“If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; if iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear.” (Job 11:13-15)
Zophar clearly summarized the belief that the human will is all that is necessary to reach perfection. He believed in a Creator God. He knew that God was holy, but Zophar had bought into Satan’s first lie: “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).
Satan needed a lesson in sovereignty, but also a lesson in love. Satan’s logic would have it that all love is self-serving. He had deceived himself into believing that he could overthrow the Creator, that he could win the worship of the human race by throwing his largess of power and brilliance on those who follow his leadership. (Sounds suspiciously like the history of political manipulation over the millennia.)
Throughout the Scriptures, God presents Himself as sovereign over the affairs of men. “Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonor?” (Romans 9:20-21).
The theological debate is whether the salvation event is by God’s grace alone (Calvinism) or if mankind must willingly cooperate with God to obtain and maintain salvation (Arminianism). The great mystery of the human will and the choice to submit to and love God is beyond explanation. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). HMM III
Adapted from The Book of Beginnings by Dr. Henry M. Morris III.
