964 they were at the death of Stephen. (Acts 7:55). When He hung upon the cross, the Heavens were closed against Him. (Luke 23:44-45). Afterwards, they opened. (Acts 1 :9). The same Heavens are opened unto all who are identified with Him. Self-surrender will bring us to the open door. (b) The Visitor From Heaven. The Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:35). He is set apart now by the Holy Spirit as a tem ple of God (John 2:18-25); God an ointed Him with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:38). The dove is the only form ever taken by the Holy Spirit. It is emblematic of purity. (Lev. 12:6-8); of harmless ness. (Matt. 10:16). Noah’s dove found no place in a ruinéd world for its feet. Now the dove finds a resting place and abides. In the consecration of the high priest there was a three-fold opera tion. He was washed, anointed and sprinkled with blood. Jesus was bap tized, anointed by the Spirit, and on the cross the blood was applied, and He is now performing His priestly work in Heaven. The dove qualities characterize the ministry of Christ. (c) The Voice From Heaven. The Father speaks; testifies that Jesus is His Son. Not a son, but the Son of God. With Him, God is .well pleased. We have here the. manifestation of the eternal mystery.—the Trinity. Coming up out of the water is the Son; resting upon Him is the Spirit; smiling upon Him and speaking to Him, is the Father. Glory streams from the open Heaven, and we behold the blessed, holy, mighty, wonderful Father, Son and Spirit-—Three in One, and One in Three. (2) THE DEVIL’S ” THREE - FOLD TEST OF THE SON OF GOD, vs. 4:1-11. “ TO BE TEMPTED OF
THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S THE DEVIL.” This portion of our lesson projects us into the crucial crisis in the life of our Lord— the beginning of His battle with the prince of this world. In 1 John 3:8 we are told “ For this purpose was the Son of God manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.” In redeeming a lost world He must be able to overcome Satan. This conflict is to be continual until Satan is bound in prison and cast into the lake of fire. When Adam was given his inherit ance, the scepter was put into his hands, and he was earth’s ruler; God’s representative on earth. Satan came and through subtilty won his heart from God.' When Adam yielded obed-' ience to God’s enemy, the scepter passed from his hand to the hand of Satan. When Jesus, the second man and the last Adam, is accredited as God’s Son, He proceeds to challenge Satan in his own stronghold— the. wild erness, with the wild beasts. (Mark 1:13). This,was the essential opening of the campaign which was to decide who was to be the ruler of this world. Only by victory over Satan could He vindicate God’s character and His own claims. It is essential to remember that while Jesus is truly God, He is as truly man, and in this combat it is demon strated that He is in all essentials a man, apart from sin. Great violence can be done to our Lord if we fail to emphasize the words “ apart from sin,” as it should be rendered in Heb. 4:15. (a) The Forty Days’ Fast. Forty is the number of probation, and corres ponds to the forty years of Israel’s testing in the wilderness. Moses and Elijah fasted to meet God, but Christ fasts to meet Satan. (Deut. 8 :3). The fast strengthens Him in spirit, but weakens Him in body. The battle oc curs at the close of the fast when hun ger was heavy upon Him. .
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