Season 4 Podcast 25 “The Stories of the New Testament, Matthew Ch 4 & Luke Ch 4: The Temptations of Christ.” Pt I
Season 4 Podcast 25 “The Stories of the New Testament, Matthew Ch 4 & Luke Ch 4: The Temptations of Christ.” Pt I
Only one perfect being ever lived on planet earth, and it was Christ, the creator of man and the creator of heaven and earth. What must be understood, however, is that Christ suffered the same temptations that we suffer, which is the theme of today’s podcast; otherwise, how could he understand our temptations. The difference is that Christ never gave in to temptation. The scriptures tell us:
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Hebrews 4:15
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
1 Peter 2:22
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
Christ came to earth to pay for our sins.
John 1:29
29 ¶ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Hebrews 9:28
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
1 Peter 3:18
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Because Christ understands temptations, he restricted the power of Satan so that Satan cannot tempt us above our ability to withstand temptation. The apostles Peter and Paul teach us
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
2 Peter 2:9
9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
Even in the Garden of Eden Christ placed a curse upon Satan’s head that he could not tempt man more than he was able to resist.
Genesis 3
13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
What does the curse mean that “her seed shall bruise thy head”? Notice that Eve said she was beguiled by Satan. To beguile means to mislead, delude, dupe, fool, take in, and deceive. When Christ told Lucifer that the posterity of Adam and Eve “shall bruise thy head” he is referring to the cunning of Satan. Man will be able to outwit Satan, to see through his cunning devices. To “bruise his head” refers to man’s ability to outsmart Satan, to foil his designs, to avoid his entrapments. The only way that Satan can beguile us if we willingly enter into his territory. Even through his cunning, Satan cannot take away our agency through trickery. We forfeit our agency willingly. The old comic routine, “The devil made me do it.” Is false. It would be more accurate to say that the devil enticed me, and I willingly gave in to his enticements.
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