It All Adds Up
Living through the Test – Part 1
1. Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2. Where He was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
14. Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about Him spread quickly through the whole region.
Luke 4:1-2, 14
Adding Problems?
Believers often struggle with accepting trials of various kinds. As a matter of fact, the adversity that weak believers face is often mistaken as punishment from God when it is actually a training exercise. Yet, many weak Christians have problems accepting the challenges God sends to help them grow in the Spirit.
In contrast, believers will often assume that comfort is a sign of God’s Favor. Some will even comment that “God is blessing,” when they see signs of prosperity, success, and the lack of adversity. Yet, the truth is, spiritual growth cannot happen apart from some form of trials. The testing of Faith does not happen apart from challenges, needs, or flat out, life storms.
Do we really know and understand the consequences for untested Faith? Untested Faith would result in immaturity and lack of spiritual growth. It could also mean a lack of understanding of God’s Will and would eventually lead to believers misinterpreting God’s Word. The long-term effect of untested Faith will result in believers living by emotional impulse rather than the Spirit’s Power. A believer who has untested faith would not know how to apply Scripture to life situations. Also, the believer will have a low trust level in the Power of God and will assume that they must solve their problems rather than allowing God full access and control of their life.
The point I’m making is that trials and challenges do add up. The pitfalls you face today will work out for good in your future. That’s the way God designed it. So if you set out to minimize these hardships, you will end up stunting your growth in living for Christ. At the same time, accepting those difficulties as a part of God’s design for your life will help you to place more dependence on the Power of God. You will not only be able to survive the trial but will be approved in the Spirit. That is my goal; to be certified in the Spirit in order to be a champion for Christ.
Jesus, being tested?
Let’s take a look at the struggles Jesus faced. When you read the text from the natural point of view, it did not make sense for Jesus to have to go through the testing in the wilderness. In other words, it didn’t add up. John the Baptist even questioned why Jesus was showing up for the baptism. Jesus was sinless, why would He need to be baptized which was associated with sinners expressing repentance toward God. It did not seem to add up. Jesus responded to John’s question, suffer it to be so, in order to fulfill all righteousness. Matthew 3:15. So, John proceeded to baptize Jesus not knowing what would come next. As John the Baptist consented to something that did not add up, he discovered that God has a purpose for everything that happens. The Bible declares that the Heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus Christ in the form of a Dove. God the Father spoke to God the Son in the water and said, “This is My Beloved Son in Whom I Am well pleased.” Matthew 3:15-16. When John witnessed the revelation of the Triune God, then he saw the relevance of Jesus’ baptism. From that moment on, baptism took on the meaning of identifying with God. So that when we believers confess Jesus Christ, we are baptized in order to signify Jesus’ death, His burial, and His Resurrection.
God used something that did not add up to become the basis for His Announcement of Jesus as His Beloved Son. At the conclusion of the baptism, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. This meant that Jesus was ready to start His public ministry, right? Not yet, for there was something else that God had planned. To many of us, the attainment of being filled with the Holy Spirit is the ultimate spiritual goal in life. Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Prior to hitting the road to preach the Kingdom of God, to heal the sick, and to deliver people from demonic possession, Jesus was led into the wilderness. But why? The very next verse tells us the answer. Where He was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. Luke 4:2. In our mind, that does not add up.
What does not add up in the flesh makes perfect sense in the Spirit. Jesus had not been tested. Jesus now had the Spirit in fulness, but Jesus had to learn how to walk in the Spirit’s Power. That takes testing. Remember, the Bible says that Jesus “learned obedience by the things He suffered.” It was a process that Jesus had to go through in order to understand how to apply Truth, how to listen to God’s direction, and how to pray for His Father to reveal His Will. I know that does not make sense to us. I know it sounds absurd and strange, but that was the process. So before Jesus preached to anyone – He had to go through the wilderness. Before Jesus cast out the first demon, Jesus had to conquer the Devil in the wilderness. Before Jesus healed the first sick person – He had to go through the wilderness. Even though this process seemed strange, it was God’s plan.
The Father tested Jesus so that HE Who knew no sin would know first hand what it was like to be tempted by sin. The Father tested Jesus so that Jesus would know what it was like to be attacked by the Devil. The Father did not spare Jesus from this hardship not because He did not love the Son. The Father allowed Jesus to be tested in order that we would understand the extent that God would go to save the world from destruction. If Jesus was not tested, that would have meant He could not relate to our weaknesses and limitations. Jesus Himself, was tempted, yet He did not sin. Hebrews 4:15, reminds us that we have a High Priest who is touched by the feelings of our weaknesses because He was tempted at all points as we are. It did not add up in our minds, but it all added up when Jesus became not only God’s Beloved Son but also our High Priest before God.
What are the Test Results?
It added up for Jesus to be baptized, and as a result of His Baptism, John witnessed God’s Declaration of His Son. It added up for Jesus to be tempted, so that we might know that He is our Faithful High Priest and was tempted just like us. Even the test itself adds up as a demonstration of how the Devil will try to lure us from following God.
It is interesting how the three temptations that our Lord faced represent the three basic struggles for believers. Yes, its true that once we accept the fact that Christian growth takes place as a result of “passing the test,” we will discover that the Tempter uses the same methods for attacking Believers.
These three tests will be explored in depth later, but let us summarize the temptations as the Bread Test, the Risk Test, and the Power Test. In facing the test with the bread, the Devil attempted to tie Jesus identity to “turning stones into bread.” Please recall that prior to going into the wilderness, God the Father had already identified Jesus with the confirmation from Heaven. Now with Jesus facing severe hunger, the Devil was tempting Jesus to prove His identity. But there was no need to do that because the Father had spoken and the Word could not change. He was still God’s Son and there was nothing the Devil could do about it except try to get Jesus to doubt based on hunger. Jesus, now with the Holy Spirit’s Power would say, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.” Luke 4:4. In other words, bread is not as important as God’s Word for giving and sustaining life. Warning: Don’t compromise God’s Word due to hunger? Jesus passed the Bread Test. It added up.
The next test was the Power Test in which the Devil claimed he would give Jesus control over all the kingdoms of the world. This was the test that would make Jesus’ work easy and manageable. The only catch is that the Devil wanted Jesus to worship Him. Again, Jesus responded with the Word of God. It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve. (Duet. 6:13). Prior to making that statement Jesus let the Devil know that he was not in charge. He spoke the words “get behind me Satan” which was the equivalent of saying “away with you.” The only way to pass the Power Test is to know where Power comes from. Power does not come from the Devil and if he tempts you to worship him to get this power, tell the Devil “away with you.” It added up to Jesus defeating the Devil but also establishing the true basis for Power is always in God.
The final test in the Luke account was the Risk Test. The Devil wanted Jesus to do something spectacular that the Father had not assigned. Take a big risk and prove you are God’s Son. So the Devil used Scripture to support his suggestion that Jesus cast himself down from the Temple. Jesus used the Word correctly to forcibly declare that “you shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Luke 4:12. If we are children of God, we should never have to put God to the test to prove it. Jesus proved at every point that He was God’s Son and did not need the endorsement of the Devil. It all added up.
What seemed to be tests of Jesus’ hunger added up to be proof of His Power and dependence on God. What seemed to be a test of Jesus Power proved to be confirmation that God had sent Him to be Ruler of the World. Jesus was going to rise to that position of power not by means of satanic control, but by the Decree of Heaven. What seemed to a test of Jesus’ identity proved to be proof of His Love and Commitment to His Father’s Will. It all added up to show that the Father loved the Son and the Son loved the Father.
But here is the sum total of the matter. After all the tests were done, Jesus was graded not by the Devil, but by the Holy Spirit. Not whether He passed Satan’s test, but by proof of God’s Power in His Life. Jesus used the Devil’s temptation as a workout in the wilderness. While the Devil thought our Lord was getting weaker, Jesus was actually using the Devil’s tactics to get strong. Notice how the Bible reports the outcome from Luke 4:14, Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about Him spread quickly through the whole region. Jesus not only passed the test, it all added up to bring about the Power of God.
In conclusion, we as followers of Jesus must learn our lessons of Faith. First, know who you are and you will never have to prove it. Two, put the Devil in his place before he tries to put you out of place. Three, you never have to test God’s Power but you do have to trust God’s Power.
More to come on Living through the Test.