SOVEREIGNTY

By L.N.

Part Two of Two

 Scripture references are to the New International Version, UK Edition of 1984, unless stated otherwise.

‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.’

— Judges 21: 25 —

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Recap of Part One: The era of the Judges who led ancient Israel, following the death of Joshua, was superseded (at the people’s request) by a monarchy. It is from this reign of kings that many of the biblical analogies and figures of speech are derived, Christ Himself being hailed as a king. In this closing article we sketch how the meaning of sovereignty has evolved and how the principle of ‘self-determination’ manifests itself today.

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The Sovereignty Of Nations

‘Sovereign’ derives from the Old French, soverain, which in turn is based on the Latin, super, meaning ‘above’ thus, the ‘supreme authority’. Its traditional application was to the Almighty and, secondarily, to the earthly monarch, esteemed as the one ruling in God’s stead. In modern times it is frequently used with reference to nation-states as autonomous entities (‘sovereign territory’, ‘sovereign wealth fund’) and to citizen power inherent in a functioning democracy (‘the will of the people is sovereign’).

 ‘Sovereignty’, ‘autonomy’, ‘self-determination’ are terms rich in meaning and history. Great movements towards the independence of nations large and small began to emerge in the late nineteenth century and accelerated in the twentieth, helped along by the First and Second World Wars. The results were varied, being stimulated on the one hand by a passion to throw off foreign control or, conversely, to enlarge national boundaries and dominate other peoples. From the ambitions of Germany (aggrieved at its treatment at the Armistice of 1919) and Imperial Japan (feeling slighted by Britain and America and chafing under those nations’ domination of the Pacific region), to the rise and fall of the Soviet Empire (and its humiliating collapse in 1989), to the disassembling of the British Empire after 1945 —the last half of the twentieth century and onwards has seen massive political upheavals and realignments. From the biblical standpoint, the most important blossoming of nationhood was that of the State of Israel in 1948, a prophetic marker by which we may locate present history on the stream of time.

 North America

And there have been counter-developments, in which autonomous nations have more or less collaborated in alliances or mutually-beneficial federations trade agreements, economic or currency unions, and defence compacts some out of comparative weakness, others to gain home advantages from treaty agreements.

 All alliances require some give and take, in which the weaker partner surrenders powers and prestige to the stronger, in exchange for security or favourable trading status. Some arise out of shared interests, a connected geography, economic structure, or similar ideology as, for example, those which exist between Canada and the United States. In its cheek-by-jowl association with the U.S., Canada, as a junior partner, has over the decades yielded hefty chunks of its autonomy to the U.S., to which it often defers in matters of foreign policy, trade and defence. Large swathes of its industrial and retail economy are now owned or dominated by American corporations, the Canadian economy having been practically transformed into a ‘branch plant’ of the U.S. market. (It could be said that in its present political and economic sway over Canada the U.S. has achieved what it failed to accomplish in its two armed invasions of that country in 1775 and 1812.)

 Europe

The European Union (EU) is an unique illustration of continental and extra-continental nations pooling their resources to form the world’s largest economic, political and free-market federation, undergirded by a single currency, the Euro. As a centralising force, the European Union through its Commission executes rules and regulations covering such matters as ocean fishing rights, national borders, immigration, environmental standards, and so on. To make the arrangement work, each component nation in the Union has had to surrender aspects of its sovereignty and, thus, some freedom of independent action.

Great Britain

Once proud of its freedom from foreign alliances the ‘splendid isolation’ of its heyday Britain, a constitutional monarchy, is now deeply enmeshed in the European project. Such participation, by its very nature, requires the abrogation of essential elements of national sovereignty and is indicative of Britain’s decline as a world power. Conceding to public pressure, Prime Minister Cameron has pledged to hold an ‘in-out’ referendum on the country’s membership in the EU, conditional on the Conservative Party being returned to power in May’s General Election.

 But whether in the EU or out of it, Britain may yet shrink to the status of a third-tier power. In an effort to balance the cheque-book the government is paring back the armed forces and may lose its capability to engage in overseas combat missions, a capability which it has long touted as a measure of its status in the world (the hackneyed, ‘punching above its weight’). Having over the decades lost much of its manufacturing base and having sold off large chunks of it such as the car industry to foreign entities, diverting profits abroad, the U.K. is hard-pressed to compete with Germany, Europe’s principal manufacturing nation and economic engine of the EU. Britain still has its strengths, and is a potent force in culture and various media forms (art, sport, music, theatre, film, publishing), and in pharmaceuticals, scientific research, and financial services, London being one of two financial capitals of the world (New York the other).

 As noted elsewhere in these columns, the rise of Britain as the chief industrial, economic and naval power in the nineteenth-century world was the proximate and providential cause of the return of the Jews to Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel (1948). In this these two nations the falling of the one and the rising of the other are effectively linked. It is therefore sad to see that a significant proportion of the British people have cultivated a sneering, caustic attitude towards the State of Israel. So far this has not mushroomed into widespread anti-Semitism on the domestic front, but time will tell.

 Although the State of Israel may often be difficult to love, and may be justly criticised for some of its behaviour towards the Palestinian territories, the fault does not lie wholly with Israel. God proclaims that He will bless those who favour her and disfavour those who curse her (Gen. 12: 2, 3). And like it or not, the future well-being of the world is irrevocably coupled with the fate of Israel (Isa. 2: 1-4 [‘Jerusalem . . . chief among the mountains (nations) . . . all nations stream into it’]).

Sovereignty And The Individual

God’s Word informs us that His purposes and dealings with mankind are compassionate, foresighted, and progressive. His executive will has directed the march of the ages, each dispensation a crucial component of the grand Plan, which continues, and which will yet make sense to all when its purposes are complete.

 At the beginning of human history, the mind of Man received its first spark of intelligence from the Divine Creator and he was endowed with free will. A ‘king’ on earth, made in the image and likeness of the heavenly King, Adam’s choice to disobey his Maker demonstrated the hazards attached to personal autonomy. In consequence, he precipitated the fall into sin and death, the dire effects which we all now experience in the troubles and sorrows of the present life. Nonetheless, the introduction of free will was a master stroke on the part of the Creator. It made possible a being (humanity) who was a decision-maker, responsible for his own actions, although the darker side of the faculty has always the possibility of chaos. But this is no experiment gone wrong, like Frankenstein's monster run amok. God allows the chaos but is never outdistanced by it. Omniscience permits what Omnipotence need not control. This is celestial Genius on display to those who care to study it. And the random, multi-stranded, complex littering of human experiences across the amphitheatre of history will in due time reveal the beneficial results for the entire human family.

 Human Will Bumps Up Against Divine Autonomy

There has always been tension between man’s autonomy and Divine sovereignty. The exercise of our own free will bumps up against certain limits, for we are by nature subject to the Creator and may not do whatever we want to do. But just as nations prize their sovereignty and freedom of action, so individuals long to be free, unfettered, in charge of their own destiny.

Historic movements towards national independence often triggered corresponding domestic agitation for social and political liberties freedom from religious persecution, unlawful restraint and imprisonment, electoral suffrage, and so on. In the modern world, the gains were earliest and most far-reaching in western (Christian) nations, and we are now in an era of personal autonomy which is throwing off the traditional restraints of self-control. Like those referred to in our headline text ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit’ and like the ancient Israelites, demanding to be cut adrift from Divine oversight, the modern secular world is in revolt against God, preferring to worship the Self. The Christian lamp has not been completely extinguished, but the temple of Faith has been ransacked, defiled and many indulge in shameful practices in defiance of virtue and call such things good (Rom. 1: 18-27).

 Sovereignty And The Christian

Once we as an individual believer accept the sovereignty of Christ we cannot retain our own sovereign will. For we cannot serve two masters simultaneously: the flesh and the spirit. Each one of us likes to have our own way. The sense of identity the Me is very strong, and it’s hard to break the habit. There is a lot of Me around today, as British and western society in general drifts away from basic traditional Christian values towards a celebration of a Christ-free world, into an atheistic culture.

 As a committed Christian, all that one thinks, says, and does must henceforth be subject to the standards and requirements which Christ represents. ‘Take my yoke upon you’ He says (Matt. 11: 29). Such is the attitude of consecration, which unashamedly declares, ‘Not my will, but Yours’. And so we break down the boundaries of Selfishness and Worldliness in order to let Him in. Our aims and ambitions are no longer our own. And though we may often chafe at the restrictions of Christian living, where else can we go? Who else can forgive, cleanse, save, but Christ, the anointed King?

 The Calvinistic notion of ʻtotal depravityʼ is correct insofar as it asserts there is no aspect of the human condition left undamaged by the Adamic curse. We retain the ability to make choices, but we cannot recommend ourselves to God or win salvation by the inventiveness of our imagination, our works, or on our own merit. Even our cherished free will is impinged on by the perverse tendencies of our fallen nature, scuttling our best intentions. As St. Paul puts it ʻI have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it outʼ (Rom. 7: 18). Nonetheless, varying degrees of nobility, integrity, compassion, common sense, logic, etc., remain elements of character which He can cultivate for godly goals. Being justified by faith, we can sing,

 Not my own, but saved by Jesus,
Who redeemed me by His blood,
Gladly I accept the message,
I belong to Christ the Lord.

               — Whittle-Nathan, McGranahan (1878)

 God’s Sovereignty Demonstrated At Last

Lacking faith, most people will never understand the power and goodness of God until they come to witness it first-hand in the future Kingdom of Christ, who will then be their Judge and King. Christ will function as the all-powerful representative of God in the earth. Intended to restore and not to destroy, this Kingdom will raise all mankind from the ‘sleep’ of death and bring the race under a benign regime of discipline, education, and reformation, to the end that all will learn to appreciate the Plan of God and to love and honour Christ the Saviour who died for them, submitting willingly to His influence (Phil. 2: 9-11).

 1 Cor. 15: 24-28 describes what will happen when Christ’s work is finished (emphasis added):

 Then the end will come, when [Christ] hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For [Christ] must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Now when it says that ‘everything’ has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When [Christ] has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

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March 2015. All author rights asserted, except that you may reproduce this article without express permission. Please acknowledge the source.

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