Questions From Readers

◼ I have been of the understanding that since man’s fall into sin God has dealt with humans only through his Son. So how could Jehovah deal directly with Satan, as the book of Job shows?

God has dealt with humans through his Son both before and after Adam sinned and produced an imperfect race.​—Romans 5:12.

Colossians 1:16, 17, says concerning God’s firstborn Son: “By means of him all other things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible . . . All other things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all other things and by means of him all other things were made to exist.” John 1:1-3 makes a similar point, but we also learn that this Son was the Word, or Logos. Even when all humans were perfect, before Adam and Eve had sinned, God dealt with them and communicated with them through His spokesman, the Word. So we should not think that God’s dealing with mankind through his Son is a consequence of man’s fall into sin and imperfection.

The Bible does not provide us with great detail about how Jehovah God communicates with spirit creatures. Job chapters 1 and 2 relate that Satan once appeared “before Jehovah” at an assemblage of angels in heaven. “Then Jehovah said to Satan: ‘Where do you come from?’” (Job 1:6, 7) In this case, the book of Job does not depict Satan as communicating with Jehovah through an intermediary. Again, the prophet Micaiah had a vision of Jehovah seated upon His throne. The prophet saw an angel communicating with Jehovah, and no intermediary is mentioned. (1 Kings 22:19-23) The Logos is left out of the picture in these two cases. Whether he was involved is not specifically stated.

While Jehovah God’s method of communicating with Adam did not need to change when the first man sinned, Adam’s situation certainly was different. Before he sinned Adam was a human “son of God.” (Luke 3:38) Afterward he was not. The descendants of Adam have also been imperfect, soiled with sin. Thus, Jehovah was not in position to view even loyal and faithful men and women as his “sons,” or human children. However, he purposed a change. Jesus came and provided a ransom sacrifice, laying a basis for Jehovah to forgive the sins of those putting faith in that sacrifice. The apostle Paul explained to Christians: “When we were enemies, we became reconciled to God through the death of his Son.”​—Romans 5:10; Ephesians 1:7.

Yes, without himself becoming unrighteous or unclean, Jehovah thereafter could forgive the sin of men of faith and view them as clean, sinless human sons, in line to be adopted as spiritual sons. (Romans 3:25, 26; 8:15-17) Even in this, however, God used his Son, as shown by the account of Jesus’ pouring out holy spirit at Pentecost.​—Acts 2:33.

So God’s dealing with humans through the Word was not first because of human sin, nor need it be viewed as at variance with what we read in the book of Job.