January 30, 1949 MEETING AND MASTERING TEMPTATIONS Luke 4: 1-13 Pointers on the Lesson
Satan tempted Him three times. This was an important part in Jesus’ prepara tion for the work which He had come to do. Just after His baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. For forty days and nights Jesus was there. He was tempted by the devil to sin. During those days Jesus did not eat. At the end of this time He was hungry. Satan came to the Saviour and said, “If thou be the Son of God, com mand this stone that it be made bread.” Jesus did not argue with Satan; He quoted some of God’s Word which He had hidden in His heart. Again the devil showed Him all of the kingdoms of the world. If Jesus would worship him, Satan would give Him all of this power and glory. Again, Jesus refused to yield to sin by quoting from God’s Word. The third time, Satan quoted Scripture but left out seven of the most important words. God’s Son refused to obey the devil and correctly quoted God’s Word to him. f . . Christian boys and girls who hide God’s Word in their hearts will be able, like their Lord, to defeat Satan when he tempts them to sin. “ J f a r the S f a t t l j b g J f a t t V The' founding of F aith S eminary was in itself an act of faith. The Direc tors, realising the urgent need for such an institution, stepped out in faith upon the promises of God; and the Seminary will continue to live and to grow by faith. God has from time to time gra ciously provided expanding facilities. The well arranged stone mansion, a gift to the institution, houses the single stu dents, classrooms, library, dining club and offices. The Seminary property ex tends through the block, and the grounds allow outdoor sports in good, weather. Adequate lounge rooms add to the helpful atmosphere; and several outside dormitories. are available for married and single students. Commencing with but 24 students, enrollment has risen gradually to 75 college graduates the last school year. If facilities were larger, however, more young men are ready to attend. DELAWARE
Unless they are panoplied with “the whole armour of God” (v .ll) and fight with the sword of the Spirit and the spear of prayer (v. 18), they cannot expect to gain the victory. But the soul who lives in harmony with God’s Word will always be the victor. Let the Word be read often, memorized carefully, medi tated . upon unceasingly, and put into practice daily. Helps lor the Children Jesus Makes a Great Choice Luke 4:1-13 Memory Verse: “Jesus . . . was in all points tempted like as we are, yet with out sin” (Heb. 4:14, 15). Have you ever been forced to make a great choice or a difficult decision? Has Satan come to you Christian boys and girls with suGh apparently pleasing temptations that you could scarcely say “No” to them? Luke, the beloved doctor, tells us how the Lord Jesus Christ said “No” when
What we want to do in this lesson is to determine as clearly as possible the nature of the temptations of Jesus; ■‘hen to note how Jesus met and mastered these temptations; and, finally, to learn how we as His followers may gain vic tory over the temptations that face us. The Nature of the Temptations It is not without importance that the temptations of Christ took place im mediately following His baptism. The devil often works this way. He knows that ofttimes after great spiritual ex periences, God’s children are off guard. They feel self-sufficient. It is not sur prising therefore that the temptations of Christ took place soon after His ex perience at Jordan. It should also be noted that the Spirit of God had a part in this temptation. The Lord was “led by the Spirit into the wilderness” where He was tempted. The Spirit of God has purposes of blessing in allowing God’s Son and God’s saints to be tempted. In the instance of God’s Son, the pur pose was not to see whether, or not He would sin but to make it evident that He was the pure and perfect Saviour in Whom there was nothing that could respond to the evil insinuations of the evil one. His temptations were in the form of testings to make it perfectly evident who He was. Often when a bridge over some great chasm has been finished, there is a day of testing. Multi tudes are invited to witness heavily- loaded trains passing over the completed structure, not for the purpose of letting them see whether the bridge will hold, but to make it clear that it is capable of fulfilling every demand that will be made of it. So with the testings of Christ. They demonstrated that He was able to fulfill every demand made of Him as Saviour and Lord. In the first temptation, He was tempted to doubt the goodness of God to provide for Him; in the second, He was tempted to avoid the way of the cross; and in the third, He was tempted to presume upon the love and power of God. In each case the Son of God met the temptation vic toriously. The Instrument of Victory How did Jesus fight the devil? He used, not a carnal weapon, but a sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12). Each time Satan put in his thrust, Jesus resisted it by a pointed “It is written” and Satan was silenced. Why do not God’s children follow the example of Christ more closely in this regard ? This is the only way of victory in the Christian life. The devil is afraid of God’s Word and will flee from it, but he is not worried about the words of men. Christians are engaged in a mighty conflict with Satan and his emissaries. D E C E M B E R , 1 9 4 8
FAITH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY WI LMI NGTON
For the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ
For information regarding the support of the Seminary, address Roland K. Armes, TV eas., P. O. Box 4299'fC, Philadelphia, Penna.
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