Sovereignty – Our Core Desire
We are a species of hierarchy and social order is part of the human experience. This implies a leader, and ultimately one true sovereign leader on top.
The inner characteristics that are common to each of us are clear when approached honestly. We could build a lengthy list of attributes to describe us, and it would be complimentary. However, one might question the honesty of such a list.
In “Here on Assignment’s” last published article, we saw that mankind, when given choices, reveals its desires. (visit the May 2023 article “Choices”) The first two people did not decide to follow their Creator’s command even with the ultimatum of certain death. The entirety of the account presents some very clear, very human, characteristics.
If we take a look back at the Bible, in Genesis chapter 3, we get some interesting insights:
Genesis 3:1-7 (ESV)
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”
The serpent does not have the best interests of the humans or God at heart. We will visit the role and nature of “The Lord God” in a little bit. But let’s look at this account in light of the nature of human beings.
The Not Sovereign Human Nature
When the serpent asked the woman if God said not to eat of any tree in the garden the woman corrected the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Clearly, she knew what God’s desire was. The serpent only needed to insinuate God was lying and entice the woman with the possibility of being like God. She ate of the fruit with no more coercion. The serpent left the scene. The woman gave some to her husband, and he ate too. They both gambled their lives and relationship with the Lord for the chance to be like God.
Prior to the serpent’s interaction with the woman, the following is recorded:
Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV)
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
To Be Like God – The One True Sovereign
To be like God has been the big enticement since the first temptation. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” was the serpent’s hook. The humans were willing to risk God’s assurance of living forever for the fake promise of being like God. There were two possibilities presented. What bill of goods could sway one husband and wife to abandon the only person they have ever known? The only person they had ever known had once said:
Genesis 1:26 (ESV)
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
The saddest part is that the Lord God, and their creator, had already given them the gift of being like God. We humans have continued to ignore the love of God for the chance of gifting ourselves instead. The scenario goes something like this:
Man: “I want to be like God.”
Serpent: “Just disobey God and eat from the tree. You will have your desire.”
God: “You are already like God. I made you that way. I want your devotion.”
Oops. “We” have been had. “We” have had a great fall.
The One True Sovereign
The design of things demands one and only one genuine Sovereign. It is a design. There is a continual struggle for sovereignty throughout nature. There is a thread of desire to be God. It is a matter of survival in a godless world. However, there is a Sovereign God. He is the ultimate power and has the ultimate control.
There is no room for competition. To be sovereign is to be able to do anything one wants. There cannot be anything to stop someone who is sovereign or that person is not sovereign. King David wrote:
Psalm 135:5-6
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
The great scheme of the serpent is to make all believe the quote above, and others like it, is not the truth. The same collection of books (The Bible) that contains Psalm 135:5-6 also tells of a Sovereign Lord that does not desire to be like God:
Philippians 2:5-7
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Because there is already a sovereign being (Lord), there is no need for that Lord to desire anything, let alone seek to attain anything. The bar is higher than that. Desiring and regretting are the activities of those not sovereign. Sovereignty brings with it peace. To be satisfied is more valuable than to be sovereign. It is the next level.
The Truth of God’s Sovereignty
The Sovereign Lord lives in the now free of fear, worry, or regret. What he wants, he has. What he has he enjoys. The Lord has a specific group of people for his own. He has always had these people. He will always have these 
people. There is no way one who is the one true sovereign cannot have what he wants. Now, you, the reader will need to decide if the Sovereign Lord has called you to himself to have as his own or if he has not. If he has, you will feel a tug at your conscience you cannot resist. Because he alone is the One True Sovereign, he will have what is his.