This might be an unusual or foreign concept to you, but I think it is much more significant than you might at first think. It is a subject about which I have given thought over the years, but which has recently come back to my attention.
I note that the notion of sovereignty is linked to various political or social aspirations and I need to say up front that my interest in this subject relates to the concept as it applies to humans who stand before God. I do not understand nor pursue the case of those who seek to use the concept of sovereignty to counter the laws of their land. Having made that disclaimer, allow me to continue.
Here’s an insight that I think is exciting. We are created by God and given by Him a degree of personal sovereignty. That means we are able to be the King of our own life, in a measure. A king is called a Sovereign, because he rules over things. We are able to rule over ourselves and so we too are a ‘Sovereign’. We are each a sovereign citizen. In our most basic condition we have various privileges given us by God. These privileges are ours whether we are man or woman, adult or child, rich or poor, dumb or smart, pink, polka-dot or skinless. It is our principal sovereign privilege to stand directly before God and to be accountable to Him.
Now, to a person who is worthy of God’s wrath and judgement it may hardly be deemed a privilege to stand before God. But think about it. You, who ever you are, can present yourself before the Living Lord God of all eternity, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. You may not be able to get an appointment with your President, or even a local official, but you have the right to go WAY above their heads, directly to God, Himself. That’s Awesome!!
Further to that, no one can take that privilege from you. They can hate you, throw you in prison, beat you up, take your possessions, and do other heinous things, but they cannot take your personal sovereignty from you. They can never make you into someone who has to stand in line waiting for another person to talk to God on your behalf.
Now, some of you already have the cogs turning at about this point. Personal sovereignty is clearly something that is taken off people by various means, personal, political and religious. And, yes, we do actually have a Vicar of our soul. Vicar refers to one who stands in for someone else. Jesus Christ stands in on our behalf, especially in terms of standing in for our just punishment. Yet that does not deny us the right and privilege to exercise our personal sovereignty and to enter God’s presence and do business with Him.
Note my earlier remark about us having a “degree of personal sovereignty”. We obviously can’t resist the laws of nature. Nor can we overthrow the impact of our own sin. We cannot make God take us to heaven when we are worthy of hell. We can choose not to believe in God, but that has zero power over God or over us and our future. Our personal sovereignty is subject to God’s rule over us. Therefore it is also to be subject to those who God places over us. This includes our parents over their children and a husband over a wife. Personal sovereignty isn’t anarchy. It is the right to be who we were created to be, “under God”, which requires us to submit to every ordinance of God.
Next time I pick up this subject I’d like to discuss the moment when I probably took my first real step toward applying personal sovereignty, even though I didn’t understand the concept at that time. Keep an eye out for future posts on Sovereignty.
Tags: children, God, husband, Jesus, personal sovereignty, sovereign citizen, wife
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