The Sovereignty of God

by Arthur Walkington Pink

Publisher:

Bible Truth Depot

, 1949

Overview

In this text, Reformed theologian Arthur Walkington Pink treats God’s supreme reign—discussing how God not only created everything in the material realm, but also his immediate concern in directly earthly affairs. Proceeding from the question, “Who is regulating affairs on this earth today—God, or the devil? What saith the Scriptures?” Pink looks to the Bible to offer a full portrait of the supreme rule and authority of God. Presented here is the full version of Pink’s classic text. While some later editions remove three chapters as well as the appendixes, and alter the language, this edition preserves Pink’s original thought in its entirety.

As the study unfolds, Pink develops his central claim that “because God is God he does as he pleases, only as he pleases, always as he pleases; that his great concern is the accomplishment of his own pleasure and the promotion of his own glory.” He examines God’s sovereignty as it functions in creation, administration, salvation, reprobation, operation, and as it relates to the human will. The text also looks at the relationship between God’s sovereignty and prayer, offering a helpful discussion of this topic as well as showing “the only becoming attitude for the creature to take in view of the majesty of the creator.”

Pink’s text vividly presents the essential principle that “the sovereignty of God is a truth revealed in Scripture for the comfort of our hearts, the strengthening of our souls, and the blessing of our lives.” His classic study is an important exploration of an often overlooked and sometimes unpopular topic, reminding readers that “a due apprehension of God’s sovereignty promotes the spirit of worship, provides an incentive to practical godliness, and inspires zeal in service. It is deeply humbling to the human heart, but in proportion to the degree that it brings man into the dust before his maker, to that extent is God glorified.”

Key Features

• Examines the sovereign rule of God
• Discusses the exercise of God’s sovereignty in creation
• Provides a helpful discussion of prayer and God’s sovereignty
• Presents the original, unabridged version of Pink’s text

Contents

• God’s Sovereignty Defined
• The Sovereignty of God in Creation
• Sovereignty of God in Administration
• The Sovereignty of God in Salvation
• The Sovereignty of God in Reprobation
• The Sovereignty of God in Operation
• God’s Sovereignty and the Human Will
• Sovereignty and Prayer
• Our Attitude toward His Sovereignty
• Difficulties and Objections
• The Value of this Doctrine

Top Highlights

“Alas, in reality, we walk very little ‘by faith.’ But what does ‘walking by faith’ signify? It means that our thoughts are formed, our actions regulated, our lives moulded by the Holy Scriptures, for, ‘faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God’ (Rom. 10:17). It is from the Word of Truth, and that alone, that we can learn what is God’s relation to this world.” (Page 17)

“Throughout Christendom, with an almost negligible exception, the theory is held that man is ‘a free agent,’ and therefore, lord of his fortunes and the determiner of his destiny. That Satan is to be blamed for much of the evil which is in the world is freely affirmed by those who, though having so much to say about ‘the responsibility of man,’ often deny their own responsibility, by attributing to the Devil what, in fact, proceeds from their own evil hearts (Mark 7:21–23).” (Page 15)

“But does not everything seem to show that the Devil has far more to do with the affairs of earth than God has? Ah, it all depends upon whether we are walking by faith, or walking by sight. Are your thoughts, my reader, concerning this world and God’s relation to it, based upon what you see?” (Page 17)

“Faith is not the cause of the new birth, but the consequence of it.” (Page 79)

“God has access to the hearts of all men and He softens or hardens them according to His sovereign purpose” (Page 127)

Product Details

• Title: The Sovereignty of God
• Author: Arthur Walkington Pink
• Publisher: Bible Truth Depot
• Print Publication Date: 1949
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 217
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Creation; God
• Resource ID: LLS:SOVEREIGNTYGOD
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-12T00:22:35Z

About Arthur Walkington Pink

A. W. Pink (1886–1952) pastored churches in the United States and Australia for most of his working life. At the age of 24, Pink experienced an evangelical conversion and crossed the Atlantic from Great Britain to study at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. But after only six weeks, he left to take up a pastoral ministry during which he found his way to a strictly Calvinistic position in theology.

In 1922, Pink produced a monthly magazine entitled Studies in the Scriptures which circulated among English-speaking Christians worldwide. Pink devoted his life to the study and exposition of the Scriptures and became the author, also under the name Arthur Walkington Pink, of numerous books which the Banner of Truth Trust began publishing after Pink’s death.

Articles, books, tracts, and pamphlets, including the notable Exposition of Hebrews and The Nature of God, can be found in the A. W. Pink Collection (40 vols.). Also available from Logos are The Godhood of God, Why Four Gospels?, The Divine Inspiration of the Bible, and The Law and the Saint.