“When you think of sovereignty, what do you imagine? Do we picture it as God standing before a vast, soulless machine which only He operates – pulling levers and flipping toggles in whatever order He wants while each gear underneath turns in lifeless obligation? Is the universe simply a great bin of Legos that God alone is constructing, posing, and adjusting with no other input?
That is a view of sovereignty held by many faithful Christians, commonly known as “Divine determinism,” or “meticulous providence.” The problem is that this view of sovereignty leads invariably to God being the cause of the suffering in our world. Even the suffering that we have to admit does not lead to any lesson being learned or eventual Joseph-esque reveal in the end. And it also conflicts with some very straightforward teachings in Scripture like: “God does not tempt anyone,” yet we are tempted.
On the polar opposite you have what is called “Open Theism.” If you boil down this view, the idea is that God is not totally sovereign – in fact He doesn’t even really know what’s going to happen in the future. He’s just super powerful and is reacting to things. Proponents of this view will say things like God is “experimenting,” and “taking risks” with us. All I can say is, “Yikes.”
There is another perspective called “Relational sovereignty.” Where “God’s will is settled in terms of the intention of His character” and His overall plan for this world, but meanwhile He personally relates to us and invites us to individually, truly cooperate with Him, not as pawns but as partners.”
