Second Temptation of Christ

The Second Temptation of Christ

1.Read Luke 4:5-8.
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve
(Luke 4:5-8).

2.Along what three lines is each of us tested?
Trusting God for our survival; the lusts of the flesh; wilful behaviour.

3.What is the subject matter of the first test?
Our attitude toward life itself—that which is necessary for our well-being and what is not necessary.

4.What is the subject matter of the second test?
To whom we give our love.

5.What is the subject matter of the third test?
Our identity as a self-centred personality and our desire to exalt ourselves.

6.Regarding the three temptations, what is the difference between Christ and us?
Christ was not born with a sinful nature; also, He is filled with the Spirit of God without measure.

7.What did the Divine Nature of Christ cause Him to do?
The Divine Nature of Christ, communicated in the words of Scripture, rejected Satan’s counsel in the realm of survival, in the realm of Satan-worship, and in the realm of wilful behaviour.

8.What will the Divine Nature of Christ in the saint cause the saint to do?
Reject Satan’s counsel in the realm of survival, in the realm of Satan-worship, and in the realm of wilful behaviour.
The three temptations have to do with what is God-given, what is lawful.
Man has a God-given desire for survival.
Man has a God-given desire to offer worship—to love and to be loved.
Man has a God-given desire to exert dominion and to multiply his image.
It is not the subject matter of the three tests that is at issue, it is the manner in which we satisfy the three God-given needs and desires.
We can satisfy them by taking matters in our own hands and wresting them from our environment.
But we must sin and reject God’s rule in order to do so.
Or we can satisfy them by committing our needs and desires to the Lord God of Heaven, trusting Him to gives us our needs, our joy, and the achievement of our true destiny.
The first route leads to destruction in the world and the Lake of Fire in the world to come.
The second route is slow, often painful, complex, full of perplexity, demanding great patience.
But it leads to perfect fulfilment of each of the three areas, and —infinitely more valuable—the possession of God Himself in Christ.

9.Who leads us into the wilderness?
The Holy Spirit.

10.Who is allowed to test and sift us?
Satan.

11.What is the concern of the second temptation?
Conquering sin.

12.Read Luke 4:5.
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time (Luke 4:5).

13.What does the "high mountain" represent?
Dominion over the kingdoms of the world.
Today such dominion includes places of prestige, of fame, of status, of popularity, of pride and vanity, of soulish romanticism and exaltation, of living according to the lusts and impulses of our sinful nature.

14.Why were the kingdoms of the world particularly strong and cunning temptation at this time?
Because of the contrast with the bleak surroundings of the wilderness area in which the test was being administered.

15.Where does Satan always set his traps for us?
Where we are most likely to fall into them.

16.Why was the second temptation suited particularly to Christ?
Because He is a king by Nature and inheritance.

17.Where do our trials originate?
In the realm of spirits.

18.Can Satan give us anything at all?
Only as God permits.

19.Read Luke 4:6.
And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it (Luke 4:6).

20.How do we know the kingdoms of the world are not inherently evil?
If the kingdoms of the world were inherently evil, God would not give them to Christ for His inheritance.

21.What is the evil of the kingdoms of the world?
The sin and rebellion against God that Satan has introduced into them.

22.To whom do the riches of the world rightfully belong?
The Lord Jesus Christ.

23.Did Christ desire the bread, the kingdoms of the world, and to get off the gable?
Yes.

24.What does Satan attempt to persuade the saint to do?
To take a shortcut to his inheritance.

25.What must we do in order to take a shortcut?
Plunge ahead without waiting for God to move.

26.What question is raised when we think about taking a shortcut?
Will we be faithful to God or will we esteem our desires above pleasing God?

27.What three forms of evil abound in the kingdoms of the world?
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

28.What problem is associated with the achievement of our desires?
How we go about getting what we want.

29.What tendency exists in human beings?
The desire to be free to take from the world the things that appeal to us, that we covet.

30.What is true of the "liberty" that the world extols?
It is slavery.

31.Read Psalms 2:2,3.
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us (Psalms 2:2,3).

32.What is God’s response to those who decide to rule their circumstances apart from God’s will?
God laughs in derision.

33.How does God regard the person who chooses to gratify himself rather than to seek the Lord?
As being foolish and short-sighted.

34.What is God offering to us in the lordship of Christ?
The only true freedom.

35.What is true of the seeming freedom to gratify our desires that Satan offers?
It is a delusion and a snare—a horrible pit filled with piercing torments and eternal agony and remorse.

36.Read James 4:2,3.
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
(James 4:2,3).

37.What was the ruling motive that caused the leaders of Israel to be blind to their Christ and to demand His murder?
Envy.

38.Read John 12:19.
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him (John 12:19).

39.Read Luke 4:7.
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine (Luke 4:7).

40.What was the greatest abomination ever to take place in the history of the world?
Satan standing before God’s Christ and asking for His worship.

41.What abomination, though on a lesser scale, happens to you and me each day of our life?
Satan stands before us and invites our worship.

42.How do evil spirits overcome the righteous?
By the boldness of their suggestions and demands.

43.What are we doing when we sin?
Worshipping Satan?

44.Read I John 3:8.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8).

45.If the Spirit of God brings to our attention that we are engaging in some lustful action, word, or imagination, and we refuse to allow Christ to deliver us and cleanse us, what are we doing?
We are choosing Satan over God.

46.What is true of the individual who commits sin?
He is the servant of the sin he is committing.

47.How can we stop the evil practices, words, and thoughts with which we are occupied?
By the wisdom and enabling power of the Spirit of God.

48.Read I John 3:8.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8).

49.Why was Christ revealed?
In order to destroy the works of the devil.

50.What is one of the first works of the devil that must be destroyed?
The sinning that keeps Christian believers from fellowshipping with God.

51.When is God worshiped?
When we do the things that please Him.

52.When is Satan worshiped?
When we do the things that please him.

53.Read I John 3:9.
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God (I John 3:9).

54.What is the meaning of I John 3:9?
The verse means that sin is of Satan, not of God.
As long as we continue sinning, no matter how firmly we profess to be a Christian, we are not serving God in the questionable area but are serving the
devil.

55.Read I John 3:10.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother (I John 3:10).

56.Who are the children of God?
Those who resist the devil and practice righteousness.

57.What do we receive when we worship Satan?
Remorse, grief, broken health, the destruction of those who were trusting in us, early physical death, eternal separation from God, and everlasting torment in the Lake of Fire.

58.Read Luke 4:8.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve (Luke 4:8).

59.How are we to answer when sin (Satan) approaches us?
"Get behind me, Satan, for I am a servant of Christ.
I choose to serve Him and to resist the deeds, words, motives and imaginations that the Word of God declares to be unholy and against God’s will."

60.What is the result of righteous decisions?
Our decisions for righteousness will prove to be the source of deliverance and blessing for multitudes of people—perhaps many of them yet unborn.

61.What is the result of sinful decisions?
If we decide to yield to Satan our decisions may become the source of agony and death to the same multitude.

62.What is true of the individual who is not for Christ?
He who is not for Christ is against Him.
He who gathers not with Christ, scatters.
There is no middle ground.

63.What is the first area of redemption?
Initial salvation.

64.What is the second area of redemption?
Sanctification.

65.What is the subject matter of the second area?
The worship of Satan versus the worship of God.
Are our actions, our words, and our motives and imaginations holy or unholy? Are they part of God’s Person or not part of God’s Person?

66.What have we termed the third area of redemption?
Conquest.
It is the test of the gable.

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