Jesus - Tempted As We Are
Zac Poonen
The secret of a godly life lies in Jesus Who lived on
earth as a Man, and Who was tempted in every way as we are, but never
sinned even once in thought, word, deed, attitude or motive or in any
other way (1 Tim.3:16; Heb.4:15). Since it is only those who have come
to a godly life who can live together without strife as one body in
Christ, we could go one step further and say that a local church can be
the expression of Christ's body only where believers have seen our Lord
Jesus in this way. This is the truth of which the church is to be the
pillar and support (1 Tim. 3:15,16). Temptation is not the same as sin.
Jas.1:14,15 makes that clear. Our mind has to agree with the
temptation before we sin. It is clear from Matthew 4 that Jesus was
tempted. But His mind never agreed with any temptation even once. Thus
He never sinned. He kept His heart pure. Jesus was born of the Holy
Spirit. He did not have the 'old man' that we were born with. We have
sinful flesh, whereas Jesus did not have sinful flesh. He came only "in
the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom.8:3). But the Bible teaches that our
Lord "was tempted in all points as we are" (Heb.4:15). We do not have to
analyze this, even as we do not analyze the mystery of God becoming Man.
We only have to believe it. At every point, in every temptation, Jesus
obeyed His Father, unlike Adam.
God's Word says about Jesus, "He learned obedience and was made
complete" (Heb. 5:7-9). The word "learned" is a word that relates to
education. So what this verse is saying is that Jesus received an
education in obedience as a Man. In each situation, He obeyed His Father
and thus completed His education as a Man. Thus He became a Forerunner
for us, so that we too can follow in His footsteps, overcoming
temptation and obeying God (Heb.6:20). Our Lord can sympathize with us
in our struggles against temptation, because He too was tempted like us
(Heb. 2:18; 4:15; 12:2-4). The purity of Jesus as a Man was not
something that He received on a platter, but one that was acquired
through battle. But those battles were not endless ones. Every
temptation was conquered - one after another. Thus, over the period of
His lifetime, He faced every single temptation that we are tempted by -
and overcame.
Here's the KEY to Victory!
All of us have lived in sin for many years, and our sinful flesh can
be likened to a box full of poisonous snakes that have been well-fed -
by us!! The names of these snakes are impurity, anger, malice, strife,
bitterness, love of money, selfishness, pride, etc. This box has an
opening at the top from which these snakes put out their head whenever
we are tempted. We have fed these snakes in plenty during our
unconverted days. As a result, they are well-fed, healthy and strong.
Some snakes have been fed more than others, and so those lusts have a
greater grip on us than others. Now that we have died with Christ to
sin, even though these snakes are still hale and hearty, our attitude to
these snakes has changed! We have now been made partakers of the
Divine nature and "those who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh
with its lusts" (Gal. 5:24). Unlike in the old days, now, when a snake
puts its head out of the opening of the box (when we are tempted), we
hit it on the head with a stick. It goes back into the box. When we are
tempted again, the snake puts its head out again, and we hit it again.
Gradually it gets weaker and weaker. If we are faithful in each
temptation to hit the snake instead of feeding it, then we will soon
find the pull of temptation weakening. The flesh cannot be 'shot' or
'hanged' in a moment. It can only be crucified. Crucifixion is a slow
death, but it is a certain one. That is why we consider it all joy,
when we are tempted (Jas. 1:2) - because it gives us the opportunity to
hit the snakes and weaken them. This would not have been possible
otherwise.
For more articles by Zac Poonen go to:
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