Is God Sovereign?

[Notes prepared for the umbrella topic, "Is God Sovereign?", in light of several sub-questions relating to specific scriptures]

-->Consider sovereignty - can it be a convenient theology? Hebrews 2:14 "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."
1Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." And,
John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Sovereignty, or the presumption of God's will being insurmountable, cannot be 'convenient' for believers in their exchanges with non-believers, at least: they will usually be so impressed with the effects of evil in the world, that they are going to blame God for His negligence, in letting bad things happen, or conclude that God cannot be real - His sovereignty would of course prevent evil! So it is most 'inconvenient' for the believer to have to explain that God is sovereign, but not the sort of dictator that this may conjure up. While the presumption of God being sovereign is the great gap-filler for believers ("He's got the whole world, in His hand, and sees every sparrow that falls), it is a real sticking point for the unbeliever who insists on "no-evil-or-no-God.."

If one assumes that God is not sovereign, it is useless to discuss the scriptures at hand; if God is not ultimately over all, then He isn't of any real use to man, and the whole thing unravels, along with any sense of urgency where threats from devils are concerned.
So let us assume that God is sovereign, and see how it plays out.
Hebrews 2:14 testifies to marks of that sovereignty - first, that God is able to step into His creation, to participate in it at our level, without any diminution to Himself; second, that God, the originator of life, is able to use the very weapon of the Enemy, death, against itself, to ultimately negate it! God the Father lived an earthly life as Jesus the Son. "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). ..so death may oppose life, but that does not make death the equal opposite of God - the Cross and Resurrection prove that God's plan triumphs not only in spite of death, but through death - (brilliant!).
So, God's sovereignty makes Him impervious to death...but apparently it doesn't make us so: I Peter 5:8 warns the believer of an enemy who prowls restlessly. When we come to Christ for salvation, He assures us that no one can pluck us out of His hand (John 10:28), that we will not perish. But we can see our Christian walk sullied, sidetracked, or turned into a really tough slog if we turn our eyes from Jesus. The devil knows he cannot have us, but he can take all the dark pleasure he will in just throwing his fiery darts at us (Ephesians 6). Therefore, Peter's warning is apt. God is sovereign, yet we can forget that He will work all things out for good to those who love him (Romans 8:28), and so live a less-than-glorious Christian life, if we are not vigilant. The danger implied to us, then, is not a contradiction of God's sovereignty, but a reminder that our will is still in charge of the earthly body - and only sobriety and vigilance can rule the flesh.
In the verse from John 10, Jesus states the purposes of the thief in contrast to His own purposes. He also states them in order of increasing power. As already seen in the Hebrews verse, life is stronger than death - it isn't just the opposite of death in terms of degree or quality, but it is fuller, larger, a positive, "real thing" unto itself. Christ wants to give out eternal life, and I think that means, real life, not the shadowy, vapor version we are in. Death is not equal to life as yin and yang are equal opposites. Death is not the end of life, but the absence of life. Anything that takes its definition as the 'non-state' of something else cannot even stand on its own, and this makes it...weaker. So: life eternal is the abundant absolute; death is an empty suit, beside it. For most believers, the death of the body has been only the door into real life, with Christ; for all non-believers, there will be real death, which the Bible defines as "outer darkness," a total lack of access to God's presence. Since Jesus can claim to bestow eternal life, He trumps the thief.

-->Consider the Truth - (John 8:32) "And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free."

This verse is the second of two sentences addressed to some Jews who believed in Him even as He was in a confrontation with the Pharisees. Knowing the Truth, is consequential to continuing in His word, and a byproduct/effect of being His disciple indeed.
The Truth is Christ, God revealed through His Son,not just as in a set of written ideals. Jesus, the Truth, is able to free us...from what? the law of sin and death. (See Romans 6:14 - "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.")

-->Consider: your cooperation? - (Ephesians 3:20) "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh is us,..."

In the view of God's sovereignty, our cooperation - walking in righteousness and doing good works that further God's purposes - our cooperation is a factor that will benefit us, rather than one that makes or breaks God's designs.

-->God's will - automatic? - (2Peter 3:9) "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
If this aspect of God's will - that all people would accept the deal He has offered - were automatic, there would be no need for Him to be patient, long-suffering towards us. It is clear that the time is set, and God remains hopeful, e.g. Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

Is God sovereign? is a slice-and-dice question. There is God's perfect will, the over-arching scheme of things which will get worked out no matter what. Within that, there is God's permissive will, and that is the level at which we are invited to participate, where our free will comes in. God keeps His own responsibilities, and we may be entrusted with some of our own.
God's sovereign will has built a new heaven and a new earth for those who love Him to enjoy for eternity. That will not be changed. His permissible will gives us a choice to make...and excludes Himself from making the choice for us. Why the need to urge us to the strait gate, if it were already a foregone conclusion? It isn't. Our souls have been ransomed, but they remain in our hands until we give body and soul to God in Christ. Either way, God is sovereign: His will has been worked out - those who love Him are with him, those who refused him are rejected - and everyone gets what they asked for.

(prepared for November 23, 2011)