2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Treasured Believers,
For the last couple of days, we have been taking a good look at the lessons contained in MT 4: 1-11, the story of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness. You’ll remember that Satan tempted Christ with hunger, testing God, and the offer of earthly territory. There are questions that arise out of this passage for us to examine. We have already dealt with 1) Would there be any temporal benefit to Christ for yielding to temptation?, and 2) How would Christ’s yielding to temptation affect His relationship with God? Today, we will look at 3) What can we learn from how Christ handled the devil?
To best delve into this question, we must first see how both Christ and the devil behaved. Throughout the entire episode, Christ did what He always does-obey God. He never lost sight of God’s larger perspective and higher purpose. This was true throughout His earthly life and is still true today. Christ is an example of the Father’s amazing consistency, both of purpose and perspective. God’s plan and His will comes first to Christ, just as it should to us. That same magnificent consistency is seen throughout God’s word. There are some bridging citations that make this concept intelligible to us.
JN 1: 1-4, “Before the world was created, the Word already existed; He was with God, and He was the same as God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through Him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without Him. The Word was the Source of life, and this life brought light to mankind.” When we look at this citation, the words, “Word,” “Him,” and “light,” are key words. They all refer to Jesus Christ, who is the visible manifestation of God’s written word. To back this up, you can consult COL 1: 19-20 and 1 PET 1: 20-21, citations I am led to repeat often. But there is more. EPH 6: 11 tells us, “The word of God is the sword-which the Spirit gives us.” HE 4: 12 really reveals God’s perspective. “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edge sword. It cuts all the way through to where the soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of man’s heart.”
The test of Christ’s obedience to God that takes place in the wilderness is crucial to our very salvation. Had Christ given in to the devil, He would have no longer been able to obey God and carry out God’s plan to provide a way of salvation for mankind. That’s why it’s worth taking the time to analyze this passage that we are taking. COL 1: 20, “Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to Himself. God made peace through His Son’s death on the cross and so brought back to Himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.”
When we look at the devil’s behavior, the picture is quite different. The devil tried to do the same thing with Christ that he did in heaven causing his fall [IS 15: 14] and with Eve when he lied to her in GN 3: 5. He himself tried to be like God, and then, he told Eve that she could be like God. In MT 4: 3, 6, and again in 9, the devil indicated that Christ could be like God and didn’t have to remain dependant on Him. We must remember what we learn about the devil in JN 8: 44, “…From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to Him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies.” This is surely not all there is to say about the devil, but the rest will have to wait for tomorrow’s message.
Any time we look into the Scriptures to mine their treasure trove of messages for us from Him, we must see how they apply to our own lives. Let me share how this passage affects mine. Truth is a huge issue for God and for us in our quest for sanctification. The JN 1: 1-4 passage is compelling for me, because it brings together some words used in the Scriptures in a most remarkable way. I have heard people saying, “The light of Christ shines from his/ her eyes,” referring to someone who radiates faithfulness, obedience to God, and other facets of living in “Christ.” That person conveys a life led by God’s teaching. You all know that I spend considerable time each day in God’s word. That’s because for me, it is a visit with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit that nourishes my spirit and lifts me, carrying me through the many challenges to my faith. Without that, I am impoverished and spiritually starved. Knowing that Christ was able to stay with what He is, Truth, Light, the Word, and my Messiah, comforts me beyond anything I or another person could offer. The consistency of Christ’s obedience to God motivates me to strive for that kind of obedience in my own life. God’s work gets done and we experience God through obedience to Him. God is in Christ, and Christ is in me-when I remain faithful, trusting, and obedient to Him. JN 15: 4, “Remain united to Me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in Me.” The time you spend in seeing how this message from God applies to your life will be time well spent.
PRAYER: O Lord, how the devil and his followers do bring temptation and suffering! But, You have equipped us for this spiritual warfare, and we depend on You. You inspired the Psalmist with words that allow us to realize we don’t face this onslaught of evil without help. PS 5: 1, “O Lord, hear me praying; listen to my pleas, O God my King, for I will never pry to anyone but You.” You listen to our prayers. You lighten our cares and burdens. PS 34: 8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” You gave us Christ, the only Man Who could resist all temptation and thus, could be sacrificed on the cross for our salvation. He is Light, the Word, the Savior, and our Messiah. PS 56: 4, “I praise God for His Word. I trust God, so I am not afraid.” You give us confidence in You. PS 108: 1, “My heart is confident in You, O God; no wonder I can sing Your praises! Wake up, my soul!” You give us encouragement, faith, hope, and love. PS 31: 4, “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Your Kingdom is now. PS 145: 13, “Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.” More and more my prayers contain Your words. I know that is the Holy Spirit that You have given us at work. PS 63: 7, “Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.” Christ knows the reward of obedience to You, and He models it for us and teaches us to also be obedient, so that we too can share in that reward. You, Dearest Abba, are eager to share Your glory with us and to make us joint-heirs with the Son to Your Kingdom. We stand before You in deepest humility and gratitude, to say that we want to accept Your love, Your commands, and Your blessings. We confess our sin. We know that we must be good stewards of the life You have given us and strive to do so. We worship, adore, stand loyal, pledge diligence, trust, obey, give You honor and glory, praise, and offer You thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, there is more to say about the devil, and there are more things we can learn from Christ’s handling of this evil adversary in MT 4: 1-11. The Holy Spirit leads me to remind all of us each day about God’s love. It is all around us wherever we are, wherever we go. It can be seen in the most unexpected places from the least expected people. We must train ourselves to look for it and will make wonderful, heartfelt discoveries of it. I often mention the “painter of light,” Thomas Kinkade, because it is he who wrote about the practice of making your own “glow book.” That’s something he and his wife, Nanette, began when they were engaged. It’s a matter of looking for wonderful things that you see that God provides and keeping a record of it each day. The more we pay attention to these things, the more we begin to see how many blessings from God are with us and for us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn