GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
05-15-2022
PASTOR ROBERT R. MCLAUGHLIN
GBIBLE.ORG
PDF: GBC05112022NOTES
Christian Soldier 72, Doctrine Of Kenosis, Part 13, 3 Parts Of Our Lord’s Evidence Testing.
We have been noting the evidence testing of our Lord and how the three parts of His evidence testing challenged His relationship to:
- The Holy Spirit; (MAT 4:1-4.
- The Word of God; (MAT 4:5-7).
- The plan of God; (MAT 4:8-10).
We have already covered the first three verses and we are now ready to complete our Lord’s answer to His First Temptation.
For in MAT 4:1 we read Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
MAT 4:2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
MAT 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God [and you are], command that these stones become bread."
Satan recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God.
And our Lord Jesus Christ knows the Old Testament.
He has been fasting, which means He has been thinking about the Old Testament scriptures, and He knows that there is no scripture that says that Messiah will starve to death; GEN 3:15.
Will He believe it or not?
Our Lord believed this and that is why He gave the first answer that He did in MAT 4:4.
MAT 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"
For forty days, He had been living on the Word and now He is ready for the devil.
Our Lord knew Deuteronomy because He quotes from Deuteronomy and:
He gave Satan a dogmatic answer from DEU 6:16: “It is written” = perfect tense, it is written in the past with the result that it goes on forever.
1PE 1:25 But the word of the Lord abides forever.
Now,…..
Some of you may be wondering how did our Lord know this passage if it hadn’t been written yet by Peter?
The answer to that is that Peter was actually quoting from the Old Testament in:
ISA 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.
The passive voice of the verb “it is written,” means that the Bible receives writing from men as the thought content of the Bible comes from God and to us as the mind of Christ; 1CO 2:16.
Deuteronomy is the book that describes the walk of the people in the land. “Man shall not live” indicates that it takes more than mere survival to be alive, and to be truly alive is to be alive unto God.
This means that if a man wrote this as Moses did, he would have to know what he was writing even though he may not understand it himself.
This is why, there are times when God the Holy Spirit inspires man to put down in writing certain principles even though he doesn’t understand it.
As Moses said;
DEU 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
1CO 2:9 "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And {which} have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him."
2CO 12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
2CO 12:3 And I know how such a man whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows
2CO 12:4 was caught up into Paradise, and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.
EPH 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.
JOB 11:7 "Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
When Jesus Christ set up the pattern, He had the indwelling Spirit, the filling of the Spirit, and consequently He indicated that just having food, shelter and clothing and the necessities of life isn’t living.
Food is necessary to sustain physical life, but the sustaining of physical life is meaningless without spiritual life.
And
The spiritual life is based upon the
an anagram we use called “Time, Talent and Treasure, “or Head, Heart and Hand.
The Head represents the mind, which is the place where we perceive and understand spiritual truth.
The heart is that place where we believe the truth.
The hand means you’re now ready to serve.
In verses 5-7, we now have the second recorded temptation.
First of all, let’s read the passage.
MAT 4:5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
MAT 4:6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, #'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and ' On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.”
MAT 4:7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Since the power is in the Word and since Jesus Christ in His humanity is relying on the Word, Satan tried to pull the power out from under Him.
He tried to undermine Him by destroying the Word as the norm and standard that our Lord was living in.
The principles of the second temptation:
- The second temptation deals with our Lord’s relationship with the Word as an example got us to live in.
- Since Jesus resisted the temptation to act independently of the indwelling Spirit and the power of the Word, Satan attacks the source of resistance which is the Word itself.
- Satan attacks the Word by quoting the Word, distorting the Word, and using a passage which is not pertinent to the situation; GEN 3:1-7.
- To distort the Word by removing it from its context and interpretation has led astray many sincere and ignorant believers.
Sometimes the more sincere the believer the more stupid the believer!
In Verse 5, we have the location of the second temptation.
MAT 4:5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
The first word “Then” is an adverb referring to the next temptation with the devil taking Him into the holy city, Jerusalem.
Some system of transportation was employed that we are not told about.
The “holy city” always refers to Jerusalem in the Bible; “Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple.
The word “pinnacle” is a porch, and the pinnacle of the temple is a wing of the temple which was constructed by Herod the Great.
This particular porch is actually 450 feet over the valley of Kidron so they are standing and looking over a cliff which was 450 feet straight down.
In Verse 6, we have the temptation.
MAT 4:6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, #'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and ' On {their} hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone."
Satan is talking to Jesus Christ and he says now to His deity: “Jump.”
But…..
Deity can’t jump because deity is omnipresent and is everywhere.
So, it can be seen how the devil is trying to distort things once again.
The command is an aorist active imperative, which means that the devil has the gall to command God Almighty, our Lord Jesus Christ, not only to change stones into bread, but now to jump.
Jesus had just said previously that He would live by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.
He has declared Himself upon the principle that in His humanity, He will rely entirely upon the Word of God.
This will be the pattern for His Doctrine of Kenosis.
So, the devil says in effect that if He is going to rely upon the Word of God, there is no reason why He can’t jump off this cliff…..
And…..
He now quotes a portion of scripture to prove the fact that He ought to jump just to demonstrate that He would live by the Word.
“for it is written” = Satan is now quoting Psalm 91:11-12, and He rationalizes that because the deity of Christ can’t jump so he will go back to the humanity of Christ.
PSA 91:11-12, For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone.
The humanity of Christ is going to rely on the Word of God and the devil quotes scripture to imply that He can jump.
Notice:
- To jump into the valley would violate the law of gravity and our Lord would be tempted by Satan to prove He is God by performing a miracle from His own deity.
- In his own subtle way, the devil is trying to trick the humanity of Christ into proving His deity by performing a miracle such as jump and have God catch you.
Since you are God Jesus, prove it --- jump and catch yourself.
- God does not protect the operation of negative volition in defiance of divine law by using miracles to solve the problem.
- God always provides solutions but they are not prayer or miracles but always the Word of God; JOH 4:23-24.
If someone pushes the Lord over the cliff then the scripture, which the devil quotes, might apply but:
- There is no one else present to do the pushing including the devil and he can’t because of the rules of the Angelic Conflict.
Which basically focuses in on “free will” and “being independent” from God.
And therefore, #6
- There is no protection for the one who acts independently of the Word, even when using the Word in a distorted fashion.
Notice back in MAT 4:6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, #'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and ' On {their} hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone."
- There are times that you could be falling and having been pushed, God would protect you but this is a case of where you do it of your own volition.
Satan added to the word to distort the Word.
He could not completely distort this passage without a subtle addition to it.
There are times when God’s protection is definitely promised so we can all learn to wait upon the timing of God.
- When the believer uses his own volition to operate independently of God’s plan, God’s Word, or God’s Law’s, then he is outside of divine protection.
The Bible teaches that Satan, the father of lies, “was a murderer from the beginning” (JOH 8:44). He comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10a).
JOH 10:10a "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy;
Satan plants destructive thoughts in people, even Christians, and they may choose to act on Satan’s lies and kill themselves.
On the other hand;
Our Lord Jesus Christ gives is life more abundantly which emphasizes the sanctity of life.
Jesus came to give us abundant life and freedom (JOH 8:36; 10:10b).
JOH 8:36 "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.
JOH 10:10b "I came that they might have life, and might have it more abundantly.
The Lord doesn’t want us to live in fear, but to discover strength and help in Him.
Look at ISA 41:10 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
Go back to PSA 34:17 The righteous cry and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
PSA 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
PSA 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
We can cast our cares on the+ Lord and know He will not condemn us (1PE 5:7; PSA 55:22; ROM 8:1-2).
All of us have been made in the image of God and it is extremely important that we understand what that means back in GEN 1:26-27.
GEN 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Therefore, mankind is not allowed to murder anyone, including themselves says GEN 9:6-7.
GEN 9:6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.
And this is why….
Even Cain was not allowed to even kill himself because of how much he messed up the world at that time.
Instead, GEN 9:7 says "And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it."
Note:
- To jump into the valley would violate the law of gravity, a divine law which our Lord voluntarily placed Himself under Living in Kenosis.
- God does not protect the operation of negative volition in wanting Him to break His divine laws.
- There is no protection for the one who acts independently of the Word when using the Word in a distorted fashion.
Satan added to distort. He could not completely distort this passage without a subtle addition to it.
- When the believer uses his own volition to operate independently of God’s plan, God’s Word, or God’s law then he is outside of divine protection.
- Illustration: suicide. God does not protect from death that believer who tries to commit suicide. Suicide is the superimposition of human volition over divine volition.
- For Jesus to jump into the valley of Kidron would have meant certain death for His humanity.
- It was not the Father’s will for Jesus to jump. It was the Father’s will for Jesus to die some three years later on the cross.
There is a principle behind all this:
Nothing is more insidious or subtle than the use of God’s Word to get someone to act independently of God.
Now, before we go on, think of some of the contrasts we learned.
It was a remarkable contrast between the glory following Jesus’ baptism and the challenge to be tempted by the devil.
The cool waters of the Jordan were now replaced by the barrenness of the desert.
Then the Spirit rests like a dove; now the Spirit drives Him into the wilderness.
The voice of the Father calling Him “Beloved Son” is now replaced by the hiss of Satan the tempter.
First, the heavens opened; now hell.
Jesus did not need to be tempted to help Him grow.
Instead;
He endured temptation both so that He could identify with us and to demonstrate His own holy, sinless character.
The Holy Spirit cannot tempt us but the Holy Spirit may lead us to a place where we will be tempted.
This is not to prove something to God (who knows all things), but to prove something to us and to the spiritual beings watching us.
Jesus’ temptation was more severe.
It was more severe because He was tempted directly by the devil himself while we contend mainly with lesser demons.
It was also more severe because there is a sense in which temptation is “relieved” by giving in, and Jesus never did yield.
Therefore, He bore levels of temptation we will never know by experience.
Satan did not question Jesus’ deity; he challenged Him to prove it or demonstrate it through miraculous works.
This was a temptation to use God’s gifts for selfish purposes.
Satan suggested that Jesus use His miraculous powers to provide food for Himself.
We could say that the same temptation came to Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:40).
MAT 27:40 and saying, "You who {are going to} destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."
It wasn’t a matter of refusing supernatural help; it was a matter of submitting to His Father’s timing and will in all things.
Jesus was willing to fight this battle as a man; He could have easily rebuked Satan into another galaxy, but resisted him in a way that we can imitate and identify with.
Jesus used Scripture to battle Satan’s temptation, not some elaborate spiritual power inaccessible to us.
Jesus fought this battle as fully man, and He drew on no “special resources” unavailable to us.
“Out flashed the sword of the Spirit: our Lord will fight with no other weapon.
He could have spoken new revelations, but chose to say, ‘It is written. (Spurgeon)
He could have stood against Satan with a display of His own glory.
He could have stood against Satan with logic and reason.
Instead, Jesus used the word of God as a weapon against Satan and temptation.
He used a weapon that everyone can use when they are all alone.
He used a weapon to defend His Sonship.
He used a weapon to defeat temptation.
He used a weapon that was effective because He understood it.
“The word of God hath a power in it to squash Satan’s temptations which is far better than that wooden dagger, that lead the Pope to their holy water, different crosses, etc.
However,
It is not the sign of the cross, but the word of the cross, that overthrows Satan.”
Jesus thought this was important for us to know; only He could have told the Gospel writers what happened when He was tempted in the Judean wilderness.
Jesus overcame temptation on our behalf and succeeded as the sinless Son of God where Adam and Moses and all others had failed.
That is the way the woman fell back in the garden.
The woman fell because she added to the Word of God.
This goes on all the time and people are constantly misusing the Word of God in order to act independently of the will of God and the plan of God.
This is pseudo-spirituality.
Back now in MAT 4:7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Satan has used a scripture here that is true but it is not pertinent to the situation.
Jesus said unto him, “It is written,” again He quotes the pertinent passage of scripture, DEU 6:16.
DEU 6:16 "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.
Thou shalt not tempt
- Jesus turns the first class condition of verse 6 back on Satan. The pertinent thing is what Satan said at first, “If thou be the Son of God [and you are].”
- The issue is not to jump when Satan commands, this is tempting the Lord to take Him right out of this life.
- Satan quoted scripture which did not apply whereas Jesus quoted scripture that did apply.
Not all scripture applies to one situation.
The more mature you become and the more doctrine you understand the better qualified you are to apply the pertinent scripture to a pertinent situation.
- To all believers who are tempted to commit suicide this temptation is both worldliness and Satanic.
It is worldliness because of human viewpoint self-pity.
No one has ever committed suicide without feeling sorry for himself.
It is also Satanic because it is Satan’s objective to get the believer to operate independently of the will of God and it is never the will of God to get the believer to take his own life.
So, the temptation must be classified as both worldliness and Satanic. (Remember that worldliness is mental attitude human viewpoint).
- Your departure from the earth must be strictly the sovereignty of God and never a matter of human volition.
In verses 8-10, the third recorded temptation is the relationship with the Father’s plan.
MAT 4:8 Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain, and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory;
MAT 4:9 and he said to Him, "All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me."
MAT 4:10 Then Jesus *said to him, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'"
MAT 4:11 Then the devil *left Him; and
behold, angels came and {began} to minister to Him.