Chapter 1—Why was Sin Permitted?
“God is love.”
1 John 4:16
. His nature, His law, is love. It ever
has been; it ever will be. “The high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity,” whose “ways are everlasting,” changeth not. With Him “is
no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Isaiah 57:15
;
Habakkuk
3:6
;
James 1:17
.
Every manifestation of creative power is an expression of infinite
love. The sovereignty of God involves fullness of blessing to all created
beings. The psalmist says:
“Strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right hand.
Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of
Thy throne:
Mercy and truth go before Thy face.
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound:
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance.
In Thy name do they rejoice all the day:
And in Thy righteousness are they exalted.
For Thou art the glory of their strength: ...
For our shield belongeth unto Jehovah,
And our king to the Holy One.”
Note:
Psalm 89:13-18
, R.V. [
In this text and in some other Bible
quotations used in this book the word “Jehovah” is employed instead
of “Lord,” as rendered in the American Supplement to the Revised
Version.
]
The history of the great conflict between good and evil, from the
time it first began in heaven to the final overthrow of rebellion and the
total eradication of sin, is also a demonstration of God’s unchanging
love.
[34]
The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of benef-
icence. He had an associate—a co-worker who could appreciate His
purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created be-
ings. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
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