What is the danger in seeing God as the ultimate source of evil? 1

---

What is the danger in seeing God as the ultimate source of evil? 1.

That we would misunderstand what it does and does not mean for God to be the ultimate source of evil.

2. That we would wrongly state that God is evil, directly does evil, or delights in evil. 3. That we would question God’s goodness. 4. That we would think we have it all figured out now, and we would arrogantly fail to acknowledge the great mystery that surrounds our great and infinite God in this area. 5. That we would flippantly respond to others’ suffering with shallow, thoughtless, calloused theological answers, such as, “God caused this.” What is the danger in not seeing God as the ultimate source of evil? 1.

We sacrifice God’s sovereignty and diminish God. Remember, if we claim that God is not the ultimate source of evil or that evil happens apart from God’s plans, then we are claiming that some things happen outside of God’s control. In that case, God is not truly sovereign, because evil happens without Him intending for it to happen.

2. We lose our comfort in the face of suffering. God has assured us that He loves us (John 3:16) and that He is working all things together for our good in Jesus (Romans 8:28). That is why we have comfort in the face of suffering. Even in suffering, we know that God is working for us and He will use our suffering for our good. However, if evil and suffering come from a source other than God, we no longer have the assurance that that new source will use the suffering for our good. We no longer have the comfort of knowing that God brought this about and that God knows what He’s doing. In an attempt to comfort ourselves by saying, “God didn’t cause this,” we actually lose the only true comfort we have. 3. We make our suffering pointless and meaningless. If God is in control, we can trust that He would not allow evil things to happen if they did not serve His purposes. Our suffering has meaning, because God is going to use it. However, if evil and suffering happen apart from God, we have no guarantee that God intends to use it. We don’t even have a guarantee that God is able to use our suffering at all, because God apparently cannot control evil, and therefore cannot assure us that other, subsequent evil won’t render His current work in our lives pointless and meaningless. 4. We lose our hope that our suffering will be redeemed for good. Again, if evil happens apart from God’s plans, then we have no guarantee that God can prevent other evil from happening that will undermine His plans. Our hope for redemption depends entirely on the fact that God is able to do all that He has said He will do in Jesus Christ. If God is not sovereign over evil, then there is no guarantee that our hope in Jesus Christ will be fulfilled. Why seeing God as the ultimate source of evil is the better of the two alternatives: If we see God as not being the ultimate source of evil, the mystery we are left with is, “How can God really be in control?” We are left to wonder if God can do everything that God needs to be able to do. We are left with a wrong view of God, because we see God as smaller and lesser than we did before. However, if we see God as the ultimate source of evil, the mystery we are left with is, “How is it that God is able to do this?” We are left to marvel that God can do things we can’t even comprehend. We are left with a right view of God, because we see Him as even bigger and greater than we did before.

What do we learn from all of this? 1.

God is good, holy, and just. We do not come away from this study questioning God’s goodness, because Scripture never presents one iota of doubt about it.

2. In addition to be being good and holy, God is also sovereign and all-powerful. He can do all things; no plan of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2). Thus, we must say that since God can do all things, He could stop any evil event from happening, but often He does not do so. Further, since no plan of God’s can be thwarted, the evil that happens must actually fit into His plans. Evil and suffering are not unexpected events that God creatively deals with once they happen. Remember, God “has made known the end from the beginning and will do all that He pleases” (Isaiah 46:10). Thus, God sees the evil from an eternity in advance, brings about the conditions that lead to the evil, does not stop the evil, and uses it in His plans. This is why we cannot be content to say, “God neither plans nor causes the evil, He just allows it.” There is nothing that exists that God has not created. ALL THINGS are from Him and through Him, and therefore, He is the ultimate source of everything that happens. In that sense, God does not just allow evil. No, God is the ultimate source of evil, is sovereign over evil, and even uses evil in His good plans. 3. God does not plan or cause evil in a way that compromises His goodness and holiness. 4. Whereas God stands directly behind good, He stands indirectly behind evil. There are secondary agents, such as humans and Satan, who are the direct cause of evil. God is the One who created these agents, who created them in such a way that they are able to do evil, who continues to sustain them, and who created an environment in which they can do evil. It all starts and stops with God, because there is no reality outside God. That is why we must see God as the ultimate source of evil: Evil can have no other ultimate source, because God is the only ultimate source. At the same time, we must carefully maintain the balance of saying that while God is the ultimate source behind evil, He is not the direct cause behind evil. 5. Therefore, God has no evil in Him, does not directly do evil, and does not take pleasure in evil. 6. God is infinitely wise to be able to do this. He is the ultimate source of evil without compromising His goodness, and He uses evil for good. This study should not cause you to question God’s goodness; it should cause you to marvel at His wisdom! 7. God is sovereign, and God is HUGE. Stand in awe of God. He is so sovereign that He is the ultimate source of all things, including evil. And God is so good that He then uses all things, even evil, for good. 8. If any of this causes you to doubt God’s goodness, or if you ever doubt that God is working for good in your life, just remember the cross. The ultimate revelation that God has chosen to give us about Himself came when He used the wickedness of men, the schemes of Satan, and the sinfulness of your own heart to bring about the greatest act of love, grace, forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, and hope that the universe will ever know. The reason we can trust that God is a good God who uses evil for His good purposes is because He has already used the worst evil of all time to accomplish the greatest good of all time in Jesus Christ. God can handle anything else that comes His way.