Podcast Summary: "God Is God"

Podcast: Jack Hibbs Podcast
Host: Jack Hibbs (jackhibbs.com)
Release Date: April 21, 2025
Episode Theme:
In this episode, Pastor Jack Hibbs delves into the sovereignty of God, addressing deep questions about predestination, free will, and human responsibility. Through biblical exposition, practical examples, and moments of humor, Jack tackles how God's rule interacts with our choices—and why faith, humility, and honest questioning matter in the Christian walk.

Main Themes and Purpose

• God's Sovereignty and Human Free Will:
  Jack Hibbs confronts the age-old debate about God's control versus our choices, emphasizing that while God knows all, we are still responsible for our decisions.
• Challenging Fatalism:
  The episode rebukes the idea that we are helplessly predestined to heaven or hell, insisting that everyone is confronted with the choice to accept Christ.
• Faith Amid Questions:
  Jack encourages listeners to bring their questions to God but highlights the importance of humility and trust, comparing our limited understanding to the clay questioning the potter.
• Practical Wisdom:
  Through personal anecdotes—ranging from parenting to hiring employees—Jack draws parallels between day-to-day choices and spiritual truths.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Sovereignty of God (01:18)

• Salvation and Responsibility:
  • "Those who will accept Christ will give God all the glory and all the praise because he provided the opportunity and the way to eternal life. He's sovereign. Those who choose not to accept Christ wind up in hell... they have nobody to blame but themselves. And that too is the sovereignty of God."
    — Jack Hibbs (01:18)

2. Tough Questions About Predestination (02:16)

• Addressing the “Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe” View of Election:
  • Jack recounts an R.W. Newell story about dismissing faith as a lottery, rebuking the attitude that if one is “elect,” effort isn’t required.
  • "The Bible says, truly, these times of ignorance, God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent." — Jack Hibbs, quoting scriptural teaching (02:46)
• Human Accountability:
  • God’s foreknowledge doesn’t excuse or predetermine our choices; everyone is presented the opportunity and must respond.

3. The Problem of Questioning God (04:56)

• The Potter and the Clay:
  • Drawing on the biblical analogy (Romans 9, Jeremiah, Isaiah), Jack highlights the arrogance in demanding explanations from God.
  • "But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? That's strong, isn't it?" — Jack Hibbs (05:49)
• Childlike Curiosity vs. Prideful Rebellion:
  • Jack compares kids’ innocent questions (“Do worms yawn?”) to our sometimes prideful or resentful demands for answers from God.
  • He urges parents to engage with their children’s questions as a model for spiritual humility:
    "You gotta stop the world, my friend, right now. You gotta... show them how all that thing works. You've got to answer their question..." — Jack Hibbs (08:35)

4. Humility, Suffering, and Trust (11:57)

• Job’s Example:
  • Jack recalls Job’s story, noting that we are often unqualified to ask the right questions of God, especially in suffering.
  • “Instead of the clay questioning me, how about if the clay just stands still and says, I know that you’re the potter. Help me to hang on. Just help me to hang on. I can’t go any more than that.” — Jack Hibbs (13:23)
• Faith in God’s Goodness:
  • God’s sovereignty is merciful and trustworthy, even when incomprehensible.

5. Practical Wisdom and Tangents (15:10)

• On Hiring and Emotional Intelligence:
  • Jack uses the example of job interviews to illustrate sovereignty and wisdom in leadership, highlighting that practical judgment and EQ (emotional intelligence), not just IQ, matter most.
  • "The emotional presence of a person, that's the person you hire. ... You can hire Einstein and he can disrupt the entire project." — Jack Hibbs (16:18)
• Connecting the Hiring Analogy to Sovereignty:
  • "When you're hiring somebody because you're sovereign... cause you are the boss or the owner..." — Jack Hibbs (17:17)

6. Everyone Needs Jesus (18:23)

• Isaiah 64 and the Need for Salvation:
  • Jack reminds listeners that “all our righteousness are as filthy rags” and points to Jesus as the only answer.
• Choice and Public Declaration:
  • "The Bible says you need to choose... The only caveat to that is that God asks you with your decision to be public about it. Isn’t that amazing?" — Jack Hibbs (18:58)
• On Vessels for Honor and Dishonor:
  • Even those who seem destined for dishonor are not programmed that way; their lives reflect God’s foreknowledge, not arbitrary fate.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Human Responsibility:
  "Brother, you need to read your Bible better. Joshua said, choose today whom you’ll serve. If God is God, serve him. If BAAL and Astaroth are gods, then serve them. Remarkable."
  — Jack Hibbs (07:35)

• On Parental Duty:
  "Your teen wants to get the answer from you, your little one wants... Stop everything. Give them the answers. You’re the parent. God has ordained you to be their parent and to be their spiritual leader."
  — Jack Hibbs (10:24)

• On God’s Right to Rule and Our Limited Understanding:
  "Didn’t God kind of tell that to Job?... Can you just have faith in me, Job, that I’m bringing you through something?"
  — Jack Hibbs (12:30)

• On Justice and Real Love:
  "Now you've got God violating his own sovereignty because what you want is a Kumbaya moment. … You can't have real love without struggle."
  — Jack Hibbs (09:55)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• God’s Sovereignty & Human Responsibility: 01:18 – 02:16
• Questioning Predestination – Story and Rebuke: 02:16 – 07:35
• The Potter and The Clay / Parental Guidance: 07:35 – 13:23
• Job’s Story & Suffering Faithfully: 11:57 – 15:10
• Hiring, EQ, and Practical Wisdom: 15:10 – 18:23
• Salvation and Public Faith: 18:23 – 19:51

Episode Takeaways

• God’s sovereignty is not a cause for fatalism or passivity—everyone holds real responsibility for accepting or rejecting Christ.
• Personal questions and struggles are valid—but should be approached with humility, faith, and a willingness to trust God’s goodness even without full understanding.
• Whether in parenting, leadership, or faith, the way we engage questions—our own and others’—shapes both our understanding and our witness.
• No one is arbitrarily created for dishonor; God’s foreknowledge respects human choice.