that design into us. Three: He created our rational minds in imitation of
the divine design in the whole spiritual world, and our bodies in imita-
tion of the divine design in the whole physical world. This is why the
ancients called a person both a heaven in miniature and a world in
miniature. Four: As a result, it is a law of the divine design that we are to
rule our microcosm or physical-world-in-miniature from our micro-
heaven or spiritual-world-in-miniature, just as God rules everything
about the macrocosm or physical world from his macroheaven or spiri-
tual world. Five: A law of the divine design following from this is that we
are to bring ourselves into a state of faith by means of truths from the
Word and bring ourselves into a state of goodwill by means of good
actions; and this is how we reform and regenerate ourselves. Six: It is a
law of the divine design that we are to use our own power and do our
own work to purify ourselves from sins; we do not stand in impotent
faith and wait for God miraculously to wipe them away. Seven: It is also
a law of the divine design that we are to love God with all our soul and
with all our heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are not to
hang around and wait for God miraculously to put each love into our
minds and hearts like putting bread from the baker in our mouths.”
I said other things like that as well.
[ 3 ] To this the satan replied in a soothing voice that had pride behind
it, “What are you saying? That on the basis of our own power we need to
bring ourselves into the divine design by practicing its rules? Don’t you
know that we are not under the law but under grace? All things are given
for free. We cannot take anything for ourselves unless it is given to us
from heaven. In the spiritual arena we have no more ability to act on our
own than Lot’s wife, the statue; or Dagon, the idol of the Philistines in
Ekron. It is impossible for us to grant ourselves justification; justification
can be achieved only through faith and goodwill.”
To the things he said I made only this one reply: “It is also a law of
the divine design that by our own work and power we are to gain faith
for ourselves by means of truths from the Word, yet we are to believe that
our faith comes from God and not a grain of it from ourselves. Likewise,
by our own work and power we are to become justified, yet we are to
believe that our justification comes from God and not even a jot of it
from ourselves. We have been commanded to believe in God, to love
God with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Think
about it and tell me how God could command these things if we had no
ability to obey and do them?”
§71 god the creator & creation 93