In our church family we often talk about us—as human beings created by God—either allowing or not allowing God to do certain things. This can be confusing if it’s the first time you’ve heard it, because of how God is generally portrayed throughout the Bible.
In Daniel 4:35, God is described with these words: “He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’ ” In Job 9:12, the writer talks about God like this: “If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’ ”
And yet, even with many other verses like those above, we feel comfortable with saying that we either allow or don’t allow God—and Jesus, in particular—to do certain things like reveal himself to us or save us.
How does this work?
The answer lies in the multifaceted way in which the Bible talks about how God relates to human beings. It’s different than the way he relates to other created things—the stars in the sky, the animals, plants, the earth, etc. In his good providence he has decided to not only make human beings in his image, but he has decided to partner with them (us) to accomplish his will for the world and his kingdom. This is not true for the rest of the created order. He is not partnering with animals to bring about his kingdom—they are either brought or not brought along for the ride.
For human beings, God has “lowered” himself figuratively and literally. Figuratively, he has come down to us by making himself known. This is not to say that God is up in the clouds somewhere, but that he is somewhere else and has come to where we are. Literally, he has taken part in humanity through the incarnation—“the Word became flesh and dwelt (ἐσκήνωσεν: tabernacled, pitched his tent, made his home) among us” (John 1:14). To put it simply, he became what we are and, thus, we now relate to him in a way that nothing else in all of creation does.
What does this mean for us either allowing or not allowing him to do something? Surely, we don’t tell God what to do, right?
It’s true, we don’t tell him what to do like we tell another person like us what to do, but the Bible does talk about human beings being in a real relationship with God.
“There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!” (Joshua 10:14)
“The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” (Genesis 6:6)
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” (Luke 19:41)
“Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.” (1 Peter 2:1)
Does this mean God is dependent on us?
Not as we usually think of human dependence. Again, we must remember that God has entered into a special relationship with his created mankind—you and me. This has brought with it a unique back-and-forth between God and us. In this back-and-forth, however, I think two things hold to be true at the same time:
God is totally and utterly sovereign over all of his creation (including human beings). He is the king, the Lord, the one in charge—he runs the show. Nothing happens or doesn’t happen without his say-so. And yet, his sovereignty doesn’t function in such a way as to mitigate the responsibility and freedom of human beings.
Human beings are free creatures. We choose, reject, rebel, believe, obey, all because we want to and we are rightly held responsible for the choices we make. And yet, our freedom does not in any way limit the sovereignty of God—he is still the one in charge and without his say-so we would have no freedom at all.
The most interesting thing about these two twin-realities, is that the Bible does not set out to prove either one of them or to prove how they co-exist with one another. Instead, the Scriptures simply presuppose their compatibility. In the mind of God—and the biblical writers—they work together because they belong together. If there is any tension between the two twin-realities—and there are for sure—it’s with us, not with the biblical testimony.
So then, is it right for us to say that we allow or don’t allow God to do things? Yes, provided we understand correctly what’s going on. Are we saying that we are in control of God? Not at all. God is God and we are not. But, God has decided to relate to us in a special way, and in that special way brings with it the freedom to come dangerously close to thinking that we run the show. In God’s total and utter sovereignty he has given us freedom and has decided to submit himself (in part) to the freedom he has given.
This is one of the unique and wonderful things about the God we worship as revealed in Jesus Christ.