The Crucifixion and the Sovereignty of God

"This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross." - Acts 2:23

The doctrine of God's Sovereignty, or His will and hand giving direction to everything, is perhaps the most strongly felt debate in Christendom. I myself have come from a strong opposition to this doctrine to a love of it and peaceful resting in it beyond my own understanding. Jonathan Edwards, the great eighteenth-century writer, pastor, and teacher, gives this account:

"From my childhood up, my mind had been full of objections against the doctrine of God's sovereignty, in choosing whom he would to eternal life, and rejecting whom he pleased... It used to appear like a horrible doctrine to me... but... now I saw further, and my reason apprehended the justice and reasonableness of it... and there has been a wonderful alteration in my mind with respect to the doctrine of God's sovereignty. I have often since had not only a conviction, but a delightful conviction. The doctrine has very often appeared exceeding pleasant, bright, and sweet. Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. But my first conviction was not so."

The most heinous sin ever committed was the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. In the light of the crucifixion any other evil you may imagine pales into insignificance. And yet, before the dawn of time it was "God's set purpose and foreknowledge" which caused this event to be, and at the end of time the crucifixion will be the most glorious act for which we will praise Him. May you praise our sovereign God today for the glory of his power!