Why Pray when God is Sovereign?

Dr. Couch, why pray if God is sovereign? ANSWER: Don't you imagine that this same question was asked a thousand times by the prophets and apostles of old! We forget that God "ordains both the ends and the means" to accomplish His purposes. And He uses human agents, though He is actually working within us, as His agents, to fulfill His plans. Paul writes "For it is God who is working in you, both to the willing and the doing for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). "Working" is a Present Participle with the idea: "He is continually and progressively working (producing energy) in us" for His purposes. "To be willing" and "To be working" are both Present Infinitives. "God" is emphatic in the verse. "IT IS GOD who is doing these things ..." We can never reconcile God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, but the Bible speaks of both. God is 100% sovereign and we are 100% responsible. I can't understand this! Yet, one does not cancel out the other. Both are true and are operative in life. We must take the Word of God at face value. It is consistent in what it teaches even though we may not be able to reconcile it all. Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch (Jan., 10)

Kindred Spirit

Dr. Couch, what does "kindred spirit" mean? ANSWER:  The expression is found in Philippians 2:20 where Paul says about Timothy, "For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for the welfare [of the Philippian assembly except Timothy]." This is a powerful thought in the Greek text. It actually is translated "iso psuche," or "like soul (or spirit)." Paul then adds, "For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus" (v. 21). All of those Paul was working with had no interest in the problems or issues of the Philippian church. They were selfish and cared little of the needs of that congregation.    Gromacki says "The term literally means "equal soul." Just as Jesus Christ was equal to the Father in deity (2:6), so Timothy was equal to Paul in the characteristics of unity, humility, and concern for others. ... Paul and Timothy shared the mind of Christ, thought the same things, and had the same spiritual goals."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (1-10)

God's Sovereignty at Work in the Believer

Dr. Couch, what is going on in Philippians 2:13? It sounds like the absolute sovereignty of God working in the believer! Is this right? ANSWER:  You're right! That is what is going on! The believer is not a robot and yet, God is absolutely sovereign. Nothing happens with us without His working and causing us to be willing and then to be working in regard to His good pleasure! The Greek text reads:    "Be continually working intently your salvation with fear and trembling; for God is the One continually working in you the to be willing and the to be working concerning the good pleasure [of Him]" (Phil. 2:12b-13).    Notice the Present Tenses in the verse. Nicoll points out that there is no conflict with Divine sovereignty and human responsibility. But guess which one dominates? God's sovereignty. His work causes all things to be!    A.T. Robertson is stronger on the passage. "God is the Energy and the Energizer of the universe. ... God is back of all activity in nature." "Both the willing and the working (the energizing). God does it all, then. The will of God is behind gravitation and all the laws of nature."     As I used to ask my students: "Who is in charge?" And, "Who do we think we are?"    Ellicott goes further: "The word 'works in you' is constantly applied to the divine operation in the soul, ... to do the action of men. It must necessarily extend to the will as well as the action; otherwise God would not be sovereign in the inner realm of mind. Hence, while we cannot even conceive the existence of freedom under an unbending impersonal law or force, the harmony of our will with a Supreme Personal Will (God's) is mysterious, indeed."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch

Jesus' Knowledge Regarding End Times Events

Dr. Couch, I have heard some say that from Mark 13:32 Jesus did not know the time of the beginning of the tribulation events and of the time of His return to earth in order to reign and rule in His kingdom. Is this true? ANSWER:  The words of Christ in that passage reads: "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."    Many "good" theologians miss the point on this passage. Being very God, there is nothing that Christ could not have known. God the Son cannot "unknow" the facts of history. Philippians 2:6-7, and the doctrine of the kenoses ("to empty"), may help us understand what is happening here in Mark. The Philippians passage reads "He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, ..." When Christ was born into the realm of mankind, He did not become less than God but He set aside His divine glory and took the form of a slave. A slave is not serving Himself but the One higher than He is. The Father in rank is above the Son, but the Son is not less than the Father in His deity!    Thus, the prerogative of Christ in His work on earth was that of a slave. Therefore, the Father is sovereign in decisions, and the Son obeys the Father and does His biding. "The knowledge of the final plans of history" is the prerogative of the Father not of the Son! Part of the key also is the word "know" in the Mark passage. It is the Greek word "oida." Oida is an intuitive knowledge over against a body of knowledge expressed by "ginosko." It is intuitive with the Father to have the knowledge of the plan of history. It is His plan! This does not mean that the Son did not know what the plan was; but it was with the Father specifically to know when He would execute the working out of the tribulation and the kingdom at a specific point in time. This was not the prerogative of the Son!    In my commentary series, McGowan quotes Lenski who says: "In their essential oneness the three persons [of the Trinity] know all things, but in his humiliation the second person did not use his divine attributes save as he needed them in his mediatorial work." I would soften this statement somewhat and say that Christ did not, as a servant, speak what He knew because He left such knowledge with the Father, and the Father determined not to reveal the specific day or hour when the end time events would begin! Thus, the Son acquiesced to His Father and did not reveal this information, but He left the issue in the hands of His Father.    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (Nov., 09)