermine their actions.)
And I think that means, at least in part, that our Father in heaven knows what’s good for us and has a plan to do it through our asking, (This also is a matter to be demonstrated.)
1. (properly) to tread or frequent2. (usually) to follow (for pursuit or search)3. (by implication) to seek or ask
4. (specifically) to worship
The word is used quite often for contexts that don't even involve God. For example:
Ju. 6:29 They asked each other, “Who did this?” When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”
We can be fairly certain that they did not predetermine their actions.)
Sovereign over Means and Ends
That is one of the instances in the Bible — one of the clearest, I think — of how God’s purpose to do a thing and his way of doing it are brought together; namely, he purposes to do a thing, and then he aims to do it through our prayers. “I plan to do it, and so I will be sought by them to do it. I’m going to ordain the thing — I’m going to ordain the prayer — that will cause me to do what I have ordained to do.” (There it is. Dr. Piper discovered a verse in a translation that bolsters his doctrine, and he uses it to hammer his point.)
That is one of the instances in the Bible — one of the clearest, I think — of how God’s purpose to do a thing and his way of doing it are brought together; namely, he purposes to do a thing, and then he aims to do it through our prayers. “I plan to do it, and so I will be sought by them to do it. I’m going to ordain the thing — I’m going to ordain the prayer — that will cause me to do what I have ordained to do.” (There it is. Dr. Piper discovered a verse in a translation that bolsters his doctrine, and he uses it to hammer his point.)
That’s the fundamental relationship between the sovereignty of God and human prayer. God plans something, and then he ordains what the means will be that he will use to bring it about — and one of those means is prayer. (This is the matter to be proved, not simply asserted.)
When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
And I think that means, at least in part, that our Father in heaven knows what’s good for us and has a plan to do it through our asking, (This also is a matter to be demonstrated.)
so that our asking does not need to be eloquent or long-winded, as if we need to twist his arm to do what he as a good Father aims to do for us. (??? The verse is about thinking the number of words to be heard, not twisting God's arm.
But we are to persist in prayer, in fact, Jesus implies that twisting of God's arm:
Lk. 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
This is the story about the persistent widow and the unrighteous judge.)
But let’s not make the mistake of drawing the false conclusion. People think it’s a logical conclusion. It’s not. It’s not a logical conclusion. It’s false logic — namely, that because God is sovereign and things are going to happen the way he intended, because they’re going to do that, you don’t need to pray; it’s pointless to pray. That’s false, ungodly, unbiblical logic. (Well, certainly. But that doesn't answer the question. If God gets his way no matter what, then why pray if it won't change anything?)
That’s not the way it works. It’s not always the case, because God often plans that the human means are not decreed, (What does this mean? The title to this subsection is "Sovereign over Means and Ends." But the means are not decreed? Is there some Bible verse that explains this? Does this even make sense?)
and so neither is the result decreed. (???? But, but.... Dr. Piper just told us:
he purposes to do a thing, and then he aims to do it through our prayers. “I plan to do it, and so I will be sought by them to do it. I’m going to ordain the thing — I’m going to ordain the prayer — that will cause me to do what I have ordained to do.”
So is there some difference between "ordained" and "decreed?")
As soon as you realize that outcomes and means to those outcomes are both in the mind of God, (Is there some difference between "in the mind of God" and "ordained" and "decreed?" None of this is making sense.)
then you won’t fall prey to that false logic of saying, “Well, since God is sovereign, it doesn’t matter whether we pray or not.” (We are left begging the question.)
Ask the Father
In fact, James 4 makes sure that we don’t make that mistake. In James 4:15, he says, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” So, he’s clearly a total believer in the sovereignty of God — meticulous sovereignty. “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” That’s sovereignty and providence. (Providence? What's this?)
But in James 4:2, he says this: “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.” Wow. Could the value of prayer be elevated any more highly than for an inspired biblical spokesman to say, “The reason you don’t have is because you didn’t ask”? (So asking is ordained, and asking with the wrong motives might have been in God's mind, or maybe it was decreed?)
Things don’t happen because we don’t ask for them to happen. That’s true. (So it seems God plays games. "I decreed and purposed something in My mind, but you didn't pray. Sucker!")
That does not mean that everything you ask happens. We’re not God. He’s a good Father. Good fathers don’t do that. They don’t give everything to their children that they ask for. He gives good things. If we ask for bread, he doesn’t give us a stone. If we ask for a fish, he doesn’t give us a snake (Matthew 7:9–11; Luke 11:11–13). What does he give? Jesus says he gives good things — good things — to those who ask, like every good father does, only much more. If a child asks for something harmful, a good father gives him something beneficial. (This seems to impact His sovereignty. No wonder Calvinists get all twisted up in explaining things. Their doctrines create the need for work-arounds.)
Reverence and Worship
I think there are two basic things that we can say in answer to this question about what the sovereignty of God does to our prayers. First, it provides a tone and conviction of submissiveness and reverence and worship. (It does this uniquely? Well, no. A non-Calvinist also submits with reverence and worship.)
And second, it provides a deep confidence that nothing is too hard for the Lord, so nothing can stop him from answering our prayers when he sets himself to do it. (It does this uniquely? Well, no. A non-Calvinist is also confident in God's ability.)
You can see the first effect of sovereignty in the prayer of the church in Acts 4:24–33. It starts like this: “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them” (Acts 4:24). (We explained this verse in our introduction.)
And then it goes on to quote Psalm 2 about the futility of the nations raging against the sovereign God. And then it goes on to testify to God’s predestining Pilate and Herod and the Jews and the Gentiles in the killing of Jesus. So, it’s just an amazing prayer. (So God predestines what He will do, which means He predestined that someone would not pray and therefore not get anything because He predestined not giving it because of their failure to pray. Or something.
Dr. Piper's teaching is a confused mess.)
Only after all of that acclamation of God’s sovereign rule over the world does the prayer finally, in verse 29, get to a request: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” That’s an amazing way to pray, and it’s all shaped by the sovereignty of God. More than half of the prayer is simply exulting before God in the absolute rule of God over his enemies. So, that’s the first effect of the sovereignty of God on prayer: It gives a tone of submissive reverence and worship and exultation in God.
Confidence and Hope
The other effect of the sovereignty of God on prayer is to give us a strong confidence that nothing is too hard for the Lord. Job says in Job 42:2, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
And when the disciples were dismayed that Jesus said the rich can’t get into heaven (or at least, it’s hard for the rich to get into the kingdom of heaven), they were just blown away, and they said, “Who then can be saved?” And Jesus responded, “With man this is impossible [namely, to save people], but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25–26). That’s our confidence in prayer for people who look impossible to save. (No, no, no! Jesus was commenting in the context of His audience's understanding. They thought that those who practiced the law and did all the righteous thingswere blessed with wealth and therefore had the inside track on salvation. That's why they were shocked at what Jesus said. It's not about God's ability at all.)
In fact, Paul said that the hardness of the Jews in his day was owing to God’s sovereign decree, but he prayed for them anyway (Romans 11:8). “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1). (Dr. Piper does not understand God's purpose for Israel as His chosen race, a remnant of which be faithful. Paul longed for his brethren to repent and be saved, given they had all the blessings of God.
Paul prayed because he knew God would hear. Paul did not possess Dr. Piper's doctrine.)
So, I would encourage all of us to pray without ceasing for the things that seem to be impossible, because they’re not impossible for God, because God is sovereign. The sovereignty of God is the great ground of our hope for answered prayer.
So, I would encourage all of us to pray without ceasing for the things that seem to be impossible, because they’re not impossible for God, because God is sovereign. The sovereignty of God is the great ground of our hope for answered prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment