He did not tempt her to yield to the lower passions of the flesh, but to the desire for greatness, to pride and self-exaltation. It is in just that way the devil himself sinned from the beginning, as our verse states; and it is in that way that he tempts man to sin also. It is a matter of simple record that some who speak of being sinless in themselves, often exhibit a good deal of pride in mak ing that claim. There is a subtle spirit of spiritual superiority in those who make that assertion. Pr ide shines out, and that is the very sin mentioned in our verse. Therefore, those who pretend to be sinlessly perfect in themselves are the very ones who do sin, according to verse 8. When they speak of being sinless in the flesh, they really mean, I sup pose, that they do not steal, or drink, or kill, or are guilty of unclean lusts. But our verse indicates that such types of sin are not considered here. It is quite evident that Satan did not commit any of those physical lusts and sins, for he had no body with which to sin after that order. No, Satan’s sin was pride, lawlessness, defiance. It is that attitude that marks a sinner as being of the devil. A Christian may fall into sin, may even commit the most serious sins, when he walks a careless life, and out of touch with God, but no Chris tian is noted for a spirit of lawless ness and rebellion against God. That GOD’S WILL The bridge was built, the limit set to the burden it could bear And a warning placed, lest careless souls should unknown dangers dare. If God has set a limit on my loads that come apace, Then no temptation is too great to carry, by His grace. Instead it serves to advertise the wondrous strength and skill Of Him who builded every bridge according to His will.
God, of eternal life manifested in us. And thus, the fact that we do, or practice, that which is right, proves we are righteous. As in verse 6, we have the inner spirit of the believer, so in verse 7 we have the outer practice that follows. For we have seen that sin is spoken of in these verses as the lawless attitude of guilty man, his spirit as set against God. We are told therefore in verse 6 that the Christian no longer has this lawless spirit, and therefore no longer lives in sin. Because of this, he does what is right; the world around sees his life to be a Chris tian life. Verse 6 expresses rather our attitude before God; verse 7, our conduct before men. According to verse 6 the soul that maintains this attitude of insubjection to God has never known Him at all. The first thing that marks a child of God is obedience to the Father’s will; and, as we saw in verses 1 and 2 of this chapter, conformity to the Father’s character. Verse 8. He that practiseth sin is of the devil; he partakes of the na ture of that evil being, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. It helps if we keep in mind the definition of sin, as given in verse 4, namely, that sin is lawlessness. What marks Satan is pride, rebellion against God. Of him it is written: “Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the cloud, I will be like the Most High”—Isaiah 14: 13, 14. Satan himself fell because of pride, and he ever tempts man to exalt himself. It has been noticed that while the woman saw that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, Satan only tempted her in regard to the third count — the desire to be wise, to be like God. 32
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