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If God Is not SovereignGORDON H. CLARK, Ph.D.

The Churches that call themselvesReformed (Calvinistic, or Presbyter-ian) have always emphasized the sov-ereignty of God. In the historic stan-dards of the Presbyterian churches,the Westminster Confession, emphasison sovereignty is found not only inchapter three, but it permeates thewhole. The concept of grace, the planof redemption, effectual calling, theperseverance of the saints, all presup-

pose that God is sovereign. If, now,some people are agitating to alter the

third chapter of the Confession, onewould like to know two things:

First, what do they propose tosubstitute for chapter three; and

Second, what do they proposeto do with the remainder of theConfession and the Catechisms?

Until the revisionists make open andpublic declarations of their intentions,one can only canvass the possible al-ternatives. Perhaps it would be betterto say, one can only examine the otheralternative; for if the sovereignty ofGod is to be discarded, obviously itmust be maintained that God is notsovereign. There is no other possi-bility.

If now God is not sovereign, it willin the first place be impossible to thinkof God as Creator. Clearly, if God hasby an almighty act created every-thing out of nothing, He is easilyable to control what He has created.But if there be something He cannotcontrol, if there be something beyondHis power, He can neither be almightynor creator. There must, on the con-trary, be some uncreated power inde-pendent of God. For all we know,this uncreated Whatever-it-is may bemore powerful than God. Perhaps thisis what we should worship.

Or, if both God and the Whatever-it-is are limited, each by the other,

maybe we should be polytheists andworship both. Those who wish to re-vise the Confession should state clear-ly and honestly what they believe it isthat limits God. If there are thingsthat God cannot do, we should liketo know what the power is that pre-vents Him from doing such things.The Confession as now written is clearand explicit. A revision should not beless forthright.

In connection with the doctrine ofcreation there arises the problem ofthe origin of evil. No doubt this per-plexity counts considerably toward mo-tivating revision. Let us ask there-fore, did God create the devil or didHe not? If He did not, then ofcourse monotheism must be repudi-ated. But it will doubtless be replied,God created all angels righteous; lateron Satan fell. Quite so: God createdLucifer righteous; no Bible-believerwould say otherwise. Yet we wouldask, Did God know that Satan wouldsin, or did He create him withoutknowing what was to happen. If therevisionists believe in a God who isignorant of the future, let them sayso clearly. But if God is not ignorant,then obviously He created Satanknowing full well that he would falland would cause man to fall also.

Embarrassing or not, this meansthat God's sovereignty somehow mustultimately include evil and sin. IfGod is omnipotent and omniscient,then He could have prevented the oc-currence of sin either by omnipotentlypreventing Satan from sinning, or bynot creating him at all. It followstherefore, even more rigorously thanthe day the night, that God intendedto create a world in which sin wouldbe permitted. Otherwise it could notbe true that Christ was ordained tobe slain before the foundation of theworld (I Peter 1:20; Rev. 13:8). Itmay be embarrassing to say that God

must be reckoned with in any under-standing of evil, but to think other-wise is completely unChristian (Acts4:28). The reformers were not em-barrassed and said what they thought.Everyone else should be as honest.

The Bible is a millstone around thenecks of the revisionists, at least tothe extent that they feel it expedientto pay lip-service to its authority. Forwhat can they do with Isaiah? "Iam Jehovah, and there is none else;besides me there is no God ... I formthe light and create darkness; I makepeace and create evil; I am Jehovahthat doeth all these things" (Isa. 42:5-7).

A few verses below, as well as otherpassages in Isaiah and Jeremiah, pro-vide Paul with the thought of God asthe Potter and man as clay: "Hathnot the potter power over the clay,of the same lump to make one vesselunto honor and another unto dis-honor?" (Rom. 9:21). In these sev-eral passages men have no rights thatthey can enforce against God. Theyare clay in the divine hands, and Goddoes with them as He will. The il-lustration, powerful as it is, does notdo justice to reality, because in realityGod not only fashions the clay intovessels of honor and dishonor Hecreated the clay in the first place.What do the revisionists think of Paul,of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, and of God?Is God Creator or not?

Not alone in the doctrine of crea-tion is the sovereignty of God seen;it is seen equally in redemption. Thusthose who wish to alter chapter threeof the Confession must alter the planof salvation. Election, irresistiblegrace, effectual calling, and the con-trol of history so that the crucifixionwould fulfill all the details of pro-phecy, are all examples of divine sov-

(Cont. on p. 22, col. 1)

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against the tide, they must carry thebattle to the enemy. In thus doingthey will bring comfort and hope toothers and themselves "endure untothe end."

NOT SOVEREIGNfrom p. 9ereignty. What will the revisionistsdo with these? Is man really dead insin so that redemption depends on thedivine initiative of life-giving grace?Or is man not dead in sin so that hecan of himself exercise his good judg-ment and choose the way of life with-out first being regenerated? Can hethen persevere in righteousness in hisown strength? If so, he is essentiallyhis own saviour. If not, he can haveno assurance of heaven. What is therevisionist position on these points?Surely the revisionist cannot repeatthe psalm, "Blessed is the man whomthou choosest, and causest to approachunto thee" (65:4); for the psalmistsings of sovereignty.

Revision of chapter three alone isimpossible. The Confession teaches asystem of doctrine. Each part is im-plicated in each other part. Presby-terian ordination requires acceptanceof this system. A revision would ex-press a different system, a differentreligion, a different God, a differenthuman nature, and a different Lordand Saviour.

* * * *

Dr. Clark is Professor of Philosophy,Butler University, Indianapolis, Ind.

please prayfor the nine million

people in the

WORLD'S

ift

CITV

1 TOKYOCRUjSADEMay 6 through June 5 /1961

DR. BOB PIFRCE, President

RLD VISION, INC.,ox 0. Pasadena, Calif.World Vision of Canada.

K, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

WOE

or

Box 18

Rev. and Mrs. Paul G. SettleSTORIES OF THE BEGINNINGS

7. Worship True and FalseDO YOU KNOWHow we should worship God?LOOK UP in the Bible: Psalm 24:3-4; John 4:24.WHAT DOES EACH VERSE SAY about our worship of God?THINGS TO REMEMBER : God tells us how we come into HisPresence. Psalm 100:1, 2, 3, 4; John 4:23-24; Philippians 3:3.

FALSE WORSHIPGenesis 4:3. Cain brought some of the ground asan to the Lord. Cain did not bring hisvery best fruit, but only some of his usual harvest. Cain gaveto the only because it was time to give, and becausehe thought he had to give.

TRUE WORSHIPGenesis 4:4. Abel brought of the(first born lambs) of his Abel brought his verybest to the Abel loved the Lord and worshippedHim from his heart. God wants us to worship Him because welove Him.

CAIN'S ANGER THE FIRST MURDERGenesis 4:4, 5. The had respect unto

,

but unto Cain He had not Cain was verywroth (angry)

.

Genesis 4:8, 16. Cain rose up against andhim. Cain was punished for his act by being sent away from God."And went out from the ofthe Lord."

TRUE AND FALSE (Mark T after TRUE statements and Fafter FALSE statements.)

Abel offered fruit to God.We should worship God because we love Him.Cain did not bring his best offering.Abel offered his best lambs to God.Cain was angry with God and Abel.God punished Abel.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIBLE?The fifth book in the New Testament is called the Acts of the

(Adapted from "Stories of the Beginnings," Copyright1958 by the Sunday School House, Glendale, Calif.)

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