House of Faith Ministries

Job 32:18 “For I am full of words; the spirit within me compels me.”
 

The anger that Elihu exhibited against Job was kindled by the fact that Job held fast to his confession of righteousness that he received from God, instead of rather than God as he was accused. And as we well know the spirit of self-righteousness hates competition.

Job 27:6 “My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.”

For a while now Job had to endure the accusations of three of his friends, who prompted Job to confess to sins that he had not committed. How could a man so clearly judged by God they figure, not be guilty of such horrible secret sins so that he should confess and repent of them?
 

Elihu, who was younger than Job’s other three friends had to keep his mouth closed and did not get a chance to go mano a mano with Job, so he was enraged at the fact that Job’s friends were not able to break Job’s convictions of having God’s righteousness in his life.

What can we learn from this story that will help us overcome this spirit of self-righteousness and self-condemnation when he comes against us?

Job 31:40 “…The words of Job are ended.”

Job did not know why God had allowed such terrible tragedies to come his way, but he knew that he was not holding on to secret sins that would hinder his relationship with God. Listen to what Job said about his relationship with God in the midst of his many trials:

Job 23:11-12 “My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
 

The thing that enraged the spirit driving Elihu the most was the steadfastness of Job in his relationship with God in the face of such relentless demonic accusations.

Job was a sinner, that is, like all of us who fall short of the glory of God. The key issue here is that once we enter into a relationship with God by trusting in God’s Word… it is done! Job held fast to his righteousness in the grace of God despite of his circumstances.

So, what have we learned? We know that once we settle the issue of our salvation, which is by the grace of God which makes us righteous by washing us in the blood of Jesus, we silence the accusers; but then now we must deal with the wrath of Elihu which is the spirit of self-righteousness and the Antichrist himself.

Read what Elihu says about himself: that he is a created entity who is perfect in knowledge, referring to Lucifer who had that position in heaven and lost it after he sinned.

Job 33:6 “Truly I am [Elihu speaking] as your spokesman before God [he is more like the accuser]; I also have been formed out of clay.” In brackets added by me for emphasis.

Job 36:4 “For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.”

When the Lord appears in the whirlwind and confronts Elihu as He was speaking to Job, this is what God said to him.

Job 38:2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”

An attack against us by a spirit of self-righteousness is a spirit of condemnation that rises against those who like Job, have made up their minds not to listen to the words of the accuser of the brethren, and decide to walk by faith and not by sight.

How do we know when we are contending with the spirit of the wrath of Elihu?

This spirit demands perfection that leads to pride, the pride of life. It is a spirit who claims to be all knowledgeable making him a lying spirit who claims to speak for God. That is the spirit of Antichrist itself, for only God the trinity is all knowing!

1 John 4:1-4 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of Antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

This antichrist spirit demands Jesus plus! Jesus and our own self-righteousness. Which is a recipe for failure, since pride goes before the fall, and after we fail, he comes and accuses us with a load of guilt, shame and condemnation in order to steal the joy of our salvation.
 

Through the All-Sufficient Jesus Christ In Us we have received many wonderful gifts, including a salvation that cannot be taken away, for it is a gift from God and God’s gifts are irrevocable. For we have been washed by the blood of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world and He has imputed to us His own righteousness to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 11:29 “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

1 John 3:8-9 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed (Christ’s righteousness) remains in him and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”

In case you are wondering, there are two different kinds of sin within the context, and if we do not know the difference, we can get confused. The sin that leads to death is the failure of a person to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, if we are not born-again, that is born of the Spirit of God, we are still in our sins and spiritually dead and separated from God’s Holy Spirit.

1 John 5:16 “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.”

For those of us who have been born-again, born of the Spirit of God, our spirit-man cannot sin, for it is seated in heaven next to Jesus, who is seated next to the Father forever making intercession for us. We walk by faith and not by sight.

1 Peter 1:9 “Receiving the end (goal) of your faith—the salvation of our souls.”

1 John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Here he is talking about the sin that does not lead to death which resides in our soul, our self-life.

As born-again believers, every time our soul sins, we have not only the privilege but the obligation of confessing our sins, in order to receive God’s cleansing and be partakers of His many blessings.

Ephesians 2:4-6 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Parenthesis are in the original text

After we are born-again unconfessed sins can keep us from walking in God’s favor. But our spirit-man does not sin, for it is seated with Jesus in heaven and cannot be touch by the enemy.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The only option left to this prideful spirit of Elihu, after we take our stand in the righteousness that comes from faith after being washed in the blood of Jesus, is to try to keep us from becoming partakers of the many blessings that God has for us as believers of His promises.

Receiving the end (goal) of your faith—the salvation of our souls.

How do we do that? Our soul needs to know that it is loved by God despite its many failures: The soul of a born-again believer is accepted in the Beloved of God, just as it is! God’s love, acceptance and compassion will bring joy and peace to the soul of the person who is born-again and repents with godly sorrow. Our soul needs to understand the work patience, true faith endures long and does not give up its desire for the spiritual purity it lacks. It holds fast to the righteousness that comes from faith in the spirit of meekness, and desires to be clothed in the virtue of self-control.

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Soul), that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”