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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Three Temptations of Christ, #22
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Luke 4:5-8)
The Second Temptation of Christ
The three temptations of Christ are the three ways in which every son of God is tested. Each of us is tested concerning trusting God for our survival instead of being occupied solely with physical resources (the test of bread); concerning the lusts and pleasures of the flesh and the worship of idols (the test of sin); and concerning willful behavior, disobedience, presumption (the test of self).
The subject matter of the first test is our attitude toward life itself—what is necessary for our well-being and what is not necessary. The second test has to do with to whom we give our love and worship. The third test has to do with our identity as a self-centered personality and our desire to exalt ourselves apart from the Lord.
Christ was tempted throughout His ministry in these three ways. We are tempted throughout our lifetime in these same three ways. The difference is that Christ was not born with a sinful nature; also, He is filled with the Spirit of God without measure.
The Divine Nature of Christ communicated in the words of Scripture rejected Satan's counsel in the realm of survival, in the realm of Satan-worship, and in the realm of willful behavior.
We, on the other hand, were born with a sinful nature. Yet we are called to conquer Satan through the virtue of Christ imparted to us, through the Word of God to us, and through the guidance and enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Because of the Divine Nature imparted to us we also shall reject Satan's counsel in each of the three areas of testing.
The three temptations have to do with what is God-given, what is lawful. Man has a God-given desire for survival. Man has a God-given desire to offer worship—to love and to be loved. Man has a God-given desire to exert dominion and to multiply his image.
It is not the subject matter of the three tests that is at issue, it is the manner in which we satisfy the three God-given needs and desires. We can satisfy them by taking matters into our own hands and wresting them from our environment. But we must sin and reject God's rule in order to do so. Or, we can satisfy them by committing our needs and desires to the Lord God of Heaven, trusting Him to gives us our needs, our joy, and the achievement of our true destiny.
The first route to satisfaction leads to destruction in the world and the Lake of Fire in the world to come. The second route is slow, often painful, complex, full of perplexity, demanding great patience. But it leads to perfect fulfillment of each of the three areas and—infinitely more valuable—the possession of God Himself in Christ.
To be continued.