Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.” -Exodus 33:18
When Moses asked God to show him His Glory, God revealed a number of things about Himself. One of those things is His sovereignty.
“I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” -Exodus 33:19
The Glory of God is revealed in the fact that God alone is sovereign. He does whatever He wants. Nobody can force His hand, and nobody can hold His hand back.
Of all the attributes of God, His sovereignty is the one that our sinful human nature recoils at the most, and yet, God tells us that this is one of the chief aspects of His Glory!
We love the fact that God reveals His goodness as His Glory, and yet fail to trust in His goodness by rejecting His sovereignty!
If God’s good, it only stands to reason that we can trust Him to be sovereign. He’s not going to make the wrong choices for our life!
God’s sovereignty is reaffirmed as a New Testament truth in Romans chapter 9.
“Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” -Romans 9:11-13
The Glory of God is that He decides and acts for His own reasons and He owes nobody an explanation. It really doesn’t matter to God if we think He’s being fair or not. He gets to decide and do whatever He wants to do because He alone is God!
Paul anticipated the pushback to God’s sovereignty and addressed the issue directly.
“You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use.” -Romans 9:19-21
It is impossible to truly know the Glory of God without accepting the truth of His sovereignty.
God will not be made in our image, or reduced to our understanding, and that is the central point that He is expressing about Himself when He reveals His sovereignty as His Glory!
Do you want God to show you His Glory?
Then acknowledge what He’s revealed about Himself: He alone is God. He is Sovereign Lord.
“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” -1 Timothy 6:15
The sovereignty of God sets God apart as God.
His sovereignty is a central aspect of His Glory because He is the “Only Sovereign”- He alone is Sovereign LORD.