In the "counsel" of
God before the creation of the world (Eph. 1-14), it has been decreed that
man would experience life by experiencing the source of life, the Son of
God. Jesus said, "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he
given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to
execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man" (John 5:26,27).
The Father has not only "given to the Son to have life within
himself," but He has also made ("given") the Son to be the
One that would enable man to experience that life ("authority to
execute judgment").
Therefore, with God being the only One that has "life within
himself," it would be necessary for the Son of God to become the
mediator (the Person of the Godhead which would be the
"go-between") of the God of the heavenly realm and the man of
the earthly realm (I Tim. 1:5). By being the One which bridged the gap
between Creator and creation, the Son has the authority to make the
decision ("execute judgment") who experiences life and who does
not.
With the limit being set in advance (the meaning of the word translated
"predestinated" in "having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ" of Ephesians 1:5) and the limit
being pre-arranged (the meaning of "hath determined the times before
appointed, and the bounds of their habitation" of Acts 17:26), man
cannot experience life from within himself. Therefore, it was necessary
for the Son of God to become the Son of man in order for man to experience
the life that is only within God.
The Son of God became the Way by which man could experience life
"according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will" (Eph. 1:11). John recorded this established
fact of creation when he wrote,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men . . .
that was the true Light, which lighted every man that cometh into the
world. (John 1:1-4,9)
Every man that comes into the world has the
true light and life of Christ dwelling within him.
DECEPTION OF PERCEPTION
How is it then that so few people actually experience the "life of
the spirit" that lights them from within? Ultimately, the answer to
that question lies in the revelation of the
. . . gospel of God concerning his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. (Rom. 1:4)
Understanding the revelation of the
"gospel of God," thereby understanding the fatal deception that
causes man not to experience Life, lies in the mystery surrounding the
twin statements concerning Jesus Christ: "made of the seed of David
according to the flesh" and "declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the spirit of holiness."
It is within this "interplay" of the flesh and the Spirit that
the deception of perception spins its destructive trap: "And David
saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock,
and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not
see, and bow down their back alway[s]" (Rom. 11:9,10). The failure to
experience life (one's back being bowed down by the pressures of life) is
inseparably tied to how one "sees" life. As will be
"seen," it is the "awakening" of man's perceived
perception that destroys the life that is found only in God.
Any temptation that would lead man away from the Spirit of life has as its
ground of being a faulty perception of the "flesh." Moreover,
because the Spirit is "clothed upon" (Gen. 2:7; John 1:14) with
flesh, the susceptibility to fall from the life of God is always present.
As Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Christ [life in the Spirit] is
become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law
[life in the flesh]; ye are fallen from grace" (5:4).
Having this "treasure [of life] in earthen vessels," with the
accompanying adversity (Gal. 5:17) between the Spirit
("treasure") and the flesh ("earthen vessels"), always
makes man susceptible to the deception of perception. This
susceptibility to the awakening of man's perception (the awakening of his
self-identity) is illustrated in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Although
the temptation to deception did not produce a faulty perception in Jesus,
He nevertheless faced the same temptation as Adam and Eve (who failed the
temptation) and as all other men.
He faced that temptation because He was "made of the seed of David
according to the flesh" and "declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the spirit of holiness." He was the Word in an
earthen vessel.
Being "made of the seed of David according to the flesh," He was
true man in every aspect of what it means to be man. He was born of the
linage of David--"according to the flesh." In all details of the
birthing process (except for one), He was born as all other men were born.
His entire life was experienced in the realm of humanity as all other men.
It is the conception of Jesus that sets Him apart from all other men. He
was conceived not by man but by the Holy Spirit:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this
wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her
husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick
example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on
these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS . .
. . (Matt. 1:18:21)
Born of a woman, clothed with flesh, (thereby
making Him totally man) and conceived by the Holy Spirit,
"begotten" of God, (thereby making Him totally God), Jesus alone
is One of a kind.
John recorded this "supernatural" birth of Jesus as, "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God, The same was in the beginning with God . . . And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us . . ." (John 1:1,2,14). The Son of God took
residence in a tabernacle ("dwelt") of flesh. Although He is a
resident of the heavenly realm, He "made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of
men" (Phil. 2:7) to become a resident of the earthly realm. The Son
of God, totally God, dwelt among men, totally man.
Throughout the earthly life of Jesus there were indications of both His
humanity and His deity. A careful reading of the accounts of His life will
reveal all the ingredients of every other man (with one
exception-"[He] did no sin, neither was guile [trickery] found in
him" [I Pet. 2:22], which was the original intention for all men). He
fasted (Luke 4:2), became hungry (Luke 4:2), and ate (Luke 22:8). He
worked (John 5:17) or did things that fatigued Him (John 4:6), became
weary (John 4:6), and slept (Mark 4:38). He felt anguish (John 22:44),
indignation (John 11:33), agitation (John 11:33), and wept (John 11:35).
He felt satisfaction (Mark 1:11), contentment (John 17:4), and joy (Luke
10:21). Ultimately, His humanity is revealed in the fact that He died
(Luke 23:46). He was, as man, totally man.
There are also indications of His deity in the accounts of His life: the
voice of the Father from heaven declaring "Thou art my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11); His transfiguration before
Peter, James, and John (Matt. 17:2); His own statements, "Before
Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58), "I am the bread which came down
from heaven" (John 6:41), and "My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work" (John 5:17); and his closest followers perceived Him to be the
Son of God, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father"
(John 1:14).
Ultimately, His deity was revealed in that He was resurrected from the
dead (Luke 24:6). He did not become the Son of God by His resurrection. He
was resurrected because He was the Son of God. He was, as God, totally
God.
This is not to say that He was of two persons. In the mystery of the
incarnation (a technical term that means the One person is true man and
true God), He is the ultimate union of the flesh and the Spirit. He is
what was "prefigured" in Adam ("who is the figure of him
that was to come" [Rom. 5:14])--the Spirit of God inbreathed into a
body of flesh. He is the perfect representation of a "treasure in
earthen vessels" (II Cor. 3:7). He, the One person of Jesus, is
totally man and totally God.
Being totally man and totally God, He was brought under the same
temptation to deception, the awakening of man's perception, that all men
face. As the writer of Hebrews stated, "For we have not an high
priest [Jesus] which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin" (4:15). Jesus was tempted (as all men) to perceive that He had
the capability from within Himself to produce life, He was tempted (as all
men) to awake to His "self-identity." He was tempted to live of
the flesh, the deception of perception.
TEMPTATION OF THE FLESH
The actual temptation to this deception that occurred in Jesus' life has
been preserved in the Gospels. Luke wrote that after Jesus was baptized by
John in the river of Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus "in
a bodily shape like a dove . . . And a voice came form Heaven, which said,
Thou are my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22).
Immediately, after this baptism, "the Spirit driveth him into the
wilderness" (Mark 1:12).
It is highly probable that the words of the Father, "Thou art my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," were still fresh in His
mind, when Satan said, "If thou be the Son of God, command this stone
that it be made bread" (Luke 4:3). It was a strong temptation for He
was hungry, after fasting for forty days.
Although Luke does not record when He finally ate, it can be assumed that
He did. Therefore, the temptation was not a matter of eating, nor was it a
matter of the food coming from the stone being made into bread. The
temptation was the perception of how or who would produce the food.
Would He understand that it would be a production of the Father at work
within Him, or would Jesus perceive that He could produce the food from
within Himself? Would He give "thanksgiving" to the Father for
the food, or would Jesus assume that He was the One that put the food on
the table?
Moreover, this tale of temptation is deeper than just the perception of
who does the work. The temptation would move from tempting Jesus to think
that He could do it Himself to why He would even want to do it for
Himself. Satan
. . . taking him up into an high mountain,
shewed 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. (Luke 4:5-7)
Jesus is now being tempted to
"overthrow" the Father's throne and kingdom for His own throne
and kingdom.
The issue was not the worship of "Satan" as opposed to the
worship of the Father. The issue was actually between Jesus and the
Father. Would Jesus attempt to find life in the glory and the honor of His
own kingdom as opposed to experiencing the glory and the honor of the
Father's kingdom? He was being tempted to be moved out from
"identity" in the Father to His own "self-identity."
Finally, the tale of temptation brought Jesus to the core of the
deception. Satan
. . . brought him to Jerusalem, and set him
on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of
God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his
angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hand they shall bear
thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Luke
4:9-11)
Again, Jesus was being tempted to preempt
Himself over the Father. Satan was tempting Jesus to move Himself out from
living in, through, and by the Father. Instead of letting the will of the
Father produce His life, He was being tempted to fall to the deception
that He had the capability to get the Father to move according to His (the
Son's) will.
By the results (if He had fallen to the temptation) of Jesus' action
(jumping off the pinnacle of the temple), the Father would have to save
him. By getting the Father to respond to Him (by using the Father as a
"resource person" for His own needs), Jesus would then become
the prime mover of His own life. His own "self-identity" would
be established.
The tale of temptation had run it course. It began by tempting Jesus to
quench (I Thess. 5:19) the true Spirit of life that dwelt within Him. It
began with a simple test to get Jesus to produce something that was
obviously needed--to satisfy the basic need to eat. In reality, every
created living thing can be sustained only by the continual
"digesting" of "food" from outside of itself.
The body (as with the life of a person) has been created to always need
nourishment, both physical and spiritual. It will always experience
hunger. The temptation is never the question of should one eat or not eat
(should one live or not live). Rather, it is to be tempted to think that
the hunger can be satisfied by the "power" of the one who
hungers.
The tale of temptation always begins with the deception that the
individual himself can make life happen. However, the temptation to
deception runs deeper than just the desire to produce life. The desire to
produce life is grounded in the perceived glory and honor that will come
upon the one who can successfully produce his own life. It is this
perceived glory and honor that drives men into foolish, evil deeds (John
3:16-21). Going about trying to establish their own life, they fail to
submit to the life of the Spirit (Rom. 10:3).
The perception that one can receive honor of himself, thereby experiencing
"life" from that honor, will always frustrate the life that
comes from experiencing the honor that is of God. As Jesus said of those
who were striving the most to receive honor from men,
. . . ye will not come to me, that ye might
have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have
not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye
receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will
receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour not of another, and
seek not the honour that cometh from God only. (John 5:40 44)
The glory and the honor of men strikes at the
heart of man to move him away from the glory and the honor of God.
The tale of temptation, through the desire to produce life itself for the
glory and the honor, has at its core the lifting of one's self to
preeminence. It is the created one desiring to make himself the measure of
all things. It is as Lucifer expressed,
I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God: I will set also upon the mount of the
congregations, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the
heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isa. 14:13,14)
The heart of the temptation to deception, the
deception of perception, is the "big lie" that the creature can
become the preeminent one--that he can become a God. With his
"self-identity" firmly established (an illusion that comes with
the fall), he now perceives he can produce the good life, He has fallen to
the temptation of the flesh. He is on his way to the "chambers of
hell."
Although Jesus was susceptible to this deception of an awakening
self-perception, He lived His life knowing that "the son can do
nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things
soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise ['similarly, at the
same place or time']" (John 5:19). Jesus lived His life as Adam and
as all men were supposed to live--by experiencing the indwelling Spirit of
life, "according to the spirit of holiness" (Rom. 1:4).
Jesus did what no other man has ever done. He did not attempt to preempt
Himself above the "Treasure" that dwelt within Him. He did not
attempt to use the Father to enhance Himself. He knew that the life He was
[is], was [is] the Life of the Father (John 5:26,27). He lived as no one
has ever, or will ever, live.
If anyone ever experiences the life that Jesus lived, it will be because
Jesus lives through him. If will never be because man can live that life
from within himself. The options are simple. It is the way of Christ or
the way of man. |
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