I. The Understanding of Divine Attributes
The knowledge of the attributes/characteristics of our parents is not limited to merely intellectual beliefs. It impacts our relationship with them. Likewise, the knowledge of God’s attributes (the character/person of God) is not merely restricted to intellectual beliefs. Rather the true Bible-based knowledge of who God is (i.e. his attributes) affects how to relate to him. The true biblical understanding/knowledge of God’s character/his attributes is directly proportional to our deeper relationship with him. For example, Islam’s understanding of the divine being—i.e. “Who God is”—hugely impacts how they relate to him.
The attribute of God’s sovereignty expresses the fact that God is the Almighty, the possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so none can defeat his counsels, hinder his purpose, or resist his will (Psalm 115:3). As Pink states,
The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35).2
In his sovereignty, God maintains and upholds the whole creation (Ps 147:8–9); he controls all life (Isaiah 45:6–7); he does whatever pleases him (Psalm 115:2–3); he directs all events, small and great, towards the goals that he has determined (Psalm 135:6; Isa 46:9–11).
II. God’s Sovereignty and the Prosperity Gospel
The Prosperity Gospel offers a mistaken view of God’s Sovereignty. Unfortunately, the supporters of ‘Prosperity Gospel’ understand the attribute of God’s Sovereignty as something wherein human pain, hardships and suffering cannot be a part of God’s good plans for his people. In other words, in their view, if God is a merciful, powerful, omnipotent agent, how can his people experience pain and suffering?
It is assumed that if God is good, then he will only let good things happen to his people. Suffering cannot be God’s will for believers. In this ideology, believers are promised unconditional healing and wholeness if they have enough faith. In prosperity gospel, suffering, pain, grief, sorrow are not part of God’s plan because God is a good heavenly father who not only protects his children from harm and suffering but also delights in prospering them in all areas of their lives. For this reason, when the advocates of the prosperity gospel find believers experiencing pain, hardships, and suffering, they blame believers for not having sufficient faith for not having sufficient faith/trust in God’s goodness and sovereignty to justify their ideology. Refuting such a mistaken view of God’s Sovereignty, D. A Carson writes:
Despite the best efforts of the proponents of the health and wealth gospel, the fact is that Christians get old and wrinkled. They contract cancer and heart disease, become deaf and blind, and eventually die. In many parts of the world, Christians have to face the blight of famine, the scourge of war, and the subtle coercion of corruption. This is not to say that God does not sometimes intervene on behalf of his people in remarkable ways. It is to say, rather, that we too live in a fallen world and cannot escape participation in its evil and suffering. If you doubt this, you are (1) ignorant of what many Christians around the world have to face daily; (2) not old enough yet, for certainly if you live long enough you too will suffer; (3) kidding yourself; or (4) some combination of the above.3
III. Suffering of God’s People as the Cost of Discipleship
The theme of the suffering of God’s people in the NT writings is evident. Biblical references in the NT explicitly demonstrate the fact that followers of Jesus will experience suffering and persecution for the sake of their faith. In the Bible, believers are clearly informed that they should not expect an easy, comfortable, and problem-free life. Instead, they are forewarned that they should expect an ongoing spiritual warfare (1 Peter 5:8–9; Ephesians 6:12) which is declared upon them by their enemy, Satan (1 Peter 5:8–9). Believers’ suffering, adversaries, hardships, and persecution are part of that spiritual warfare. In the Christian faith, suffering and persecution are not optional. Rather, they are a significant component of their faith: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12);” “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20).”
IV. God’s Sovereignty in the Midst of Suffering: Exegesis of Selected Scripture Passages
Christians express God’s omnipotence by proclaiming, “God is sovereign over everything.” What we mean by this is that God is all-powerful, he knows everything, and he is always in control. And since God is omnipotent, he makes Christians victorious and he is able to protect and uphold them in all circumstances.
However, does God’s sovereignty reflect only when believers are leading victorious lives? Does it reflect only when believers enjoy God’s blessings in different aspects of life? Or is God sovereign in the midst of believers’ suffering as well?
In the following biblical passages, we will explore: (1) how God’s sovereignty functions when his people go through suffering and persecution, and (2) how believers should respond in the midst of suffering in the present age.
A. Genesis 45:4–8; 50:19–20
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. he made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
After Jacob’s death, Joseph’s brother approached him fearing that he may have been awaiting their father’s death to take revenge upon them. They were aware of what they had done to him. Joseph was sold into slavery, lived as a prisoner for many years; he had faced false accusations because of his integrity. Joseph’s suffering wasn’t light and short. What would he do to his brothers? How would he respond to this situation?
It’s not that Joseph is in a denial mode and ignores the suffering he had endured. Instead, he chooses to respond to this situation with a divine perspective. Joseph assures his fearful brothers that he does not want to put himself in the place of God.
Notice, Joseph does not say that his brothers cruelly sold him into slavery and then God turned this situation around. Neither does he say that God planned to bring him to Egypt with first-rate protocol but then his brothers messed up God’s plan. No! Joseph’s response implies that God was working sovereingly in his suffering, trials, and hardships. The understanding of God’s sovereignty shaped the way Joseph viewed his suffering.
B. Acts 4:23–31
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
This chapter records the first time the Apostles encountered persecution from the Jewish authorities. Upon release, Peter and John went to other believers to tell them about what had happened. When believers heard the report from apostles, they “raised their voices together and prayed. The content of their prayer is very interesting; most of the prayer on this occasion consists of reflections on the sovereignty of God: “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them” (Acts 4:24). Notice that they addressed God as “Sovereign Lord” here, but the word in Greek is not kurios but despotes—which is not the usual word used for the word Lord. The term despotes means “one who holds complete power or authority over another.” Though the powers of the world were rising against them, they were affirming that the God they serve holds ultimate authority.
The implication is that God, the Creator of everything, is greater than the authorities who are now attacking them and trying to destroy their faith. It is significant that the early believers understood the significance of divine sovereignty from the Scriptures. The early church’s key response to persecution was based on their understanding of God’s sovereignty.
C. 2 Corinthians 1:8–10
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. he has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.
In his writings, Paul did not consider his sufferings for Christ as his private matter. Rather, he wants his readers to be aware of his sufferings. He openly tells Corinthians about his and his companions’ troubles, hardships and sufferings which were “far beyond their ability to endure.” After he describes his suffering, how does he respond to them? How does he view his suffering for the sake of his faith? Notice the text: he understands his suffering experience in light of God’s sovereignty. Firstly, God uses Paul’s suffering as a tool to make him rely upon him. Secondly, God is not unmindful of Paul’s suffering and hardships; it’s not as if things are out of his control. Paul confidently says that God has rescued him from such “deadly peril” in the past and, in his sovereignty, he will continue to do so. God’s sovereignty offers secure hope to Paul and his companions in their suffering and hardships.
D. 1 Peter 4:19
So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good (1 Peter 4:19).
The theme of suffering is prevalent in 1st Peter because Peter’s audience was facing severe persecution. Verse 19 here in chapter 4 is a conclusion of verses 12-18. Peter’s connection of believers’ experience of suffering with God’s will demonstrates the fact that all suffering of believers passes through divine will. In other words, believers’ experience of suffering shouldn’t strike or surprise them because they see God’s sovereign hand amidst suffering. Peter instructs believers that when they experience suffering, they “should commit or entrust themselves to their faithful creator.” Schreiner comments, “the reference to God as Creator (ktistes) implies God’s sovereignty, for the creator of the world is also sovereign over it.”
E. A Few Principles from Textual Observations
We may gather a few principles from these textual observations. First, the understanding of God’s Sovereignty functions to assure us that things are never out of God’s control. Second, the understanding of God’s Sovereignty also informs us that God is not surprised when his people suffer and endure hardships. In the midst of that, however, he only expects us them to put their trust in him. Lastly, the understanding of God’s Sovereignty also demonstrates that sometimes God does not choose to take away the suffering, hardships, and persecution. Instead, he empowers his people with grace and strength to persevere!
V. Conclusion
In some regions of the world, we are witnessing a growing trend of persecution where believers are going through immense pressure, torture, discrimination and hatred. As we see in the New Testament, the early church was not unfamiliar with such suffering and persecution. Suffering, hardships, trials, and persecution were in the DNA of the early church.
What motivated the early church to persevere in the mist of suffering and persecution and stand firm was God’s attribute of sovereignty over Satan’s hand in suffering and persecution. The early church firmly believed that God’s sovereignty extends over all things, including the presence of evil, sin, and suffering in this world.
The attribute of God’s sovereignty was a key response of the early church to suffering and persecution. We must believe that suffering and pain of God’s people is not an accident. Rather, we should be firm in our belief that God is sovereign over every kind of suffering we encounter.
The biblical response to our fear of suffering, pain, trials, and persecution is not to merely stand passively and wait for the storm to pass, but to remember that God is in control and he is good. This should be encouraging to the present churches which dwell in hostile contexts. Believers must know that even though the situation around us may look very bleak and discouraging, the Bible reminds us that God is always in control of history, and we are challenged to believe that even the present persecution will ultimately be used by God to carry out his great purposes.
