In last week’s blog, Choices, we talked about Adam as a type of Jesus. Although today’s talk isn’t explicitly discussing types, I would like to briefly recap what a type is for those who missed last week’s blog.
Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
1 Cor. 15:45 says,
Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Typology is a method of biblical interpretation where something or someone we see in the Old Testament is a picture of something/someone we will later experience in the New Testament.
Disclaimer: If you’re unfamiliar with the idea of types, it will benefit you to head over to Romans 5:12-21 and see the comparison and contrast between Adam and Jesus, the Christ.
The first Adam was in a garden and submitted to his own will instead of the will of his Father. (Gen. 3:6) By Adam’s choices, sin entered the world, and through sin, death. (Ro. 5:12)
The second Adam, Jesus, the Christ, was in a garden and submitted his will to the will of his Father through grueling prayer and intersession, causing him to sweat blood. (Luke 22:44) Jesus’ choices lead to justification and life for all men. (Ro 5:18)
This week I’d like to highlight something I find intriguing between three passages of scripture.
Genesis 3:6 / 1 John 2:16 / Matthew 4:1-11
Genesis 3:6 says that three things happened to Eve during her temptation.
- First, she saw the tree was good for food
- Second, it was a delight to her eyes
- Third, the tree was desirable to make you wise
I find this interesting because of something we encounter in 1 John 2:16. Were told that we will all face three things in life:
- desires of our flesh
- desires of our eyes
- pride of life
Maybe I’m the only one who sees the connection, but I’m already in this deep, so let’s take it a step further.
In Matthew 4, we’re told that the Spirit of GOD led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Three of the temptations are recorded for us.
- “…command these stones to become bread.”
- “If you are the Son of God…” do something to prove it.
- the Devil offered to give Jesus the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow down and worship him.
Is there a connection between these three passages of scripture? Possibly.
| Genesis 3:6 | 1 John 2:16 | Matthew 4:1-11 |
| Saw the tree was good for food | Desires of the flesh | Stones to bread |
| Delight to the eyes | Desires of the eyes | Showed him the kingdoms of the world |
| Desirable to make you wise | Pride of life | Prove you’re the Son of God |
Although I wouldn’t argue too hard for this connection, here’s why I find it interesting.
All three passages deal with temptations. At least two of the three directly deal with temptations by the Devil or his agents. One could probably argue for a connection with the issues in 1 John and the Devil, but it’s not expressly stated.
We have some beneficial insights from these passages, regardless of the definite connection between the three.
How are we told to fight against temptations?
You nailed it if you said, “Submit yourself to God and resist the Devil.”
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
I would like to point out that I hear James 4:7 often misquoted. It’s not, “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” It’s “Submit yourself to God, [then] resist the Devil…”
As I studied James 4:7, I found the following bit of information on the Blue Letter Bible website interesting.
“This word [submit] was a Greek military term meaning “to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”. In non-military use, it was “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”.
We submit ourselves to God out of humility. Acknowledging that our works or personal efforts are not what gives us the ability to resist the Devil is vital to resisting him. The victory we now enjoy over Satanic powers was the sole prerogative of God through Christ, who defeated the Devil. We now have authority over the Devil because of our position in Christ. Therefore, we must always acknowledge the Lord of Heaven’s armies, who allows us to “resist the Devil.”
Lastly, 1 Cor. 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Jesus, our Great High Priest, showed us how to resist the Devil. We submit ourselves to God. You’ll notice that in Matthew 4, Jesus was prepared with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Each time the Devil or Tempter presented Messiah with a temptation, Jesus quoted passages of scripture from Deuteronomy.
Like Eve we will all face some sort of forbidden fruit. Instead of rationalizing the decision to eat, may we, like Messiah, submit ourselves to God and resist the Devil’s temptations – Amen.
Comments
Comments are closed.