To argue that man is a free moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny, and that therefore he has the power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip God of the attribute of Omnipotence. A.W. Pink

Why do we struggle with the sovereignty of God? One of the familiar teachings among NAR circles is the Dominion mandate or Dominion Theology. Some of us have heard of the Seven Mountain Mandate, a teaching and belief that Christ cannot return to the earth until the church takes dominion over the seven areas of influence in society. Dominion Theology was a belief and teaching held by C. Peter Wagner, a minister who coined the term, New Apostolic Reformation.

In his teaching of Dominion Theology, he wrote and taught publicly that dominion began in Genesis 1 and that Adam and Eve were free moral agents. According to Wagner, Adam was to govern, and God had established a government on the earth through Adam. But Adam had a choice as a free moral agent, he could either obey God or obey Satan. As a free moral agent, he chose to obey Satan, and in doing so, Wagner taught that Adam gave his authority over the earth to Satan. However, Jesus came to not only save us from sin, which is more of a pastoral message according to Wagner, but he came with a bigger plan in mind: to restore dominion back to humankind. This, he says, is a literal and apostolic interpretation of Scriptures pertaining to Christ’s first coming.

Not only did Wagner hold to Dominion Theology, but he also held to a belief known as open theism. He devoted an entire chapter to this topic in his book, Dominion, first published in 2008 and republished in 2022 by Destiny Image. Wagner held to the belief that open theism was the most theological framework in us fulfilling the Lord’s prayer pertaining to “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Though Wagner stated he believed in the sovereignty of God, he believed that God in His sovereignty, limited His own sovereignty.

In other words, He believed that God decided to know the future of certain events while leaving other events open to human choice. He questioned whether God decided to know ahead of time if Adam and Eve would choose as they did, and in God not knowing that Adam would sin against God, Plan A of dominion did not come to fruition. So, God then had to go to Plan B, which was Jesus coming to earth to die on the cross.

The Sovereignty of God

I believe that within the New Apostolic Reformation movement, we are seeing and hearing teachings influenced by open theism. There are leaders who share similar sentiments as God being in charge but not in control with limited sovereignty. This is greatly concerning because of the seeming diminishment of God’s attributes and the ultimate creation of a god in our image and with our own understanding. The Old Testament and the New Testament are replete with God’s sovereignty. Psalm 103:19 says, “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.”

These verses are among an ocean of God’s sovereignty in the Old Testament. When going to the New Testament, we find Jesus telling Peter of Satan asking to sift him like wheat. Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith may not fail, and He tells Peter, “And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32) Do you see His sovereignty? In John 6, Jesus knew those who did not believe in Him and who would betray Him. He chose Judas to as one of the twelve, and yet He knew what Jesus would do because it had been prophesied and decreed by God. (John 6:64,70-71) Acts 4:23-28 is another example to read and to recognize that though leaders of the time of Jesus and common people, both Jew and Gentile were gathered together against Jesus, they did what God planned and predestined to take place. Plan B crumbles under the magnificent weight of the witness of Scripture, testifying of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8).

People will say that God is not in control while ascribing verses stated about God’s power and control lying in the hands of human beings. What results is that man is made to be God. I’ll say this: I do not know the god of whom people like this speak. Consider who is sovereign and who has been given authority. It is Jesus Christ. As believers in Christ, we are not ruled by satan. We are ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ. The world, however, is ruled by the devil. They are caught in his snare and in his bondages, but for those in Christ, we have been set free.

To say that God in His sovereignty has limited His sovereignty and that He has limited His foreknowledge of circumstances negates His divine omniscience. He knows the end from the beginning. Nothing happens outside of His sovereignty. God is not the author of sin. He does not cause people to sin. He does not cause evil, and yet He will work all things for the good of those who love Him for His glory, both things we perceive as good and things we do not perceive as good.

There are things that as a finite being created by Almighty God, we will not fully comprehend or understand. This should help to solidify who is the Potter and who is the lump of clay. We do not create a god of our own understanding to explain away our pain, our suffering, and our unanswered questions. We trust that God is sovereign over all, and we rejoice and are comforted in the fact that as His children, we have placed our faith in Christ to reconcile us back to the Father and to clothe us in His righteousness. We are not under the tyranny of the devil any longer. We have been brought out of darkness, and we are to shine the light of Christ in proclaiming His gospel and the truth of His Word. We do so in easy times and in difficult times.

Charles Spurgeon said, “When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head.” Rest in His sovereignty, dear Christian. When you question where God is in your pain, rest in His sovereignty and return to Scripture and prayer for consolation. When you do not have answers for life’s troubles, rest in His sovereignty and the joy of His salvation. Resist the urge to create a god possessing your own understanding. His ways are higher than ours. He owes us no explanation for His ways which we do not fully understand. We thank God that He is sovereign, and we nor the devil are not.

Listen to this episode as we take a look more closely at Wagner’s teaching of dominion and open theism: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: God’s Plan B and Man’s Dominion Theology on Apple Podcasts