The sovereignty of God
The Bible clearly teaches the sovereignty of God, the theme of this quarter’s lessons. Believing in that sovereignty is not difficult when life is going well. What often leaves us perplexed (and sometimes annoyed or even angry) are the turmoils and tragedies of daily life. These can cause us to wonder, “Is God really sovereign? If so, then why do nations wage genocide? Why do people flaunt wickedness with impunity? Why do families continue to disintegrate?”
Troubling Times
We take care to note that many portions of the Bible that proclaim God’s sovereignty were recorded during periods of great turmoil and tragedy. The prophet Isaiah, for example, carried out his ministry during a time when God’s people were confronted by the seemingly invincible Assyrian empire. God’s sovereignty? Nice in theory, perhaps; but that idea can be hard to embrace when Assyrian troops are overrunning your territory! As if that were not enough to discourage God’s people, Isaiah also looked ahead to the time when Babylon would pose a similar threat. Can God be truly sovereign amidst all this chaos?
The Scripture texts for our first unit of lessons boldly assert the Lord’s plans for his kingdom. That kingdom is to be characterized by true and lasting peace (lesson 1), freedom from grief and want (lesson 2), and the riches of an everlasting covenant (lesson 4). No enemy can limit what the Lord’s sovereign purpose intends to accomplish. Foes such as Assyria and Babylon may have their day in the sun, but the Lord is the one who brings their “princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing” (Isaiah 40:23, lesson 3).
Our third unit of lessons also considers daunting threats to the people of God—in this case, his church. These four lessons from Revelation concentrate on the grand finale of God’s sovereign plan to bring his people to a place where the brokenness of a sin-cursed world exists no more. All of “the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Isaiah’s vision in lesson 2 is fulfilled in the establishment of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1,lesson 10).
Sovereign Savior
What Revelation describes is possible only through the all-sufficient work of Jesus. His sovereignty is the primary message of the book of Hebrews. From that book come the lessons of our second unit of study. The unsurpassed excellence of Jesus is proclaimed right from the book’s opening words (lesson 5). Jesus is “the Son over God’s house,” the house to which we belong “if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory” (Hebrews 3:6, lesson 6).
In exercising his sovereignty, Jesus has become the “pioneer and perfecter” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2, lesson 9). His suffering at the cross earned him these designations as well as that of “great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14, lesson 7).
“Come, Lord Jesus.”
—Revelation 22:20
With a similar spirit of endurance, Christians today proclaim Christ to a sin-soaked world, the very existence of which causes people to challenge the concept of a sovereign God. As we endure and respond to these challenges, we must not forget that his sovereignty has been questioned before—during the onslaught of the Assyrians in Old Testament times, amidst the shame of the cross in New Testament times, etc. Yet God’s promises and purposes have remained steadfast.
They remain so for us—during whatever today’s times may bring. We acknowledge that sovereignty when we pray “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20, lesson 13).
by Douglas Redford
Unit 1: The Sovereignty of the Father
| Date | Title | Bible Text |
| September 4 | The Peaceful Kingdom | Isaiah 11:1-9 |
| September 11 | The Mountain of God | Isaiah 25:6-10 |
| September 18 | Foundations of the Earth | Isaiah 40:21-31 |
| September 25 | Everlasting Covenant | Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 |
Unit 2: The Sovereignty of Jesus
| Date | Title | Bible Text |
| October 2 | The Brightness of God’s Glory | Hebrews 1:1-9 |
| October 9 | Builder of the House | Hebrews 3:1-6; Matthew 7:24-29 |
| October 16 | The Great High Priest | Hebrews 4:14-5:10 |
| October 23 | The High Priest Forever | Hebrews 7:1-3, 18-28 |
| October 30 | Model of Endurance | Hebrews 12:1-13 |
Unit 3: Alpha and Omega
| Date | Title | Bible Text |
| November 6 | Brand New | Revelation 21:1-8 |
| November 13 | New Jerusalem | Revelation 21:9-14, 22-27 |
| November 20 | Living Waters | Revelation 22:1-7 |
| November 27 | First and Last | Revelation 22:11-21 |