Sunday, November 27, 2011

Pt 11 KNOWING AND USING WHAT GOD HAS SAID/YOUR BIBLE

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus!"
    S o in both cases Satan challenges God's known word.  We also see in both passages temptation begins with the desire to fulfill a legitimate need.  In Eves case it was to eat;
“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1/NKJV)
"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes,..." (Genesis 3:6/NKJV)

and in Jesus' case it was because he was hungry;
"And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry." (Matthew 4:2/NKJV)
“If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (Matthew 4:3/NKJV)

    B oth of these are legitimate needs given by God.  So Satan does not have the power to create instead Satan takes the good things God has already legitimately given and twists/perverts them.  Obviously, food, eating and being hungry are not evil in and of themselves, however the problem with each of these in Genesis 3 and Matthew 4 was how these legitimate needs were to be met, i.e. were they to be fulfilled God's way, or another way?.
    A dditionally we see another similarity in that both Eve (for reasons why Eve was believed to be alone -initially- when she had the conversation with the serpent see here and here) and Jesus were alone when Satan came to tempt them.  While it is true we are never truly alone as God always is/was/will be there for us.  It is also true that Satan will often come to tempt us when we are "alone" and at a moment of weakness (or perceived weakness).  The first thing Eve should have done was to call her husband, Adam, as soon as the serpent began talking to her.  If that did not work Eve could call God, after all it is evident He spoke with both Adam and Eve in Genesis 1 and that He intended to visit them in the garden and have an ongoing relationship with both of them;
"And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day,..." (Genesis 3:8a/NKJV)

    Y et Eve (initially) does neither of these although both Adam and God are obviously not to far away.  A lesson every Christian should learn is simply; if help is near when being tempted, use it to overcome the temptation.

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther



scripture sources;
Bible Gateway
image source;
dove

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Pt 10 KNOWING AND USING WHAT GOD HAS SAID/YOUR BIBLE

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus!"

    A quick review on what has been discussed;
  1. Satan questions God's word
  2. Eve responds by misquoting God (the reason why is unclear).
  3. Adam does not do his job.
  4. Eve listens to the serpent rather than her husband or God.
  5. Eve chooses to sin.
  6. Adam listens to his wife rather than God.
  7. Adam chooses to sin.
  8. We are all responsible for our own relationship with God.
  9. We are all responsible for our own knowledge of God's Word.
  10. Knowing, properly interpreting and using God's word in our lives safeguards our relationship with Him.
    I n the last post four things that help us know, properly interpret and use God's word in our lives were briefly mentioned, they are;
  1. His Word
  2. His Spirit
  3. Prayer
  4. Other believers
    L ooking at each of these will help us to use them in our lives;
  1. His Word - it is best to read, study and interpret God's word (scripture/the Bible) as a whole and in context with the rest of what is said in scripture.  Scripture should be used to interpret it self.
  2. His Spirit - it is best to read, study and interpret scripture with the guidance of God's Holy Spirit as opposed to the wisdom of man.
  3. Prayer - it is best to read, study and interpret scripture with prayer before, during and after our time in God's word.
  4. Other believers - it is best to have other true believers around us to help us with reading, studying and interpreting God's word. God knows we are fallible humans and so He has provided others for checks and balances.
    I f we compare and contrast the confrontation between Eve and the serpent in Genesis 3:1-3;
"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, "You shall not eat of every tree of the garden"?' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."’” (Genesis 3:1-3/NKJV)

with another confrontation much, much later in the Bible (Matthew 4:1-11)*
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”  Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘ In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’"'Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”   Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:1-11/NKJV)

not only do we see the results are quite different, but we learn a lot about how to use the word of God in our lives and consequently how to overcome our common enemy (Satan).
    I n both cases we see the serpent challenges God's words;
"...And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said,...'" (Genesis 3:1b/NKJV)
"Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God,...(Matthew 4:3/NKJV)
"Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God,...'" (Matthew 4:5/NKJV)

    I n the first instance we see (by looking at the passage, the scriptures around it, and related to it) Satan's question was patently absurd, and was plainly meant to challenge the very words spoken to both Adam and Eve in Genesis 1;
"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food'; and it was so. (Genesis 1:27-30).

    I n the second instance we see that Satan not only challenged God's words once (Matthew 4:3), but twice (Matthew 4:5). However, Jesus does not even address this challenge as he knows what happened, and what He heard after He was baptized by John in Matthew 3;
"When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'" (Matthew 3:16-17/NKJV)

*NOTE: How the confrontation ends in Matthew 4 shows the true nature of what Satan is all about, i.e by challenging God's word Satan challenges everything about God.  For more information on Matthew 4:1-11 see here, and here.

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther



scripture sources;
Bible Gateway
image source;
dove