{"id":5455,"date":"2012-02-22T03:33:45","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T03:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/?p=5455"},"modified":"2017-12-19T22:56:42","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T22:56:42","slug":"young-sympathetic-savior-tempted-from-the-beginning-until-the-very-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/believe\/young-sympathetic-savior-tempted-from-the-beginning-until-the-very-end","title":{"rendered":"Sympathetic Savior: Christ’s Temptation"},"content":{"rendered":"
by Steven Gledhill<\/span><\/em> for FREEdom from MEdom Project<\/span><\/h5>\n

James wrote that God cannot do wrong or even be tempted to do wrong. Jesus, having laid down all divine privilege as God, fully man, was tempted to sin. He was tempted to do wrong. Think about that for a minute.<\/p>\n

God is never<\/em> tempted to do wrong…<\/span>\u00a0<\/sup>Temptation comes from our own<\/em> desires… James 1:13-14 (NLT)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fully human, and somehow not altogether God, Jesus had human desire to the extent that he must have been flawed by the temptation to act according to selfish desire. \u00a0If not, he could not truly be tempted to sin. Temptation would not be authentic if not for the capability to act upon selfish intention.<\/p>\n

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did<\/i> by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.\u00a0Romans 8:3 (NKJV)<\/span><\/p>\n

(NOTE: I could not use the New Living Translation here since the translator opted to parse it’s words in such a way as to not impose the truth of what Jesus deliberately came to do; to know you and me by his personal experience.)<\/p>\n

“Sympathetic Savior, Christ’s Humanity”<\/a>\u00a0addressed the matter of Jesus coming into the human race “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3), concluding that the human nature of Jesus, God made fully man in the flesh, was vulnerable to selfish sin with intentions and choices independent of a Divine nature. \u00a0It concludes that Jesus the human being could have sinned or it wouldn’t make sense that he could be tempted to sin. What this is not meant to be is a point of contention or something to squabble about regarding Scriptural interpretation, doctrine, or theology; rather the intention is to consider the entire scope of the humanity in the flesh for the person who is today the King of kings and Lord of lords as He was prior to being made human for the better part of thirty three years.\u00a0While in the grand scheme of things the humanity of Jesus might not be that important of a discussion, it is\"\"<\/a> important to me and I am sharing it with you if you are interested.<\/p>\n

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. Philippians 2:5-7 (NLT)<\/span><\/p>\n

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4 (NIV)<\/span><\/p>\n

One might suggest that Jesus, while born in the likeness of sinful flesh, did not live in the flesh but lived in the Spirit, fully God while in the flesh. I do not believe that is what this passage of Scripture is teaching. While Jesus DID NOT sin, I suggest he could have. If not, then the temptation he endured was not authentic temptation… it wasn’t real temptation (how could it be?)… because he was not able or have intentions toward selfishness. But what if, as Apostle Paul wrote, that Jesus literally gave up—laid down—his divine privilege and became something less than fully God? What if Jesus actually could sin as a human being, fully human, less than God? Only then, could Jesus sin, and therefore be tempted to sin. Only then could Jesus die, having taken into his human soul all of the sin of every single person that ever lived and will ever live.<\/p>\n

So then, since we have a great High Priest (Advocate) who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. \u00a0This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.\u00a0\u00a0So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.\u00a0Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask yourself this question: Why is it so hard to believe that the three-person union that is God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) could by choice “create” the visible manifestation of Himself to be of a fully human nature, void of His divine nature, with a need to depend on the divine nature and authority of the other two persons of God? Is it because it would be too great a shock to our religious traditions and customs of what we claim to be sound doctrine and theology? Some will not even ask the questions or have a discussion about it; perhaps since such a discussion would lead to quarreling about doctrine. I am asking that you be open to asking the question guided by Scriptural truth, particularly that spoken of by Jesus himself about himself while flesh as a human being.<\/p>\n

“I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.” John 5:30 (NLT)<\/span><\/p>\n

Sympathetic Savior is a four part series. The following are links to the other parts:
\nPart 1: Christ’s Humanity<\/a>, Part 3: Christ’s Relationships<\/a>, Part 4: Christ’s Sacrifice<\/a><\/p>\n