Sovereignty of God and Responsibility of Man – Pink #6
A.W. Pink’s book The Attributes of God is a classic work on the being and essence of God. Each month we’ll explore one chapter, summarize the main ideas, and discuss our favorite passages. Today we examine chapter six: The Sovereignty of God.
Summary
A.W. Pink’s teaching on the sovereignty of God emphasizes that God is supreme, independent, and does all things according to His perfect will. Nothing and no one can hinder or overrule Him. Scripture repeatedly declares that the Lord accomplishes His purposes in heaven and on earth (Isaiah 46:10; Daniel 4:35).
This chapter explains that divine sovereignty does not negate human responsibility but establishes it. God sovereignly placed angels, Adam, and Israel on conditional footings, making their continued blessing dependent on obedience to His commands. In contrast, His elect are placed on an unconditional footing in Christ, whose perfect obedience and atoning work guarantee their eternal security.
Pink highlights that human responsibility begins with God’s sovereign decree. Actions that are right, are so, because God commands them. The ultimate display of sovereignty is seen in God’s mercy and election—He saves whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills (Romans 9:18). For believers, this truth offers deep comfort, as all trials, blessings, and outcomes are under the rule of a wise and loving King.
Discussion
The perennial question in the debate between Calvinists and Arminians is the question of the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. How can man be responsible if God is sovereign? But Pink insists that man’s responsibility is rooted in the sovereignty of God. He says:
They say that to press the sovereignty of God excludes human responsibility; whereas human responsibility is based upon divine sovereignty, and is the product of it.
Man can only have freedom of choice if God sovereignly gives him that freedom. So man’s freedom can’t be apart from the sovereignty of God, or granted in spite of the sovereignty of God, but is entirely dependent on it. That’s a great insight.
Likewise the salvation of the elect is entirely dependent on the sovereignty of God. The angels that sinned, have no salvation whatsoever. Salvation only comes to men as a result of the sovereign will of God taking action for our salvation. And our “choice” is then entirely dependent on His sovereign will. That doesn’t make our choice less of a choice, it makes it a real choice. It’s the only way it can be a real choice.
God didn’t create Adam under the condition of responsibility and choice because it was right and therefore He was obligated to do. Rather, it was right that mankind be created under the condition of responsibility and choice because God did it. Because He did it, it is right. God is not obligated, we are.
Pink writes:
Many have most foolishly said that it is quite impossible to show where divine sovereignty ends and creature accountability begins. Here is where creature responsibility begins: in the sovereign ordination of the Creator. As to His sovereignty, there is not and never will be any “end” to it!
I love that! Man’s responsibility begins in the sovereignty of God. And God’s sovereignty does not end before or with man’s responsibility. God’s sovereignty has no end.
Coffee Talk: Brance and Lauren talk about scales.
Defining Theology
When discussing theology, defining your terms is important. Brance and Lauren take a look at the theological term The necessity of Scripture, define what it is, and discuss how it provides assurance for the believer and affects the way we share the gospel.
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