VICTORY FROM SURRENDER
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Matt. 26:39.
Surrender always requires a struggle. The basis of every temptation is to go it alone in some way, and depend on self instead of God. Jesus was constantly tempted to go it alone. As His inherent abilities were greater than ours, so much greater was His temptation to rely on self instead of on His Father. In Gethsemane, He faced the final struggle of surrender. If Satan failed here, his kingdom was forever lost.
Notice the basis of the final temptation. "He [Jesus] seemed to be shut out from the light of God's sustaining presence."--The Desire of Ages, p. 685. (Italics supplied.) Christ had spent His entire life on earth in fellowship with His Father. Never once had He broken from that abiding dependence upon God. He had done nothing on His own, only through His Father's will. But now, "so dreadful does sin appear to Him, so great is the weight of guilt which He must bear, that He is tempted to fear it will shut Him out forever from His Father's love."--Ibid.
Do you see the temptation? Satan made it appear that the only way Christ could save mankind was to break from His relationship with His Father. He had tried for thirty-three years to get Christ to rely on His own power. Now it seemed that the only way Christ could save us would be by going on His own, for if He took our sin it would separate Him from God. Satan said, If You don't rely on Your own power now, You won't be able to save man as You came to do. Sin is too offensive to God. He can't help You now. You've got to do it Yourself, Jesus, or fail in Your mission to save mankind.
But notice that the separation was only in feelings--in reality Jesus was not alone. "God suffered with His Son. Angels beheld the Saviour's agony."--Ibid., p. 693. God separated from Jesus every beam of light, love, and glory. But He was still there! And it was in surrender to the will of His Father that Jesus was conqueror. In Gethsemane, and upon the cross, Jesus relied upon the evidence of His Father's love already given. "As in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor."--Ibid., p. 756. (Italics supplied.) Surrender is the only way to victory.
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Matt. 26:39.
Surrender always requires a struggle. The basis of every temptation is to go it alone in some way, and depend on self instead of God. Jesus was constantly tempted to go it alone. As His inherent abilities were greater than ours, so much greater was His temptation to rely on self instead of on His Father. In Gethsemane, He faced the final struggle of surrender. If Satan failed here, his kingdom was forever lost.
Notice the basis of the final temptation. "He [Jesus] seemed to be shut out from the light of God's sustaining presence."--The Desire of Ages, p. 685. (Italics supplied.) Christ had spent His entire life on earth in fellowship with His Father. Never once had He broken from that abiding dependence upon God. He had done nothing on His own, only through His Father's will. But now, "so dreadful does sin appear to Him, so great is the weight of guilt which He must bear, that He is tempted to fear it will shut Him out forever from His Father's love."--Ibid.
Do you see the temptation? Satan made it appear that the only way Christ could save mankind was to break from His relationship with His Father. He had tried for thirty-three years to get Christ to rely on His own power. Now it seemed that the only way Christ could save us would be by going on His own, for if He took our sin it would separate Him from God. Satan said, If You don't rely on Your own power now, You won't be able to save man as You came to do. Sin is too offensive to God. He can't help You now. You've got to do it Yourself, Jesus, or fail in Your mission to save mankind.
But notice that the separation was only in feelings--in reality Jesus was not alone. "God suffered with His Son. Angels beheld the Saviour's agony."--Ibid., p. 693. God separated from Jesus every beam of light, love, and glory. But He was still there! And it was in surrender to the will of His Father that Jesus was conqueror. In Gethsemane, and upon the cross, Jesus relied upon the evidence of His Father's love already given. "As in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor."--Ibid., p. 756. (Italics supplied.) Surrender is the only way to victory.
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