February 9 The Core of Temptation
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matt. 4:1, NASB.
Here for the first time the Gospels introduce us to Christ's major antagonist in the conflict between good and evil. Matthew calls him "the devil" in verse 1, "the tempter" in verse 3, and in verse 10 "Satan" (adversary)--his proper name since the Genesis fall. Prior to chapter 4, the devil has been active behind the scenes, as with Herod, but now he comes out in the open to the forefront.
We should also recognize that neither God nor the Holy Spirit is the active agent in temptation. Matthew is quite careful in his wording: "Then Jesus as led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." James plainly teaches us that God tempts no one (James 1:13). But God does allow His followers to encounter temptation for the strengthening and development of their characters. As a result, we should not feel that we are out of harmony with God when we find ourselves in difficult places. After all, Christ's temptations came right after His spiritual high at His baptism. God's followers are not exempt from the pressures of the world. Rather, they are given strength to resist those forces (1 Cor. 10:13). So it was with Jesus. He faced the common temptations of other humans. Yet He found victory (Heb. 4:15).
With Christ's temptations we meet the essential nature of temptation itself. Earlier we noted that the incarnate Christ had "emptied Himself" when He came to earth (Phil. 2:5-8). That is, He voluntarily gave up His divine attributes and submitted to the conditions of life that we also face. While on earth, God the Son lived in dependence upon God the Father, just as we do (John 5:19, 30; 8:28; 14:10). He truly became one of us.
Please note that His self-emptying was voluntary. No one forced Him to become human. He chose to do so. It is at the point of Christ's voluntary self-emptying that we find the focus and strength of His temptations. If the enemy had been able to get Jesus to "unempty" Himself one time and get Him to use His "hidden" power, the war would have been over, with Satan the victor. Ellen White points out that "it was as difficult for him to keep [to] the level of humanity as it is for men to rise above the low level of their depraved natures, and be partakers of the divine nature" (Review and Herald, Apr. 1, 1875).
In Christ's temptations we find the center of ours also. The core of my personal temptation every day is to stop relying on God and to become self-sufficient, to be the god of my life.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matt. 4:1, NASB.
Here for the first time the Gospels introduce us to Christ's major antagonist in the conflict between good and evil. Matthew calls him "the devil" in verse 1, "the tempter" in verse 3, and in verse 10 "Satan" (adversary)--his proper name since the Genesis fall. Prior to chapter 4, the devil has been active behind the scenes, as with Herod, but now he comes out in the open to the forefront.
We should also recognize that neither God nor the Holy Spirit is the active agent in temptation. Matthew is quite careful in his wording: "Then Jesus as led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." James plainly teaches us that God tempts no one (James 1:13). But God does allow His followers to encounter temptation for the strengthening and development of their characters. As a result, we should not feel that we are out of harmony with God when we find ourselves in difficult places. After all, Christ's temptations came right after His spiritual high at His baptism. God's followers are not exempt from the pressures of the world. Rather, they are given strength to resist those forces (1 Cor. 10:13). So it was with Jesus. He faced the common temptations of other humans. Yet He found victory (Heb. 4:15).
With Christ's temptations we meet the essential nature of temptation itself. Earlier we noted that the incarnate Christ had "emptied Himself" when He came to earth (Phil. 2:5-8). That is, He voluntarily gave up His divine attributes and submitted to the conditions of life that we also face. While on earth, God the Son lived in dependence upon God the Father, just as we do (John 5:19, 30; 8:28; 14:10). He truly became one of us.
Please note that His self-emptying was voluntary. No one forced Him to become human. He chose to do so. It is at the point of Christ's voluntary self-emptying that we find the focus and strength of His temptations. If the enemy had been able to get Jesus to "unempty" Himself one time and get Him to use His "hidden" power, the war would have been over, with Satan the victor. Ellen White points out that "it was as difficult for him to keep [to] the level of humanity as it is for men to rise above the low level of their depraved natures, and be partakers of the divine nature" (Review and Herald, Apr. 1, 1875).
In Christ's temptations we find the center of ours also. The core of my personal temptation every day is to stop relying on God and to become self-sufficient, to be the god of my life.
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