predestination tagged posts

God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Free Will

God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Free Will

Sovereignty, properly understood, creates no conflict between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will.

To be sovereign is to possess absolute authority. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition, a sovereign is:

“One that exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or other governmental unit …”

Under the adjectival form are included:

Self-governing, independent; having supreme rank or power; paramount; supreme…

From the Century Dictionary is cited:

“Supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; not subject to any other…. one to whom allegiance is due…”

And from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English, we see:

“Independent of, and unlimited by...

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What is “This” in Ephesians 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8-9

8 (AV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

8 (ignt) τη γαρ χαριτι εστε σεσωσμενοι δια της πιστεως και τουτο ουκ εξ υμων θεου το δωρον

9 (AV) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

9 (ignt) ουκ εξ εργων ινα μη τις καυχησηται

(for full parsing, please see the following link: https://scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/eph2.pdf)

To what does the word “this”, touto  in the Greek, refer in Ephesians 2:8-9? Every pronoun must refer to a noun used in the same context, usually prior to the use of the pronoun, though not universally so, or to a concept expressed in relationship to its use...

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