June 14, 2019
For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:18
After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1). He did not overcome Satan as God, but as man anointed by the power of God. There’s an important distinction here for us to understand.
Jesus could have said, “Satan, I want you to know that because I am God, I will obliterate you this moment.” Had He asserted His power as God, then when He asks us to overcome the devil, we’d be saying, “Sure, it’s easy for You to say that! You’re God! Don’t expect me to do what You did.”
But Jesus didn’t pull rank on us. Instead, God anointed Jesus as a man to do what we, as humans, can also do by His anointing. You and I have what we need to face any temptation, for we are in Christ, and He is in us.
You have the same Father to call upon and the same Word of God to use against the enemy. You do not have to yield, give up, or give in. Instead, you can have the victory over him, just as Jesus did. Remember, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (John 4:4).
Real truth never changes, and the truth about government is that it is God who ordains it, leaders who are responsible for it, and citizens who are accountable to it. The privilege of being called Americans comes with significant responsibilities—to God, to each other, and to the world.