170 - Les Feldick Bible Study Lesson 1 - Part 2 - Book 15 - Christ's Earthly Ministry 2

https://lesfeldickbiblestudy.com Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 1 * PART 2 * BOOK 15 CHRIST'S EARTHLY MINISTRY In this lesson, we will study the temptations in Matthew Chapter 4, so get your Bible and search the Scriptures with us. Here Christ is about to begin His earthly ministry. Now in His temptations, He's not only going to prove to the Nation of Israel, but will embrace the entire scope of God's dealing with the whole human race. Matthew 4:1 Matthew 4:2,3 Satan knows our weakest point at any point in time. What did Satan tempt Him with? Food. Satan tries to pull that same thing on Christ. He's hungry so what does Satan mention? Bread. Remember, He's God and He's man, and He never lets one interfere with the other. Christ answers in verse 4: Matthew 4:4 Christ goes back to the Word. Now Satan tries a different ploy. Matthew 4:5,6 "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city (Jerusalem), and setteth him on a pinnacle (highest point) of the temple, And saith unto him, `If thou be the Son of God, cast thy self down: for it is written, (Satan know Scriptures), He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.'" So what was the temptation? Matthew 4:7,8 "Jesus said unto him, `It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Satan backs off, but he comes right back).' Matthew 4:9 I always like to make a point in asking this question, "Was it in Satan's power to give those Kingdoms?" Yes! Many people don't realize this. Because who is the god of this world since Adam fell? We are told in II Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." So you see old Satan is referred to as the god of this world here in this verse. Not by bowing down to Satan, but by utterly defeating him. "Then saith Jesus unto him, `Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written; Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' I Corinthians 15:45,46 For example, Adam the natural and then the second Adam which is Christ. Cain the natural and then Abel the spiritual. Esau the natural and then Jacob the spiritual. Another one is King Saul the natural, and King David the spiritual. First we have the Anti-christ then we have Christ. In our own experience we come on life's scene as natural, and then when we experience salvation we become spiritual. I Corinthians 15:46,47 So as Adam is the federal head of the human race in Genesis, now Christ is the response to that Federal head, because Adam fell. I can't prove this from Scripture, but I like to think that Adam, before he sinned, had a body identical to Christ's in His earthly appearance. Christ of course as we saw from the temptations did not fall. Adam, the Federal head of the human race, was given dominion over everything that God had created. Jesus epitomized the servant when He washed the disciples' feet. Whereas Adam had it all, Christ, as the Spiritual, comes under those adverse conditions but did not succumb as Adam did. In those three temptations Christ suffered the attacks of Satan that cover everything that Satan can throw at us. I John 2:15 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." The Greek word for this word "world" here is Kosmos, from which we now get the word `Cosmos.' A Cosmopolitan is a citizen of the world. That is all wrapped up in this word, "world." Remember money isn't, but the love of money is! It's the same way with the world. Verse 16: "For all that is in the world (this world system), the lust of the flesh (what was Christ's first temptation? Bread, because He was hungry. Now in applying this verse to the temptation of Christ, the first one we discussed is obvious. It was appealing to the eye. But the basis of the whole temptation was, "You can be like God!" Power and Pride. Let's look at another Scripture, Hebrews Chapter 4. I've had people ask me after a class, "How in the world can the Scriptures say that Jesus tasted of every temptation that I'm faced with. It will always be the "lust of the flesh," "lust of the eye," or "pride of life." "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (because He's there!). I Corinthians 10:13 If we look for the situation to get out of temptation you can, because God has made all the provisions to escape. It's based on the fact of Christ own experience. #LesFeldick #BibleStudy #Bible