On Overcoming Temptation

 

The entirety of human history has been marked by the conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.   kingdom of this world is "managed" by hidden Powers, thrones, and dominions - and is characterized by rebellion against the One True God.  

And the kingdom of this world will end in destruction:

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.  NKJV

 

Overcoming the Kingdom of this World

This conflict between the kingdoms has raged since the fall of Satan and was evident following Jesus' baptism when He was "compelled" into the wilderness to be tested.  

  

Satan, a malevolent, knowledgeable, and deceptive being focused his temptations of Christ in three areas: The desires of the flesh The lust of the eyes The pride of life

First Satan appealed to the desires of the flesh:

Matthew 4:1-4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.  After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry.   Then the tempter approached Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  But He answered, “It is written:  "Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Deuteronomy 8:3)   HSCB

Was it a sin to make bread?  Jesus later makes wine at the wedding in Cana.  He was near starvation, and eating is not a sin.  Why did Jesus even resist the challenge?

1.    Satan aims at separating us from our dependence on the Father.  If Jesus acted on His own initiative, it would deny the Father the opportunity to provide for His Son and undermine Jesus' testimony to His disciples to trust in the Father for all things.

2.    Satan uses suffering as a way to cast doubt on the Father’s love -- to get us to believe that if we are suffering, we must be out of the Father’s favor.  If Jesus acted on His own initiative to alleviate His hunger, His testimony would be damaged because He used His power merely to avoid further suffering.  Suffering is a tool the Father often uses to train us, to strengthen our faith and practice perseverance.

3.    Satan is also insinuating that Christ may not have the power to command stones to become bread.  Jesus would not respond to give Satan the satisfaction.  Instead, humbling Himself, He allowed the Father to be glorified.

Then Satan attempted to tempt Jesus with the Pride of Life:  

Matthew 4:5-7 Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:  He will give His angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  HCSB

Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 6:13)

In this gambit, Satan misquotes Psalm 91

Psalm 91:11-12 "For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.  They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." HCSB

Satan seemed to be saying, "So, you are so confident in your Father’s provision, let’s test that hypothesis".  We are most susceptible to this temptation when we are at the limit of despair or at the height of success and subject to presumption.  Note that Satan did not “push” Jesus; that would not have accomplished his goal.  Satan’s power is limited to deceiving and enticing us to act of our own will ("The Devil made me do it", is in fact, one of his best lies!).

Jesus defends his testimony, that God is His Father, and it is enough to know He has promised care and provision of Christ.  To presume God’s plan matches your own is a sin of pride.  To be abundantly knowledgeable of the Scriptures is also not a sign of your salvation.  Trusting in the Father is not a sin, but presuming upon His grace is.

Finally Satan attempts to lure Jesus with the Lust of the Eyes:

Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to Him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.”  Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written:  "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.”  (Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:20)   HCSB

Apparently, Satan has the power of teleportation, or has a special effects virtual reality production team....  Christ knew He was destined to rule, but Satan offered him a shortcut -- to rule without the path of suffering and crucifixion.  Was the temptation real?  Yes, it had to be.  Only if Satan truly had the kingdoms of the earth to give to Christ would the offer have been truly tempting.  Let that sink in a moment:  Who currently has possession of the kingdoms of the earth?

Ultimately, this is a temptation of idolatry.  The first sin committed by humanity entered through the eyes (in Eve’s desire of the forbidden fruit).  All idol worship is in fact directed at the Devil and his demons:

Deuteronomy 32:16-17 "They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger".  HCSB

1 Corinthians 10:20 "But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God."   HCSB

From a Matthew Henry commentary:

“He (Satan) deceives, and so destroys; he imposes upon men with shadows and fast colors; shows the world and the glory of it and hides from men’s eyes the sin and sorrow and death which stain the pride of all this glory, the cares and calamities which attend great possessions, and the thorns which crowns themselves are lined with. The glory of the world is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary, and that by which men are most imposed upon.”

Points to Ponder About Temptation

Temptations we face every day follow the same pattern as the deception and temptation of Eve in the Garden.  All temptations are lies.  Everything Eve sought and the devil tempted her with, she had already, but didn't realize it.  Adam and Eve already had immortality, they already had the likeness of God and already lived in His presence.  They could have asked of God any question and presumably been instructed by God Himself on all things their curiosity wished to understand. 

What tempted Eve was the opportunity to be "like" God.  We cannot be like God and never will be.  We may reflect God's qualities, but we should never presume to be on some path of self-glorification where be eventually become a god - that is the deception of Satan that started this battle between the kingdoms - and the devil's way leads to our enslavement.

To combat temptation, keep in mind:

1 - Special blessings, gifts or spirituality will not protect you from being tempted.  Jesus had all spiritual gifts and blessings in abundance, yet He was tempted.

2 - If you receive a great spiritual honor or gift, expect to be targeted for attacks by Satan to hamper your witness.  (Paul had a special messenger of Satan inflict pain on him after he had seen the vision of the third heaven).

3 - God will prepare you for your hour of trial if you rest in Him and His Word.

Christ suffered, and having been tempted, understands our trials.  Yet he did not yield to temptation, and being sinless, shows us that the temptation itself isn’t the sin.  Sin is the yielding to temptation.  As our judge, He has jurisdiction over the human condition, and is righteous to condemn those who, having failed to rest in His perfect righteousness, fall by the temptation into sin.

More importantly, as we discuss the Kingdom of Heaven, we understand that Christ first had to defeat the kingdom of this Earth.  To know that Christ conquered for us, means that in Him, we are more than conquerors.  His testing in the wilderness was His first battle with the forces of evil in the war to conquer sin and death!

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Scripture citations are from:  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) © 2009 Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville TN