Is God sovereign over death?

from the old testament

• God describes His own sovereignty: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can No other being can override God’s authority over death.
• In her prayer that praised God’s sovereignty (1 Samuel 2:1–10), Hannah said, “The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up” (1 Samuel 2:6). God’s sovereignty does not stop at death but extends to resurrection.
• For every one of us, death is already predetermined (Psalm 139:16), but not arbitrary or random. Rather, God has already set the day when each person will die.
• Everyone must die because of Adam and Eve’s sin (c.f. Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3). When God cursed Adam, He said, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). When God kills, it is not arbitrary or evil; every death He causes, whether directly or through “natural” means, is His righteous justice on sinful men and women.
• After Adam’s sin the world became filled with evil (Genesis 6:5-6). Because of mankind’s wickedness, God brought death and destruction with the flood (Genesis 6:7). Killing everyone was God’s just judgment against evil. However, he mercifully held off killing all of humanity by saving Noah and his family because “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8).
• God promised not to use a flood again though “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21b). Everyone is a sinner (Psalm 14:2-3) which is why we all still face death.
• Indeed, God would later remark, “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). Everyone who dies does so because he or she sins.
• God is not just sovereign over death but also over life after death: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). Each person’s days are numbered, and on a specific day in the future he or she will be resurrected by God to face eternal judgement or eternal life.

from the new testament

• Jesus, as fully God, has power over life and death. After He resurrected, He said, “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). Jesus is sovereign over death.
• Even Jesus’ death in His incarnate state was according to God’s sovereignty (Acts 2:23). While people killed Jesus, that death was according to the predetermined plan of God.
• Because God alone has final say about our eternal destiny, we should not fear those who can kill the body but “rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
• Death is God’s just punishment for sin (Romans 5:12).
• Jesus’ death was not for His own sin—He was sinless—but was sovereignly determined by God as a sacrifice for the sins of those who trust in Him (Romans 3:23b–25a). Because Jesus was punished in their place, God can count them as righteous without compromising His justice—a “propitiation” through His blood (Romans 3:25).
• Jesus did not remain dead, though, and Paul could later say that there is a day when Jesus will destroy death (1 Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 20:14-15). Death is no longer final for believers.
• Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). Everyone will die physically because of his or her sin. However, because Jesus is sovereign over life, those who are His will be resurrected to live eternally and escape the second death mentioned in Revelation.

implications for today

Because God is sovereign over death, we never face it alone, nor is it unexpected or outside of God’s purposes. Death feels like a loss to us, but to God it is an appointed transition for His people to prepare them to live eternally while also a tool for His justice in the world. Whether we die young or old, suddenly or slowly, our lives and deaths are in the hands of the One who is both just and merciful.

Knowing that should change how we view life. For both believers and unbelievers, that means that this life is not all that there is. You must die because you sin. Because God is sovereign over death, unbelievers will not escape His justice. If you choose to reject Jesus in this life, you will be resurrected by the sovereign God to face eternal punishment in a new body. That is why it is so important for you to repent and trust in Jesus now.

For the believer, God’s sovereignty means that, while you will not escape physical death, you will be raised again. Jesus has already paid your eternal judgement so you can face death peacefully, knowing that you will live in eternal bliss with Him. Let that truth comfort you as you think about your mortality and praise God for His mercy towards you!