Tabletalk

from ligonier ministries and the teaching fellowship of r. c. sproul • november 1992

AWFUL SOVEREIGNTY

The Potter’s Prerogative

publisher Ligonier Ministries editor Robert F. Ingram assistant editor Michael S. Beates

art director David K. Freeland editorial assistants Thomas Mayo; Mike Renihan; R. C. Sproul, Jr. marketing Sharon J. Anderson; Gordon Busteed; Gretchen L. Suskovic; Sally Thompson

production W. David Fox; R. Terry Groner; Melissa Prichard; Dawn Sanders circulation Brenda M. Worden design Aude Q. Cabaldon, Jr.; New Focus

Tabletalk is published by Ligonier Ministries, Inc., 400 Technology Park, Suite 150, Lake Mary, FL 32746. Application to mail at second-class is pending at Lake Mary, FL, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Ligonier Ministries, P.O. Box 547500, Orlando, FL 32854.

The daily Bible studies are based upon teaching material by Dr. R. C. Sproul, copyright 1992, Ligonier Ministries, Inc. Unless noted, all Scripture quotations in this publication are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishers.

evangelical press association member

Cover by Phil Fewsmith

robert f. ingram • editor

Coram Deo

You really have to wonder how the two tailors hoodwinked the emperor. Maybe their game plan to sell him his new suit of clothes was based on an appeal to vanity. “Strokes, that’s how we’ll sell him on the idea. Appeal to his kingly visage; allow him to hear in advance the oohs and the aahs of the adoring crowds.” Maybe their ploy was grounded in asserting their professional expertise, and how well they had been received in other courts. Perhaps there was no substance to their presentation, only a confidence hype. “Sell the sizzle, not the steak” might have been their plan.

One way or another, they became the emperor’s official clothiers. Of course, we know how the story proceeds. The emperor allows himself to be deceived. He is no more capable of seeing the clothes than anyone else, and yet he perpetuates the myth of their existence. His delight is communicated to his kingdom and everyone is sure to attend the fashion parade. For their part, his loyal subjects also willingly comply with promulgating the hoax. Because they are embarrassed to see the emperor in his nakedness, they imagine him dressed in finery and heap praises upon the tailors’ handiwork.

Only the little boy is willing to blurt out, “The emperor has no clothes!” In his naïveté, he simply speaks the truth.

Many Christians attempt to clothe God in order to cloak His sovereignty. Bald, stark statements of His sovereignty embarrass us, and we fear they may offend others. Tailors are employed to shield us from the more severe implications of His omnipotence; He is encumbered with layers of protective clothing to make Him more palatable to our ears, more pleasing to our eyes, and less threatening to our minds. Wonderful garments are fashioned, ...