02.01.2010    Michael Fox CPCC, founder of m�agine!, is a professional coach and trainer, author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout the world. Michael is a Certified Practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.� Do you know someone who might benefit from our weekly email?   Knowledge and power, wisdom and goodness... He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples, and human hands can't serve his needs--for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need (Acts 17:24-25, NLT). The one God who "made the world and everything in it" is the antithesis of the Grecian idols---images "designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone." The gods of the Greeks were no greater than the imagination of those men who created them. The one God, the Creator who "made the world and everything in it, is "LORD [that is, Sovereign] of heaven and earth." The psalmist acknowledged the ownership--and, therefore, the sovereignty--of God: The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth's foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths (Psalm 24:1-2; cf. Deuteronomy 10:14-17). Two characteristics are essential to sovereign authority: absolute knowledge and power. David testified: O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength (1 Chronicles 29:10-13; cf. Hebrews 4:13). Ever since God the Creator fashioned the universe from nothing, "His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made" [Romans 1:20]. Of no less impact, God the Sovereign continues to "uphold all things by the word of His power" [Hebrews 1:3]; consequently, heaven and earth offer compelling testimony of his omniscience [i.e., knowledge] and omnipotence [i.e., power]. Isaiah tenderly observed: "Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing" (Isaiah. 40:26). God's sovereignty, however, is expressed in two additional attributes: wisdom and goodness. While absolute knowledge and power are essential to a sovereign authority, their "gracious cousins," wisdom and goodness--though not essential--establish the character of God's sovereignty. The wisdom of God the Sovereign: Distinct from knowledge, wisdom is a moral as well as an intellectual quality. The apostle Paul concluded his dissertation on the mercies of God with this doxology: Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen [Romans 11:33-36; cf. Ephesians 3:10-11]. The goodness of God the Sovereign: In Exodus 33:18, Moses asked of God, "I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!" God replied, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you..." As Moses stood in the cleft of the rock, the scripture testifies: Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, [here follows all that his goodness comprehends...] compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin..." [Exodus 34:6-7]. The psalmist declared, "Thou art good and doest good" [Psalm 119:68]. God is sovereign. His knowledge and power make his sovereignty possible. His wisdom and goodness make his sovereignty praiseworthy. So... If we trust in God's wisdom and goodness, will we question what God brings to pass or even allows to transpire? When a believer struggles with contentment, can it be said she is resisting the sovereignty of God? (Cf. Isaiah 45:9; Daniel 4:35; Romans 9:20). If we esteem God's wisdom to be transcendent, wouldn't we expect things to transpire that we cannot understand? Because of God's wisdom and goodness, we can trust him. [Challenge: Read Job 38-42:6 with new insight.] Can it be said that God--when he "made the world and everything in it"--in a sense imposed limitations upon the freedoms naturally enjoyed by an omniscient and omnipotent sovereign? How do your conclusions affect your view of God? Michael Fox m�agine! 530/613.2774 407 Myrtle Drive Farmerville, LA, USA 71241   In addition to personal and professional coaching, m�agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching, employing its proprietary models --Values, Vision, Voice and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength-- as well as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator� curriculum published by CPP, the People Development People. Michael's books include  Complete in Christ, Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook, and Biblio�files. Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details. For additional information, visit our website at maginethepossibilities.net. Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching. On the flip side, if you are able, please inquire about opportunities to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford coaching fees. View our archives!