GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
05-15-2022
PASTOR ROBERT R. MCLAUGHLIN
GBIBLE.ORG
PDF:GBC05152022NOTES
Christian Soldier 73, Doctrine Of Kenosis, Part 14, 3 Parts Of Our Lord’s Evidence Testing.
We are still on Point 4 in our doctrine of Kenosis which deals with the evidence testing of our Lord.
Let me remind you where we are in our doctrine.
Point 1. Introduction.
Point 2. Definition.
Point 3. The True Humiliation of the Incarnation.
Point 4. The Evidence Testing of our Lord.
We will not cover all of the 10 points in the book I plan to write which I already have begun.
Remember 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.
Look at
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.
Now…..
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.
I need to show these things in the eye gate and the ear am just going to have you
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.
GEN 1:28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
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.
Go forward to 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 by living under Kenosis.
- God does not protect the operation of negative volition by wanting Him to violate His own divine laws such as the law of gravity which He has established.
- There is no protection for the one who acts independently of the Word when using the Word in a distorted fashion.
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 even though ultimately the believer will be protected by God the Holy Spirit forever.
Look at JOH 6:57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.
JOH 6:58 "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever."
Ultimately;
We are kept by the power of God says 1PE 1:3-5.
1PE 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1PE 1:4 to {obtain} an inheritance {which is} imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
1PE 1:5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
- God does not protect that believer who tries to commit suicide because 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; GEN 3:15. DEU 21:23.
DEU 21:23 For he who is hanged is accursed of God.
In fact, notice all the passages that point to the cross in some way.
Exo 12:7 "Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it."
This represented the cross by the blood of the sacrificial lamb being applied for each home, both for the Jews and even believers, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and applied to the door and the two sides.
This was a prophecy about the Lord Jesus Christ and His death, totally fulfilled in the New Testament.
1CO 5:7 "For Christ our passover also has been sacrificed."
Then there is the prophecy of the brazen serpent being lifted up on a pole.
NUM 21:9 "And Moses made a bronze serpent and set in on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived."
This was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ in JOH 3:14; JOH 12:32; HEB 12:2, which reveals another principle pointing to the way our Lord would die.
One thing we know is that jumping 450 down from a high mountain would not be the way our Lord would die.
Look at:
JOH 3:14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up."
JOH 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
HEB 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
We have the prophecy of certain events which took place around the Cross in PSA 22:6-8.
Look at PSA 22:6 "But I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach of men, and despised by the people."
PSA 22:7 "All who see Me sneer at Me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,"
PSA 22:8 "Commit Yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, because He delights in Him."
This was totally fulfilled in Luke 23:35.
LUK 23:35 "And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, slaying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen one."
We have the prophecy of the cross with His hands and feet being pierced in PSA 22:16.
PSA 22:16 "For dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evildoers has encompassed Me; they pierced My hands and My feet"
This was fulfilled throughout the gospels when they nailed His hands and feet to the cross, MAT 27:31 and MAR 15:24.
MAT 27:31 And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify {Him.}
MAR 15:24 And they *crucified Him, and *divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them, {to decide} what each should take.
MAR 15:25 And it was the third hour when they crucified Him.
MAR 15:26 And the inscription of the charge against Him read, "THE KING OF THE JEWS."
Then there was the prophecy of casting lots for His garments; PSA 22:18.
PSA 22:18 "They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."
This was totally fulfilled in MAT 27:35.
MAT 27:35 "And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots;"
There is the prophecy that not one of His bones would be broken; PSA 34:20.
PSA 34:20 "He keeps all His bones; not one of them is broken."
This was fulfilled in John 19:34-36.
JOH 19:34 "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. "
JOH 19:35 And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
JOH 19:36 "For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, "not a bone of Him shall be broken."
Then there is the prophecy of the false witnesses; PSA 35:11.
PSA 35:11 "Malicious witnesses rose up; they ask Me of things that I do not know."
Fulfilled in Mark 14:57-58.
MAR 14:57 "And some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying,"
MAR 14:58 "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands."
There is the Old Testament prophecy of the betrayal of Judas Iscariot which pointed to the Cross; PSA 41:9.
PSA 41:9 "Even My close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate My bread, has lifted up his heel against Me."
Fulfilled in Luke 22:47-48.
LUK 22:47 "While He was still speaking, behold, a multitude came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him."
LUK 22:48 "But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?"
Next:
There is the prophecy that they would offer our Lord gall and vinegar to relieve His physical pain, but He refused to drink it to relive His comfort as the perfect Son of God; PSA 69:21.
PSA 69:21 "They also gave Me gall for My food, and for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink."
Fulfilled in Matthew 27:34.
MAT 27:34 "They gave Him wine to drink mingled with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink."
Then there is the prophecy of the physical abuse and humiliation of Jesus, which is one of our points in the Doctrine of Kenosis; ISA 50:6.
ISA 50:6 "I gave My back to those who strike Me, and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spiting."
This is fulfilled in Matthew 26:67.
Mat 26:67 "Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him."
Next:
There was the prophecy that He would come to die for our sins in order to save us which is related to the Cross and how our Lord would die in ISA 53:5.
ISA 53:5 "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for out well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed."
This was fulfilled throughout the entire New Testament as in ROM 5:6-8.
ROM 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
ROM 5:7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
ROM 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Then there was the prophecy that He would be silent as He approached the Cross which is another manifestation of Kenosis; ISA 53:7.
ISA 53:7 "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth."
This was fulfilled in Mark 15:4-5.
MAR 15:4 "And Pilate was questioning Him again, saying, "do You make no answer? See how many charges they bring against You!"
Then there is the prophecy of His crucifixion; ISA 53:12.
ISA 53:12 "And He was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors."
This was fulfilled in Luke 23:33-34.
LUK 23:33 "And when they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left."
LUK 23:34 "But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves."
There is the prophecy of the piercing of Jesus's side which alludes to the Cross as a way to die; ZEC 12:10.
ZEC 12:10 "They will look on Me whom they have pierced' and they will mourn for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born."
This was fulfilled in John 19:34.
JOH 19:34 "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water."
And a part of it will be fulfilled in Revelation 1:7.
REV 1:7 "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him."
There is the prophecy of the nailing of Jesus' hands and feet that point to the way of the Cross; ZEC 13:6.
ZEC 13:6 "And one will say to Him, 'what are these wounds between Your arms?' Then He will say, 'those with which I was wounded in the house of My
friends."
This was fulfilled in John 20:27.
JOH 20:27 "Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing."
Now, there is a principle behind all this which is the Following principle:
Nothing is more insidious or subtle than the use of God’s Word to get someone to act independently of God.
So, before we go on, think of some of the contrasts we have seen so far in our Lord’s evidence testing.
There is a remarkable contrast between the glory following Jesus’ baptism and the barrenness of the desert where He was Tempted.
The cool waters of the Jordan river were now replaced by the barrenness of the desert.
The next contrast:
Then the Spirit rests like a dove; now the Spirit drives Him into the wilderness.
Then the voice of the Father calling Him “My Beloved Son” is now replaced by the hissing of Satan as the tempter.
The literal serpent is known to hiss.
Then there is the contrast of:
First, the heavens opened; now it’s hell with the devil.
Jesus’ temptation was more severe than anyone could even imagine.
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; MAT 27:40.
MAT 27:40 "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 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” that are available 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 especially 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 has 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.”
The Holy Spirit revealed to Jesus that this was important for us to know what happened when He was tempted in the 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 by acting independently of the will of God and the plan of God.
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.
- 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 try and murder 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.
It is Satanic because the individual who commits suicide could care less about hurting others who love them.
No one has ever committed suicide without feeling sorry for himself and very selfish.
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.
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; PSA 68:20.
PSA 68:20 God is to us a God of deliverances; And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
In verses 8-10, we have the third recorded temptation which 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.almost ready to complete the evidence testing of our Lord.
As I mentioned to you, when I complete this doctrine, I will be working on my next book which will be upon the Doctrine of Kenosis.
What we have noted so far is actually a few of the points in the doctrine mixed together already.
So, I decided to show you all the ten points on the doctrine.
Point 1. Introduction
Point 2. Definition
Point 3. The True Humiliation of the Incarnation.
Point 4. The Manifestation of Kenosis in our Lord's Evidence Testing.
Point 5. The False Doctrine of Kenosis.
Point 6. Objections to the False Doctrines of Kenosis.
Point 7. The True Concept of Kenosis.
Point 8. The Factors of Kenosis.
Point 9. The sustaining ministry of God the Holy Spirit to the humanity of Christ.
Point 10, Summary.
Back now in MAT 4:7 where we see our Lord’s answer.
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.
Principles:
- 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, this third temptation is the relationship with the Father’s plan.
Let’s read the passage again.
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.
Principles of the third temptation:
- The third temptation deals with our Lord’s relationship with the Father’s plan
- It is the plan of the Father that Jesus Christ should rule the world, but this plan demands the cross before the crown as the basis for establishing an eternal kingdom of regenerate believers.
- In the third temptation Satan offers a plan which by-passes the cross and Satan tempts Jesus to accept the crown, by-passing the cross.
Satan is the only one who could tempt Jesus this way because he is the ruler of the world.
- The offer of Satan to give Jesus the kingdoms of the world is a bona fide offer because Satan is the ruler of the world.
Since Satan is the ruler of the world, we have certain safeguards to keep Satan from gaining control of the world like the divine establishments.
The divine establishment is:
- Freedom
- Marriage
- Family
- Nationalism
- Satan’s plan always ignores, distorts, obscures, or rejects the cross.
- This temptation, rejected by Christ, will be accepted in the Tribulation by the beast of REV 13.
REV 13:3 And {I saw} one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed {and followed} after the beast;