LIVING BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (Part 35).
Matthew 4. Verses 1-4 read:
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Yesterday, we saw how the Holy Spirit settled upon Jesus Christ in the form of a dove when he was baptised by John. This established the vital partnership Jesus required for victorious earthly life. Again, at the baptism, the Heavenly Father testified of Jesus as his beloved son in whom he, that is, the Father, is well pleased. In other words, the life of Jesus was one that fulfilled the pleasure of God to perfection.
Right after his baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. A casual look at this statement easily causes the mind to wonder. The question is, why will the Holy Spirit lead a man to be tempted of the devil? There are a few points to note here:
- When permitted, the Holy Spirit will lead men. In other words, the actions and utterances of men will be directed by the Holy Spirit.
- The ways of operation of the Holy Spirit differ from that of men. The Spirit will never lead men into defeat. Situations might be challenging where he leads, but his presence guarantees victory.
- One of the reasons why the Spirit will lead a man to be tempted of the devil is for the establishment of the man’s victory over both temptation and the tempter, that is, the devil.
- The leadership of a man by the Spirit to the wilderness is to offer the man the opportunity to realise the strength he wields even in his lonely moments because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
In the wilderness, the devil came with three temptations for Jesus, which were based on the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life. These three describe the devil’s channels of temptation. Refer to 1 John 2 verses 15-17. These channels have been and continue to be the undoing of many. Any man who longs for the victory secured by Christ for all humanity must not succumb to them. The question then is, how did Jesus overcome them?
The primary requirement for the conquest of the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life is the power of the Holy Spirit, which was upon Jesus Christ. Secondly, he was led by the Spirit. This means that he permitted the Holy Spirit to direct him in his actions and utterance. Thus, he was accurate in overcoming the advances of Satan. Beloved, Jesus has shown the way. Let us also follow it to establish our victory as we receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and allow him to lead us.
SHALOM 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏