Living with God study 16
Contents
Temptation
"Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" Ephesians 6:11 (see also 2 Corinthians 2:11).
Satan attacks the Christian in order to distract him away from his focus on Jesus (2 Cor.11:2-3; Heb.12:2). Although he can attack through persecution, discouragement and other ways, one of his most powerful weapons is temptation. Satan uses two ways to bring temptation to a believer:
The desires of the world
Satan seeks to tempt a believer to become absorbed into the world's system:
To make the material things of the world a central desire.
To make the honour and recognition of this world an important goal.
To make the comfort of being a part of this world our basis for security.
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" 1 John 2:15.
The desires of the flesh
Although a Christian - through Christ's work on the Cross - is delivered from the results of sin, and from the enslaving power of sin itself (see Romans 6:6-14), he still lives in a physical body that is subject to natural appetites and desires. Satan will focus on the flesh to distract a Christian form the promptings of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5-9: James 1:14: Ephesians 2:3) .
The First Temptation
Satan won his original victory in the areas of the world and the flesh (read Genesis 3:1-6) and these are still his tactics today.
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (craving for sensual gratification), and the lust of the eyes (greedy longings of the mind) and the pride of life (assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things)." 1 John 2:16, Amplified.
Genesis 3:16
1 John 2:16
Good for food
"Lust of the flesh"
Pleasing to the eye
"Lust of the eyes"
Desirable for gaining wisdom
"Pride of life"
Since the fall of Adam, all mankind has been governed by their flesh, which is now corrupted by a sinful nature (Gal.5:19-21).
The Victory Won By Christ
Jesus came to the earth to reverse the effects of Adam's fall (Romans 5:12-19). He did this in two ways:
Through His life
Jesus was tempted in everything, exactly as we are, "yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).