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Suffering for the Sake of the Body - Lesson 2

God's Sovereignty Over Suffering (Part 2)

Even though Satan has the power to inflict suffering in the world, God is sovereign.

John Piper
Suffering for the Sake of the Body
Lesson 2
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God's Sovereignty Over Suffering (Part 2)

God's Sovereignty Over Suffering (pt 2)

7. God’s Sovereignty over Satan’s Use of Animals (and Plants)

Revelation 12:9

And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Jonah 1:17

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:10

Then the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

Jonah 4:6

So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort

Jonah 4:7

But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered.

8. God’s Sovereignty over Satan’s Temptations to Sin

Judas

Acts 2:23 - This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

Luke 22:3-4 - And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them.

Acts 4:27-28 - For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.

Simon Peter

Luke 22:31-32 - Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.

9. God’s Sovereignty over Satan’s Mind-blinding Power

2 Corinthians 4:4

In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Romans 11:25

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery – so that you will not be wise in your own estimation – that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Acts 26:18

[Christ sends Paul] to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.

10. God’s Sovereignty over Satan’s Spiritual Captivity

2 Timothy 2:24-26

The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

The Final Removal of Satan Altogether

Matthew 25:41

Then He will also say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels . . .”

Revelation 20:10

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

God’s General Sovereignty over All Things

Ephesians 1:11

We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.

Daniel 4:34-35

But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever . . . All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”

Isaiah 46:9-10

Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, “My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure . . .”

Lamentations 3:37-38

Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?

Amos 3:6

If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?

Ecclesiastes 7:14

In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider – God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.

Genesis 50:20

As for you, you meant evil against me, God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

Proverbs 16:9

The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.

Proverbs 20:24

Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, how then can man understand his way?

Jeremiah 10:23

I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.

Proverbs 16:33

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

Proverbs 19:21

Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand.

Deuteronomy 29:2-4

And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.”

Lamentations 3:32-33

For if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness. For He does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men.

Revelation 17:16-17

And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.


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  • Ten aspects of God's sovereignty over suffering, and Satan's role in it. 

  • Even though Satan has the power to inflict suffering in the world, God is sovereign.

  • In part, the meaning of global suffering is God's judgment on the world for its sinfulness and the portrayal in the physical world of the moral and spiritual horror of God-belittling sin. It is also God's message of warning and awakening that the world should take seriously their desperate moral condition. Satan is not obliterated but permitted to torment the world because it is God's purpose to glorify the power and beauty of sacrificial, sin-forgiving grace through defeating Satan progressively through the death of Christ and through its application by the Spirit in Christians' lives. Followers of Jesus will suffer because he did. Perseverance is essential. 

  • The suffering of sickness and persecution are intended by Satan for the destruction of our faith. and governed by God for the purifying of our faith. Suffering from sickness and persecution are often indistinguishable.

The great aim of Satan is to prevent and weaken and, if possible, destroy faith.Satan uses pleasure and pain to do it. Pleasure: to make us doubt God’s satisfying greatness. Pain: to make us doubt God’s sovereign goodness. To triumph over Satan (in pleasure and pain) we need to know the Word of Truth that teaches God’s sovereignty over Satan.

What follows are the texts that form the skeleton of discussion when I teach the seminar on suffering as part of The Bethlehem Institute at Bethlehem Baptist Church. This is not a book on suffering. It is a collection of Biblical passages with some occasional comments. I hope that these passages from God's Word will help you forge your own strong convictions concerning God's wise and gracious sovereignty in our suffering. I pray that God will make us all better ministers of mercy and truth in times of affliction.

We are thankful for John Piper's willingness to share these lectures with us. Copyright 2014 by Desiring God Ministries. Used with Permission. For more information, please visit www.DesiringGod.org.

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Suffering for the Sake of the Body

Dr. John Piper

ld220-02

God's Sovereignty Over Suffering (Part 2)

Lesson Transcript

 

The following message is by Pastor John Piper. More information from Desiring God is available at W WW dot desiring God dot org. Seven out of ten. God's sovereignty over Satan's use of animals and plants. Now, you've said, what in the world is there? Ponder this. Lions kill people and snakes bite people and they die. And. But what's the real killer animal in the world? Man. Well, man, but what are some others who drug germs? Well, let's just think of a few viruses. Bacterias. What about the African black fly? What about mosquitoes? And malaria. Malaria probably kills more people. And probably. No, Probably about it. Probably no. Some of you know a lot better than I do. I mean, if I would just get some. Malaria kills millions of people in Africa every year compared to what heart disease does here. And malaria is carried by mosquito. So it really matters a lot when it comes to suffering, whether God has control over mosquitoes or not, whether he can say bite or don't bite to this little missionary child. They've got the net over him. There's one little mosquito out of the 500 in this room that has the the germ, and he makes his way under the net and he's crawling around on the on the baby's face. Who decides whether he bites? Revelation 12 nine and the Great Dragon. Now, you might be a deist. You might be sitting there saying, Nobody decides, The mosquito decides. You might have that view of the world. That's a distant view of the world. God winds it up and and backs off and it all functions according to laws, but it really solves no problems whatsoever. Since he does intrude himself often and we're praying like crazy all the time that he would try to intrude himself and that people would be spared disease and healed disease and kept safe on the roads.

 

My son gets up at 530 every morning and heads out to drive for Aero Aero Grammar, said Company. So anyway, he delivers packages for five 6 hours and I pray every morning, Lord, keep him safe on the road. He never gets enough sleep. He's going to fall asleep at the wheel. Why do I pray like that? Because I believe God intrudes into cars, other people's and mine and many other ways. I mean, the whole concept of prayer believes that we don't have deism here with God. We are from the other side of the universe, having won this up like a clock and letting it run without involvement. The Great Dragon was thrown down. Revelation 12 nine, the serpent of all who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. Now, the only reason I included that is so that you would see the connection between the serpent and the devil. I had a hard time finding, frankly, instances in the Bible where where the devil is involved with animals. I just think in principle he probably is. At least there's that one picture where a serpent was evidently somehow used by the devil to tempt. But what I'm more interested in is whether God rules animals. Jonah's amazing in this regard because you got God commanding fish and wind and worms and plants. The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow. Jonah. How do you suppose he did that? Jonah 210 The Lord commanded. That's how he did it. He commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land so God can say to any fish he pleases, Swallow that denarius that just fell into the water he swallows, swim around for a few hours, go by Peter's hook so that he can pay the temple tax.

 

The fish goes and bites Peter's hook and he gets pulled up and Peter takes the denarius out and goes, pays the temple tax. That's what happened. That's what happened. Jonah. Four six. The Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade. So he appointed a plant. Grow up. Give him shade. Jonah Four, seven to the Lord, appointed a worm. So worms are in control. So if your kid has worms, God can tell the worms to die or to stop eating or anything he wants to tell them to do. He can tell them and they'll obey him. God, sovereignty over Satan's temptations to sin. So here we're getting closer to Vern, his concern and all of our concern with regard to moral evil in the world. Let's take Judas as an example. X 23. This man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. So the death of Jesus here is by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. Nevertheless, under that sovereign plan, you have Satan acting Satan. Luke 22 three, two four. Entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot belonging to the number of the 12, and he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him. So Judas was influenced by Satan to bring about this series of events that are called the Predetermined Plan and Foreknowledge of God, or even more clearly in Acts 427. Four Truly, in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. So the four big actors here, Herod, Pontius Pilot soldiers and the crowds to do whatever your its God hand and your purpose predestined to occur, namely sin.

 

There isn't any greater sin in the world than what Herod and Pontious pilot and the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel did. It's a sin for here to cloak him in purple and mock him. It's a sin for Pontious pilot to wash his hands and say, expediently, you take him. I don't want to do it as well as have him scourged. It's a sin for the soldiers to pound the nails into his hand and cast lots for his clothing. And it's a sin for the people to cry out, crucify him, crucify and carry through the murderous intent. And it's all predestined by God to occur. So Satan was active, very active. A lot of satanic stuff going on in that crowd. And in pilot. And in Herod and in the soldiers. But all unwittingly fulfilling prophecy and the predestined plan of God. Well, let me just put in a sentence a way for you to perhaps try to handle that. So I'm trying to create a category now. Right. I'm trying to create a category in your brain. And here it is. God can amuse Musical introduction to the category. Drum roll. Here we go. God does not send in ordaining that sin the. God does not see any in or deigning that sin come to pass. God does not sin in ordaining that sin. Come to pass. It is not sin in the heart of God and willing that there be a world in which there is sin and ordaining that there be sin and governing over the extent and the restraint of sin. Now, if that doesn't fit your categories, I simply encourage you to suspend judgment for a while and immerse yourself in the Bible because that sentence doesn't come out of nowhere.

 

It comes out of struggling with texts like these for decades. That's how theology is born, and it's an effort to give credit to passages like like this. Take Simon Peter. That was Judas here. Simon. Peter is the shorter, easier. Jesus says in Luke 22, 31. Simon. Simon. Behold, Satan has demanded permission to see if you like wheat or literally Satan has requested to see if you like Wheat does just like Jobe, right? Satan comes to God, says, I want to push Peter through the mesh of this cyst and see if I can get the faith out of him. And and here's the response. Jesus says in verse 32, Peter, I have prayed for you. What did he ask? Evidently, he didn't ask this time that he would not stumble, only that he would not fall. I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again strength in your brothers. Now that's a sovereign Christ talk in their. He knows he's coming down. Three times. He's already told him three times you're going to deny me? Or is that next? I think it's next. Three times you're going to deny me tonight because Satan has asked to have you and I have prayed this far. And no father. And I know that you will turn. I know that you will turn because I have prayed that you will turn. I've asked my father to cause you to turn. And when you have turned strength in your brothers and here we might ask, Can you think of any possible reasons God might let the leash out this far? And no Father. If he can let it. Peter. I mean, if Christ can pray to the Father, He looked into heaven, as it were, and he sees Satan and God and saying to Saint Guinea, Peter.

 

And God says. Let me consult with my son. And he consults with the son. And the son says. Three denials and no further. And God says to Satan. Three denials No further. Which is why when Jesus looked over his shoulder sovereignly after the third denial and connected eyes with Peter, he did not do what Judas did and kill himself. He wept. And it was a repentance unto life. And he's been strengthening this brother ever since with his humanity. Right. He wrote a letter. He wrote two letters, and what a great word he gave to us out of his brokenness and failure. Number nine. I think we might do it. Let's see if we can just get through quickly here. So the point there was God is sovereign over Satan's powers of temptation thus far and no further no temptation has befallen you. God always will make at the right time a way of escape. God's sovereignty over Satan's mind. Blinding power. Mind. Blinding power. Here's where I get that. Second Corinthians four four. You know in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Who is the image of God? So clearly, the God of this world blinds the minds of unbelievers. Now what's to become of them? Two verses later, verse six. Here's what God can do. God, who said Let light shine out of darkness is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. God can obliterate the darkness in the human heart with the same power that He used on the day of creation, when he said, Let there be light.

 

He can speak into any human heart he pleases. Let there be light and there will be light. Well, here's another example of it is in fact, Satan is blinding the minds of unbelievers. Then surely he has something to do with the hardness that has come upon Israel, that is talked about in Romans 11, Romans 1125. I do not want you to be ignorant brethren or to be uninformed of this mystery so that you will not be so that you will not be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel that is hardening up on part of Israel. How long will this hardening last? Now, if you didn't believe that God could determine such things, you'd have to say, well, until they decide not to let it last any longer because it's their own free will alone that is causing it and therefore it will go away when they decide for it to go away, which is not what the text says. This hardening has happened to Israel until a certain time, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And when the fullness of the Gentiles comes in and God knows what that fullness is, all Israel will be saved. The next verses God will remove and godliness from Jacob. He will take away the blinding effects of Satan. He will say, No longer do you have the right to blind this people anymore. Paul was involved in that kind of deliverance, and so are we. X 2618 Christ sin. Paul sends Paul to open the eyes so that they may turn from the darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God. See that he sends them to open their eyes. This is what happens when the gospel is being preached.

 

So if you wonder, is there a territorial spirit over Phillip's neighborhood that causes blindness? There may be spiritual blindness. There may be. But what do you do about that? You get bold as a lion and you go in there and you preach the gospel to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, and they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me. And there's no talk there about some kind of preliminary discernment about what kind of demon there is. The Gospel is the power of God and salvation to everyone who is believing. Number ten Last one God's sovereignty over Satan's spiritual captivity, Satan's Bondage. Second, Timothy 224, the Lord's born servant. Now, this could be any one of you as you go home tonight to a roommate or to a family member who is in the goal of iniquity and in the bond of Satan, how should you behave and what should you say? And who will do the delivering? The Lord's bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all able to teach. Fill them with truth and be kind, patient when wronged with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition. Here's the key. That's what you do. That's your part. If perhaps God may grant and repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, grant repentance, if perchance God may grant them repentance, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare or the bondage or the trap of the devil having been held captive by him to do his will. So how do you get the captives free? You love them and you teach them. And God freezed.

 

And of course, prayer should be stirred in there as well. And I do believe in exorcisms. There are extraordinary oppressions and possessions that are manifestly demonic in a way that go beyond something like this, probably in which cases there may be room for confronting Satan directly. Well, that's the ten. And then I simply put a few texts on here to refer to the removal of Satan altogether, which happens at the end of the age in Matthew 2541. He will say on that day, the Lord Jesus will say to those on his left, depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil in his angels. And that's described in Revelation 20, verse ten. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are all So they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. There is coming a day when we will not have to be confronted with this enemy anymore. Now, that poses the question that I'm going to start with tomorrow morning at 9:00. Namely, why? What is the purpose of global suffering? And the first part of that will be what's the purpose of letting Satan on the loose? If he's irredeemable and there's no hope that he will come to repentance and he's going to suffer in hell forever, then do it now. And he doesn't do it now. Why not? Let's. Great. Father in heaven. We have been drenched tonight with your sovereignty and we tremble and bow under it. He said, Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. This is the man to whom I will look. He who trembles at my word. So Lloyd you are a great and.

 

Sovereign God. Oh, the depth of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How inscrutable are your judgments and how unsociable are your ways? Who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been your counselor? Who has ever given a gift to you that he should be repaid for? From you and through you? And to you are all things to you belongs the glory and the dominion. Forever and ever. They met. You're dismissed. Thank you for listening to this message by John Piper, Pastor for preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Feel free to make copies of this message to give to others, but please do not charge for those copies or alter the content in any way without permission. We invite you to visit desiring God online at w WW dot desiring God dot org. There you'll find hundreds of sermons, articles, radio broadcasts and much more all available to you at no charge. Our online store carries all of Pastor John's books, audio and video resources. You can also stay up to date on what's new at Desiring God. Again, our website is w WW dot desiring God dot org. Or call us toll free at 1888346 4700. Our mailing address is desiring God. 2601 East Franklin Avenue. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 55406. Desiring God exists to help you make God your treasure because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.