The First Temptation
 
The first temptation Jesus experienced was, in biblical terms, 
"The Lust of the Flesh." (1 John 2:15-17) 
 
Jesus was hungry and the devil tried to capitalize on His 
physical weakness. Jesus refused the devil's way, 
and chose the will of His Father. 
Instead of satisfying self, Jesus honored God. 
According to the book of St. Matthew, the first, second, 
and third temptations of Jesus Christ illustrate how 
the Holy Spirit enabled the "God-man", 
Jesus Christ, to conduct Himself. 
He resisted Satan in the Spirit of God's Wisdom. 
 
Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be 
tempted by the devil. The Bible says that Jesus fasted 
forty days and forty nights, and afterwards He was hungry. 
The tempter said to Him, 
 "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. 
But Jesus answered: 
"It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:1-4) 

 Lessons for disciples:

As believers, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, God will sometimes 

allow us to be tempted by the devil. He does it to prove us. 

God will give us the power by His Holy Spirit. The Scriptures say,

 "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  
(James 4:7)

 Acts 19 shows how the disciples of John received the 

gift of the Holy Spirit (verses 1 through 7).

 "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, 

having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus and 

finding some disciples. He said to them, 

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" 

And they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether 

there is a Holy Spirit." And he said to them, "Into what then 

were you baptized?" So they said "Into John's baptism." 

Then Paul said, John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, 

saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would 

come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." When they heard this, 

they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 

And when Paul had laid hands on them, 

the Holy Spirit came upon them, 

and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 

Now the men were about twelve in all."

 Being born of the Spirit (Acts 16:25-31) and filled with Spirit 

(Acts 19:1-7) are two separate parts to Gods plan for salvation 

and living a successful Christian life that honors God.

Jesus teaches us that without constant prayer and fasting, 

unbelief will control our thoughts and make us unable 

to perform miracles in the name of Jesus. (Matthew 17:14-21) 

 

The more we pray, fast, and read the Word of God, 

the more we will know His power in our daily lives. 

Then signs, wonders and the miraculous will follow us 

wherever we go, in the name of Jesus.

 
Our Lord said that we should not put our trust and hope 

in the way of the world. 

We must  concentrate on obeying His Holy Word - 

not only favorite passages, but all of it 

from Genesis to Revelation!

 
Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God. Without Him man 

can do nothing. He is the source, sustainer, and creator of all life 

and His Holy Word is life to those who accept it.

Man cannot survive on physical bread alone. 

He must also eat spiritual food: the Living Word of God, 

in order to have everlasting life.

 
The Second Temptation

 "Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, 

set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 

if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. 

For it is written: He shall give His angels charge concerning you, 

and in their hands they shall bear you up. 

Lest you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, 

"It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God." 

(Matthew 4:5-7)

 
Here the devil quotes the Holy Scriptures (Psalm 91: 11-12) 

from the Old Testament. As believers in Jesus Christ, 

we should not deceive ourselves about Satan. 

He knows more Scripture than all believers put together. 

His fallen angels, the demons, also know more Scripture than we do.

 
Satan's second temptation was what Holy Scripture calls 

"The Pride of Life." (1 John 2:15-17) 

Jesus chose to do the will of His Father and not listen to the devil. 

The devil knew that Jesus was his God, that is, 

the God-man who created him. (Colossians 2:15-17) 

 The devil wanted Jesus Christ (The Creator) to follow his agenda 

and disobey His Father who sent Him to do His will.

 The 2nd chapter of Colossians verses 15 to 17 says, 

 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven 

and that are on the earth, visible and invisible, 

whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 

All things were created through Him and for Him. 

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."

 The good news: We as believers have the most powerful weapons 

in the universe -- the name of Jesus and His Living Word 

to combat the evil one. 

Demons tremble at the name of Jesus. (James 2:19) 

 Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess 

that Jesus Christ is God. (Romans 14:11)

 Some preach that the Old Testament is not relevant anymore, 

because Jesus came to give us grace and the 

book of the Law is no more. Do not believe the lie.

Ask yourself, why did Jesus quote Holy Scriptures 

from the Old Testament? 

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; 
I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)

When Jesus Christ quoted that Scripture to the devil, 

He told him not to tempt God. 

Jesus Christ was talking about Himself, and not only His Father. 

Remember, God is the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Scriptures confirm this fact: 
"For there are three who bear witness in heaven: 
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; 
and these three are one." (1 John 5:7)

 The Third Temptation

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, 
and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 
And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You 
if you will fall down and worship me." 
Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you Satan! 
For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, 
and Him only you shall serve." 

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came 
and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:8-11)

"The Lust of the Eyes." (1 John 2:15-17)

When the devil took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain, 

and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 

he was depending on the lust of eyes to cause Jesus 

to disobey His Father who sent Him to earth to do His will. 

The devil was having flash-backs from the Garden of Eden 

when he successfully deceived the first man, Adam. 

Although, Satan deceived Eve to get to Adam, 

it was only when Adam ate of the fruit that Mankind fell. 

If Eve only ate of the fruit and Adam refused, 

Mankind would not have fallen. 

It was to Adam that God gave the command not to eat 

of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 

in the midst of the garden. (Genesis 2:15-17)

 Jesus commanded,
 
"Away with you Satan! For it is written, 
You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve." 

Immediately, Satan left Him. because he knew that 

Jesus Christ was His Creator and God.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we must acknowledge and proclaim 

that God (The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) 

is our Creator, Lord, and King and everything else 

on Earth and in the heavens are just part of God's creation.

 In Colossians, Apostle Paul says: 

"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, 
do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that 
you may be filled with the knowledge of His will 
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. (Colossians 1:9)

 He was in continuing prayer for them.

In the 11th chapter of the gospel of Luke, Jesus said 

"Woe to you also, you Lawyers!" 

(The legal authorities built the tombs of the prophets 

whom their fathers killed.) Jesus said in verse 49, 

"Therefore the wisdom of God also said, I will send them 

prophets and apostles and some of them they killed and persecuted, 

that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from 

the foundation of the world may be required of this generation."

 Jesus exposed the Lawyers as accomplices with their fathers - 

responsible for the deaths of the prophets and apostles sent to them. 

Jesus also refers to Himself as the "Wisdom of God". 

As a child, Jesus set the example that every child should imitate. 

The Scriptures reveal that He went down to Nazareth with them 

(His parents) and was subject to them. Afterward, 

Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.

Jesus successfully resisted the devil because 

He was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

As born-again believers in Jesus Christ, 

we cannot have the wisdom of God unless we are 

filled by the Holy Spirit as the apostles were on the day of Pentecost. 
(Acts 2) 

Isaiah 11 reveals the Restoration of the Messiah's Kingdom. 

"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, 
and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, 
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
The Spirit of counsel and might, 
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."  (Isaiah 11:1,2)

Without being filled with the Holy Spirit, we do not 

have access to the Spirit of Wisdom. 

The disciples were saved and would have gone to heaven 

if they died on the day Jesus ascended into heaven. 

It was only when they obeyed His (Jesus) command

to tarry in Jerusalem and received the gift of the Holy Spirit

that they were given the seven Spirits of God

to include the Spirit of Wisdom.

Then they turned the world upside down

with the power and glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ

by winning souls and making disciples.

Let us pray to be filled and refilled,

again and again,

with the fullness of God's Spirit of Wisdom

in Jesus Christ!


In His Awesome and Holy Presence,
 St. Wisdom