THREE TEMPTATIONS OF CHRIST, A STUDY GUIDE
From: Three Deaths and Three Resurrections
Copyright © 1992 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
ForewordANSWERS
The Three Temptations of Christ
Salvation; Sanctification; Conquest
The First Temptation of Christ
The Second Temptation of Christ
The Third Temptation of Christ
Foreword
The Three Temptations of Christ
Salvation; Sanctification; Conquest
The First Temptation of Christ
The Second Temptation of Christ
The Third Temptation of Christ
QUESTIONS
Foreword
1. According to the Scriptures, how many works of grace are involved in the Christian salvation?
2. Name some of the major types that indicate there are three works of grace.
3. What expression appears many times in the Scriptures?
4. What is the one Source of the entire Christian redemption?
The Three Temptations of Christ
1. Are the three areas of redemption three separate comings of the Lord to us?
2. What are we going to present first, in this booklet?
3. What will be the second subject of discussion?
4. What name are we giving to the first area of redemption?
Salvation; Sanctification; Conquest
1. What does it mean to be “saved”?
2. Who will be saved in the Day of the Lord?
3. What is our protection when God passes over the land to judge the gods of the world?
4. What is the Lake of Fire?
5. Who will be thrown into the Lake of Fire?
6. On what basis are we permitted entrance into the new heaven and earth reign of Christ?
7. What do we receive immediately when we place our faith in Christ?
8. What took place on the cross of Calvary?
9. What must we do in order to be redeemed from the authority of Satan?
10. What do we declare when we are baptized in water?
11. What do we establish in water baptism?
12. What do we leave in the waters of baptism?
13. What freedom do we gain by being crucified with Christ in water baptism?
14. Why do we say that our old nature is potentially destroyed in water baptism?
15. What do we receive the moment we accept Christ?
16. What is true of the person who is abiding in Christ, even though he or she is imperfect?
17. What happens to the Christian when he dies?
18. What happens to us when we are saved?
19. What is the only way in which a person can enter the Kingdom of God?
20. What is the second area of redemption?
21. What does the term sanctification mean?
22. At what point of salvation have many believers stopped?
23. To what do we die when we first receive Christ?
24. To what are we raised when we first receive Christ?
25. To what do we die when we are sanctified, or as we are being sanctified (for it is a continuing process)?
26. To what are we raised when we are sanctified?
27. Read Romans 8:4.
28. Who predominates in the area of sanctification?
29. What responsibility belongs to the Holy Spirit?
30. What does the Holy Spirit enable us to do?
31. What work is the Holy Spirit performing?
32. Who are the sons of God?
33. Is our sanctification, a definite, ordered program that is being carefully supervised by the Holy Spirit, or is it our more or less conscientious response to various incidents and accidents that befall us in the world?
34. What is Christ revealing to His Bride today?
35. For what event are we to be preparing ourselves?
36. To what do we die in sanctification?
37. From what is the Holy Spirit releasing us?
38. What work commences in the wilderness?
39. What are we learning as we press forward toward maturity in Christ?
40. What battle is being fought in every believer?
41. What is Satan striving to do?
42. What is the Holy Spirit striving to do?
43. Is total victory over Satan possible?
44. What takes place in the spirit realm when a Christian gains victory over a sinful behavior?
45. How is each member of the Body of Christ to live?
46. Who is enabling us to overcome the world, the devil, and our own flesh and self-will?
47. What is the curriculum of the “school of the wilderness”?
48. What are the two main areas of the Christian life in which the Holy Spirit leads and empowers us?
49. What is included in salvation ?
50. What is stressed in sanctification ?
51. What is included in conquest ?
52. When does victorious living begin?
53. What three elements make total victory possible?
54. What does initial salvation make possible?
55. What is sanctification?
56. What is conquest?
57. On what does total victory depend?
58. What leads to the fullness of resurrection glory?
59. To what do we die, in the third area of redemption?
60. What tool does the Lord use in order to enter our ego and identity?
61. What will happen to us if we allow God to slay our self-will?
62. What is true of all living creatures?
63. Does God ever take away or destroy our will?
64. What does God do to our will?
65. Is it easy to die to the deepest levels of our self-will?
66. To what does death to our self-will bring us?
67. Read Mark 8:35.
68. List some of the flaws in our will that must be corrected if we are to serve in the Presence of God.
69. Read Psalms 19:13.
70. What should a saint not attempt to do?
71. What is spiritual presumption?
72. To what does an uncrucified will lead?
73. What is true of our nature?
74. What must we learn before we can possess the Kingdom of God?
75. What is the result of double-mindedness?
76. What can lead a saint off the track if he is not careful?
77. What must we do before we make any decision, great or small?
78. What trait can prevent us from being an ambassador of Christ?
79. What can happen if we are overly essential of ourselves; if we set our standard so high we cannot meet them; if we will not forgive ourselves for foolish or sinful behavior, after God forgives us?
80. What transition do we make in initial salvation?
81. What transition do we make in sanctification?
82. What transition do we make in conquest?
83. When have we been fully redeemed?
84. What is the final result of total redemption?
85. What means does God use to give us the imputed (ascribed) (assigned) righteousness of initial salvation?
86. How are we released into the liberty of sanctification?
87. How do we gain the ability to choose God’s will over our own will and to be at rest in God’s will?
88. What enables us to abide in the Presence of God?
89. Is death to our self-will accomplished instantly?
90. What is the “third death” (our terminology)?
91. What is the third resurrection?
92. What will be given to each person who will remain faithful to God at the level of conquest?
93. Who is predominant in the first area of redemption?
94. Who is predominant in the second area of redemption?
95. Who is predominant in the third area of redemption?
96. What must we accept in ourselves?
97. What creates the crown of authority in us?
98. From what vantage point will the sons of God be manifested?
99. What is the third question Christ asks each of us?
The First Temptation of Christ
1. Read Luke 4:1-4.
2. What is the first area in which each son of God is tested?
3. What is the second issue?
4. What is the third issue?
5. What is the meaning of the term Israel ?
6. When does Satan speak to us?
7. What is the first problem many people face when the call of God comes to them?
8. What does God know better than we do?
9. What is mankind attempting to prove today?
10. Is the destiny of man fulfilled when he is eating, sleeping, working, playing, and reproducing?
11. Are human beings different in kind from animals?
12. Read Luke 4:4.
13. Who or what is the Tree of Life?
14. What are the members of the Body of Christ becoming?
15. What is true of us if we do not partake of the Life of God?
16. Read John 6:27, 35.
17. When did many of the Jews follow the Lord Jesus?
18. Read John 6:53,54.
19. What is the Lord Jesus Christ?
20. Of whom is Christ the Substance?
21. Of what are we partaking when we eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood?
22. What does the Life of God impart to our spirit, our soul, and—at the coming of the Lord—our body?
23. When will that eternal life be revealed for the world to see?
24. What is true of the individual who has not received the body and blood of the Lord Jesus?
25. What is the concept of the first temptation?
The Second Temptation of Christ
1. Read Luke 4:5-8.
2. Along what three lines is each of us tested?
3. What is the subject matter of the first test?
4. What is the subject matter of the second test?
5. What is the subject matter of the third test?
6. Regarding the three temptations, what is the difference between Christ and us?
7. What did the Divine Nature of Christ cause Him to do?
8. What will the Divine Nature of Christ in the saint cause the saint to do?
9. Who leads us into the wilderness?
10. Who is allowed to test and sift us?
11. What is the concern of the second temptation?
12. Read Luke 4:5.
13. What does the “high mountain” represent?
14. Why were the kingdoms of the world particularly strong and cunning temptation at this time?
15. Where does Satan always set his traps for us?
16. Why was the second temptation suited particularly to Christ?
17. Where do our trials originate?
18. Can Satan give us anything at all?
19. Read Luke 4:6.
20. How do we know the kingdoms of the world are not inherently evil?
21. What is the evil of the kingdoms of the world?
22. To whom do the riches of the world rightfully belong?
23. Did Christ desire the bread, the kingdoms of the world, and to get off the gable?
24. What does Satan attempt to persuade the saint to do?
25. What must we do in order to take a shortcut?
26. What question is raised when we think about taking a shortcut?
27. What three forms of evil abound in the kingdoms of the world?
28. What problem is associated with the achievement of our desires?
29. What tendency exists in human beings?
30. What is true of the “liberty” that the world extols?
31. Read Psalms 2:2,3.
32. What is God’s response to those who decide to rule their circumstances apart from God’s will?
33. How does God regard the person who chooses to gratify himself rather than to seek the Lord?
34. What is God offering to us in the lordship of Christ?
35. What is true of the seeming freedom to gratify our desires that Satan offers?
36. Read James 4:2,3.
37. What was the ruling motive that caused the leaders of Israel to be blind to their Christ and to demand His murder?
38. Read John 12:19.
39. Read Luke 4:7
40. What was the greatest abomination ever to take place in the history of the world?
41. What abomination, though on a lesser scale, happens to you and me each day of our life?
42. How do evil spirits overcome the righteous?
43. What are we doing when we sin?
44. Read I John 3:8.
45. If the Spirit of God brings to our attention which we are engaging in some lustful action, word, or imagination, and we refuse to allow Christ to deliver us and cleanse us, what are we doing?
46. What is true of the individual who commits sin?
47. How can we stop the evil practices, words, and thoughts with which we are occupied?
48. Read I John 3:8.
49. Why was Christ revealed?
50. What is one of the first works of the devil that must be destroyed?
51. When is God worshiped?
52. When is Satan worshiped?
53. Read I John 3:9.
54. What is the meaning of I John 3:9?
55. Read I John 3:10.
56. Who are the children of God?
57. What do we receive when we worship Satan?
58. Read Luke 4:8.
59. How are we to answer when sin (Satan) approaches us?
60. What is the result of righteous decisions?
61. What is the result of sinful decisions?
62. What is true of the individual who is not for Christ?
63. What is the first area of redemption?
64. What is the second area of redemption?
65. What is the subject matter of the second area?
66. What have we termed the third area of redemption?
The Third Temptation of Christ
1. Read Luke 9:13.
2. Where are we brought for the third test?
3. What does “Jerusalem” symbolize?
4. When are we tested rigorously in the third area?
5. What was the pinnacle of the Temple?
6. What was taking place in the Temple, underneath the gable where Jesus had been placed by the devil?
7. What was true of Jesus’ placement on the gable?
8. What happens on occasion to the fervent saint?
9. What could Jesus see from the gable?
10. What else was known to Jesus at this time?
11. What must happen to us before we move forward to God’s plan for our life?
12. When may the test of the pinnacle be administered to us?
13. When the fervent saint who is anxious to serve Jesus is placed on the gable of futility, what does Satan attempt to persuade him or her to do?
14. What is the issue of the gable?
15. What must be true each of our moves and decisions?
16. What must we do in order to discover God’s will for our life?
17. Are there quick, easy ways to find God’s will?
18. What does the world, Satan, and his own self-willed nature challenge the saint to do?
19. Why have the Christian churches through the centuries not faced and overcome the pinnacle temptation?
20. What is the only path to the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion?
21. What must the Christian do, who possesses a gift from God?
22. What often is true of us?
23. What are the apostles and prophets of the twentieth century announcing?
24. What is the power of the Spirit ready to do?
25. What must happen to us before God can trust us with the power of the Kingdom?
26. What did Job become?
27. What was Christ willing to do?
28. Where did Christ remain throughout His ministry?
29. Are there instances when the saint must press forward in faith?
30. What is true when God “shuts us up in prison”?
31. What did Abraham do?
32. What happens every time we jump off the gable before God’s time?
33. Who alone can perform God’s work?
34. To whom is the prophet always subject?
35. Why would God give someone great gifts, and then place him or her in a position of futility?
36. What is God preparing at this time?
37. What does the Book of James instruct us to be?
38. What happened to Joseph in prison?
39. What happened to Joseph when his hour came?
40. What happened to Jesus when His hour came?
41. What is the route to the throne of Christ?
42. What is the cross?
43. How do those to whom we are ministering view the cross?
44. How does God create obedience in our inner being?
45. What is the incorrect response to the trials of our faith?
46. What is the correct response to the trials of our faith?
47. What are being created in us by the heat and pressure that are brought to bear on us?
48. What happens to the saint who faithfully endures God’s prison?
49. Should we pray for release when we are in the Lord’s prison?
50. Does Christ know the grief and frustration we are experiencing?
51. What is God’s promise to you?
52. What is true of the death of obedience to God?
53. What must we keep our eyes fastened on?
54. What will be entrusted to us if we are faithful in small responsibilities and tasks?
55. With what is obedience to God concerned?
56. Are the desires to succeed and to receive recognition sin?
57. Why does Christ interfere with our right to be ourselves?
58. After we have been saved from wrath and delivered from the bondages of sin, what further work of redemption is necessary if the saint would reign in and with Christ?
59. Why was Abraham subjected to the terrible ordeal of having to offer Isaac to the Lord as a sacrifice?
60. What was the purpose for the imprisonment of Joseph; the afflictions of Job; the suffering of Jeremiah; the tribulations of Paul?
61. What is the saint being created?
62. What four questions is the Lord Jesus asking us?
ANSWERS
Foreword
1. According to the Scriptures, how many works of grace are involved in the Christian salvation?
There are three works of grace.
2. Name some of the major types that indicate there are three works of grace.
The three major divisions of the Tabernacle of the Congregation; the three groups of Levitical feasts; the three levels of Noah’s Ark; the three anointings of David; the three temptations of Christ; the three levels of fruitbearing; the three stages of the journey of Israel (Egypt, the wilderness, and Canaan).
3. What expression appears many times in the Scriptures?
“In three days”; “on the third day.”
4. What is the one Source of the entire Christian redemption?
The Lord Jesus Christ.
The Three Temptations of Christ
1. Are the three areas of redemption three separate experiences?
No, they are three aspects of the one salvation.
2. What are we going to present first, in this booklet?
A definition of each of the three areas of redemption.
3. What will be the second subject of discussion?
The three temptations of Christ and how these temptations are related to the three areas of redemption.
4. What name are we giving to the first area of redemption?
Salvation.
Salvation; Sanctification; Conquest
1. What does it mean to be “saved”?
To possess God’s guarantee that when the Day of Wrath comes the believer will not be cast into torment but will be brought forward to the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
2. Who will be saved in the Day of the Lord?
Those who receive Christ by faith and hold that faith throughout life.
3. What is our protection when God passes over the land to judge the gods of the world?
The blood of Jesus.
4. What is the Lake of Fire?
It is a real lake—the dreadful place of eternal torment and separation from the Presence of God.
5. Who will be thrown into the Lake of Fire?
The devil and his angels, and those people who reject the lordship of Christ.
6. On what basis are we permitted entrance into the new heaven and earth reign of Christ?
“He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.”
7. What do we receive immediately when we place our faith in Christ?
Redemption from the guilt, authority, and death of sin.
8. What took place on the cross of Calvary?
Christ bore on Himself the sins of the whole world.
The judgment of God came upon Christ and He was crucified.
In Christ, God brought to an end the first creation.
In Christ, God brought judgment on the evil lords of spiritual darkness and destroyed their authority and power.
God “passed over” His redeemed and smote the gods of the world.
9. What must we do in order to be redeemed from the authority of Satan?
Our part is to accept the atonement by faith.
10. What do we declare when we are baptized in water?
We are willing to die to our first life, to the first creation.
11. What do we establish in water baptism?
Our “old man,” our first personality, is now dead through participation with Christ on the cross of Calvary.
12. What do we leave in the waters of baptism?
Our sinful nature.
13. What freedom do we gain by being crucified with Christ in water baptism?
We are free from all guilt; free to be married to the Lord Jesus Christ.
14. Why do we say our old nature is potentially destroyed in water baptism?
Because the actual destruction of sin and the transformation of our personality into the image of Jesus depends on whether we are willing to work out in the Holy Spirit, by faith, hope and obedience, what God and we declared to be true in our baptism in water.
We declare by our baptism in water that our old personality is crucified and our new born-again inner man is raised with Christ.
Each day of our Christian life we are to look back to our water baptism, remember what we declared to be true at that time, and then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, live in the faith that we are crucified and resurrected.
This is how we overcome the world through faith—faith that our old life died with Christ and our new life is in Christ at the right hand of the Father on high.
15. What do we receive the moment we accept Christ?
Forgiveness.
In addition, we receive the righteousness of Christ applied to our account before God.
God judges us as being righteous even though we have not begun as yet in the processes of redemption that actually transform our deeds, speech, and thinking until we are righteous in behavior.
There are two kinds of righteousness—both of which come to us through Christ.
The first kind of righteousness is termed imputed righteousness.
Imputed (ascribed) righteousness is a legal state in which God judges us as being righteous on the basis that we have received the Righteous One, Christ.
The second kind of righteousness is a developed righteousness, a transformation into the image of Christ.
This also comes from Christ, never from the striving of the flesh of humans.
Developed righteousness comes to us as we receive the Word of God, the body and blood of Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
These three Divine agencies cleanse from us the bondages of sin and self-will so that we grow in grace, that is, grow in the ability to distinguish between good and evil and to embrace the good and resist and reject the evil (Hebrews 5:14).
16. What is true of the person who is abiding in Christ even though he or she is imperfect?
The righteousness of Christ has been imputed (ascribed) to him.
He now is without condemnation.
17. What happens to the Christian when he dies?
He goes to the realms of righteousness, there to await the Day of the Lord.
18. What happens to us when we are saved?
By the atonement made through the blood of the righteous Jesus we are accepted of God.
God’s Holy Spirit takes up His abode in us.
The Spirit of God is eternal life in us, the pledge of the more complete redemption yet to come, which is the giving of eternal life to the mortal body.
All past transgressions are forgiven.
The covering of the Passover blood shields us from the wrath of God.
19. What is the only way in which a person can enter the Kingdom of God?
The only way a man, woman, boy, or girl can enter the Kingdom of God is by being born again.
20. What is the second area of redemption?
Sanctification.
21. What does the term sanctification mean?
Sanctification is a work of God that sets us apart as holy to the Lord.
22. At what point of salvation have many believers stopped?
They have accepted justification by faith.
They have received the Lord Jesus and the load of guilt has been lifted from them.
The Spirit of God has touched their spirit and they have felt the joy and peace of the Divine Life from Heaven.
These Divine blessings are the beginning, the elementary principles of salvation (Hebrews 6:1).
From this point we are to press onward to the fullness of the redemption that is in Christ.
23. To what do we die when we first receive Christ?
The world.
24. To what are we raised when we first receive Christ?
We are raised in Christ to the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
25. To what do we die when we are sanctified, or as we are being sanctified (for it is a continuing process)?
We die to the works of the flesh, to our fleshly nature.
26. To what are we raised when we are sanctified?
The life lived in the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit.
27. Read Romans 8:4.
that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:4)
28. Who predominates in the area of sanctification?
The Holy Spirit.
Christ is emphasized when we pass from death to life.
The Holy Spirit is emphasized while we are being sanctified.
God the Father comes to our attention while we are being taught difficult lessons of obedience.
However, the Church always worships and glorifies Christ.
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and leads us to Christ when we begin the program of salvation.
God the Father is in and through every aspect of our redemption, for we belong to God and are given to Christ by Him.
29. What responsibility belongs to the Holy Spirit?
He leads us, instructs us, and builds us up in preparation for our presentation to the Lord Jesus Christ as the glorious Church without spot or wrinkle.
30. What does the Holy Spirit enable us to do?
The Holy Spirit enables us to live by the Scriptures and to teach others of the Scriptures.
The Holy Spirit leads us as we share with others our personal experiences with Christ.
The Spirit imparts to us gifts and ministries.
Through the anointing of the Spirit, the Word of Christ is confirmed with mighty signs and wonders.
31. What work is the Holy Spirit performing?
The Holy Spirit is forming Christ in us.
He intends to bring us into the image of Christ and into oneness with Christ.
If we will cooperate with the Spirit He will set us apart as holy to the Lord.
32. Who are the sons of God?
Those who are led by the Spirit into righteous, holy, and obedient behavior.
33. Is our sanctification, a definite, ordered program that is being carefully supervised by the Holy Spirit, or is it our more or less conscientious response to various incidents and accidents that happen to us in the world?
Our redemption in this area is as definite, as real, as certain, as our initial step of salvation.
34. What is Christ revealing to His Bride today?
That if we will allow the Holy Spirit to do so, the Spirit will enable us to wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb, becoming sparkling white in the righteous conduct that God requires.
35. For what event are we to be preparing ourselves?
His glorious appearing.
36. To what do we die in sanctification?
The life lived in the impulses of the flesh and mind.
37. From what is the Holy Spirit releasing us?
From the need to continue serving the lusts of the flesh and the eyes.
38. What work commences in the wilderness?
Israel begins to be formed into an army, and also is moving toward maturity as the Servant of the Lord.
39. What are we learning as we press forward toward maturity in Christ?
How to please the Lord and serve Him.
40. What battle is being fought in every believer?
The battle against sin, against the rulers of spiritual darkness.
41. What is Satan striving to do?
Satan is striving to maintain his hold over the conduct of each Christian.
42. What is the Holy Spirit striving to do?
The Holy Spirit in each Christian is striving to bring him or her into deliverance from the spirit of the world, Satan, and the fleshly nature.
43. Is total victory over Satan possible?
God has promised He will deliver the lords of darkness into our hands and that He will make war against them until they have been destroyed completely.
“But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. (Deuteronomy 7:23)
44. What takes place in the spirit realm when a Christian gains victory over a sinful behavior?
When a Christian confesses a sin of deed, of speech, or of thought, and then gains victory over that sin through the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, it is the judgment of Christ on that sinful spirit.
45. How is each member of the Body of Christ to live?
Each member of the Body of Christ is to walk in righteousness, holiness and obedience of deed, word, motive and imagination.
46. Who is enabling us to overcome the world, the devil, and our own flesh and self-will?
The Holy Spirit.
47. What is the curriculum of the “school of the wilderness”?
A long series of lessons in learning how to act, speak, think, fight and minister in the Spirit of God.
We have much to learn about the Person, purpose, will and ways of God.
48. What are the two main areas of the Christian life in which the Holy Spirit leads and empowers us?
When we follow the Spirit of God we receive power to minister and power to bear the fruit of the image of the moral character of Christ.
There are two main elements that must be present in the saint if he or she is to bear an eternal witness of the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
One element is the miraculous manifestation of the Spirit of God in understanding, in power, and in utterance.
The second element is behavior that is in keeping with the example and teachings of the Lord Jesus.
These two elements are the testimony we present to the world.
If either the supernatural manifestation or the righteous and holy behavior is absent, the testimony will be lacking in effectiveness.
Both are necessary and both are the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit alone can bear the eternal witness of the death and resurrection of the Lord.
49. What is included in salvation ?
The gift of the forgiveness of our sins on the basis of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus, and our being “born again” of the Spirit of God.
50. What is stressed in sanctification ?
Living in the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit rather than in the guidance and power of our flesh and blood nature.
51. What is included in conquest ?
Victory over the spirit of the world, victory over our fleshly nature, victory over the accuser himself.
52. When does victorious living begin?
As soon as we are saved, as soon as we receive Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.
53. What three elements make total victory possible?
Victory is made possible for us through the blood of the Lamb, through the testimony the Holy Spirit works in us, and through our willingness to love not our life to the point of death.
54. What does initial salvation make possible?
Initial salvation, receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior, makes it possible for us to start on our journey of sanctification.
55. What is sanctification?
A school; the place in which we make the transition from the life of the sins of the flesh to the life of the Spirit.
56. What is conquest?
The final result, the goal of the first two areas.
In the realm of conquest we enjoy the fruitfulness and dominion promised to the heirs of the Kingdom of God.
57. On what does total victory depend?
Our decision to allow God to slay our will.
58. What leads to the fullness of resurrection glory?
Death to our will.
59. To what do we die, in the third area of redemption?
Our deepest level of self—the origin of our identity as a person.
60. What tool does the Lord use in order to enter our ego and identity?
Suffering.
61. What will happen to us if we allow God to slay our self-will?
We will be raised into the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion in God the Father as one of His eternal servants.
62. What is true of all living creatures?
They have wills of their own.
63. Does God ever take away or destroy our will?
Never.
64. What does God do to our will?
God transforms our will until our will corresponds to His will.
65. Is it easy to die to the deepest levels of our self-will?
It is very difficult to die to the deepest levels of the will, even for the most devout Christian.
66. To what does death to our self-will bring us?
The highest realms of responsibility and service in God.
67. Read Mark 8:35.
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:35)
68. List some of the flaws in our will that must be corrected if we are to serve in the Presence of God.
Presumption, personal ambition, disobedience, double-mindedness, suggestibility, man-pleasing, self-aggrandizement, stubbornness, pride, self-pity, self-destruction, self-preservation.
69. Read Psalms 19:13.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. (Psalms 19:13)
70. What should a saint not attempt to do?
Force spiritual results before the Lord prepares the time and place.
71. What is spiritual presumption?
Spiritual presumption is the attempt to force God to fulfill our desires, often through using “faith” and prayer.
72. To what does an uncrucified will lead?
An uncrucified will leads to tragedy in the house of God.
73. What is true of our nature?
We are by nature deeply, instinctively, disobedient to the will of the Lord.
74. What must we learn before we can possess the Kingdom of God?
Obedience to God.
75. What is the result of double-mindedness?
A double-minded person is unstable in all his ways and can get nowhere at all with God because he cannot make a decision.
76. What can lead a saint off the track if he is not careful?
Suggestion.
77. What must we do before we make any decision, great or small?
Bring each decision into careful prayer before the Lord.
78. What trait can prevent us from being an ambassador of Christ?
The desire to please people.
79. What is the Lord’s attitude toward us if we are overly critical of ourselves; if we set our standards so high we cannot meet them; if we will not forgive ourselves for foolish or sinful behavior after God forgives us?
Self-pity or over-harsh criticism of ourselves are not pleasing to the Lord and have no place in the Kingdom of God.
80. What transition do we make in initial salvation?
We pass from spiritual death to spiritual life in the Presence of God.
81. What transition do we make in sanctification?
We pass from sinful behavior to holy behavior.
82. What transition do we make in conquest?
From being governed by self-will to being governed by the Lord’s will.
83. When have we been fully redeemed?
As soon as we have perfect life in body, soul and spirit; perfect liberty in body, soul and spirit; and perfect will in body, soul and spirit.
84. What is the final result of total redemption?
Our acceptance by the Lord and our rest in Him.
85. What means does God use to give us the imputed (ascribed) righteousness of initial salvation?
The blood of Jesus.
86. How are we released into the liberty of sanctification?
Through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.
87. How do we gain the ability to choose God’s will over our own will and to be at rest in God’s will?
Through fellowship with Christ’s Glory and His suffering.
We overcome by loving not our lives to the death.
This is the path to the throne of Christ.
88. What enables us to abide in the Presence of God?
Our willingness to allow the grace of God to work redemption in us.
89. Is death to our self-will accomplished instantly?
The third death (death to the human will) requires a period of time for its accomplishment.
90. What is the “third death” (our terminology)?
A protracted death to our willingness to accomplish our desires without seeking the will of God.
91. What is the third resurrection?
The third resurrection is a protracted resurrection into rulership with Christ and restful service to Him in our land of promise.
92. What will be given to each person who will remain faithful to God at the level of conquest?
The fullness of the inheritance of Christ.
93. Who is predominant in the first area of redemption?
The Lord Jesus.
94. Who is predominant in the second area of redemption?
The Holy Spirit.
95. Who is predominant in the third area of redemption?
The Father—obedience to Him.
96. What must we accept in ourselves?
The sentence of death.
97. What creates the crown of authority in us?
Our personal cross.
98. From what vantage point will the sons of God be manifested?
Death to self.
99. What is the third question Christ asks each of us?
“Will you lose your life for My sake and the Gospel’s?”
The First Temptation of Christ
1. Read Luke 4:1-4.
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” (Luke 4:1-4)
2. What is the first area in which each son of God is tested?
Physical survival, and security and comfort on the earth.
3. What is the second issue?
Enjoying the sinful pleasures of the kingdoms of the world, as opposed to denying the flesh and spending time in prayer and the study of the Word of God.
4. What is the third issue?
Steadfast obedience to the Father.
5. What is the meaning of the term Israel ?
He struggles with God.
6. When does Satan speak to us?
When we are weak.
7. What is the first problem many people face when the call of God comes to them?
The “bread” question.
8. What does God know better than we do?
That everyone must eat, everyone must be clothed, everyone must provide for his family.
9. What is mankind attempting to prove today?
That man is an animal whose business in life is that of working, eating, playing, sleeping, and reproducing.
10. Is the destiny of man fulfilled when he is eating, sleeping, working, playing, and reproducing?
No.
11. Are human beings different in kind from animals?
Yes.
12. Read Luke 4:4.
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” (Luke 4:4)
13. Who or what is the Tree of Life?
The Lord Jesus Christ.
14. What are the members of the Body of Christ becoming?
“Life-giving spirits.”
15. What is true of us if we do not partake of the Life of God?
We are as an animal that is born on the earth, exists on the earth, and returns to the dust of the ground.
16. Read John 6:27, 35.
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” (John 6:27)
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)
17. When did many of the Jews follow the Lord Jesus?
When they realized He possessed the power to multiply loaves and fish.
18. Read John 6:53,54.
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:53,54)
19. What is the Lord Jesus Christ?
The Word of God made flesh.
20. Of whom is Christ the Substance?
He is the Substance of God Almighty.
21. Of what are we partaking when we eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood?
The Life of God.
22. What does the Life of God impart to our spirit, our soul, and—at the coming of the Lord—our body?
Eternal life.
23. When will that eternal life be revealed for the world to see?
At the appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
24. What is true of the individual who has not received the body and blood of the Lord Jesus?
He or she is spiritually dead.
25. What is the concept of the first temptation?
Survival.
The Second Temptation of Christ
1. Read Luke 4:5-8.
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
“Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Luke 4:5-8)
2. Along what three lines is each of us tested?
Trusting God for our survival; the lusts of the flesh; willful behavior.
3. What is the subject matter of the first test?
Our attitude toward life itself—that which is necessary for our well-being and what is not necessary.
4. What is the subject matter of the second test?
To whom we give our love.
5. What is the subject matter of the third test?
Our identity as a self-centered personality and our desire to exalt ourselves.
6. Regarding the three temptations, what is the difference between Christ and us?
Christ was not born with a sinful nature; also, He is filled with the Spirit of God without measure.
7. What did the Divine Nature of Christ cause Him to do?
The Divine Nature of Christ, communicated in the words of Scripture, rejected Satan’s counsel in the realm of survival, in the realm of Satan-worship, and in the realm of willful behavior.
8. What will the Divine Nature of Christ in the saint cause the saint to do?
Reject Satan’s counsel in the realm of survival, in the realm of Satan-worship, and in the realm of willful behavior.
The three temptations have to do with what is God-given, what is lawful.
- Man has a God-given desire for survival.
- Man has a God-given desire to offer worship—to love and to be loved.
- Man has a God-given desire to exert dominion and to multiply his image.
It is not the subject matter of the three tests that is at issue, it is the manner in which we satisfy the three God-given needs and desires.
We can satisfy them by taking matters in our own hands and wresting them from our environment.
But we must sin and reject God’s rule in order to do so.
Or we can satisfy them by committing our needs and desires to the Lord God of Heaven, trusting Him to gives us our needs, our joy, and the achievement of our true destiny.
The first route leads to destruction in the world and the Lake of Fire in the world to come.
The second route is slow, often painful, complex, full of perplexity, demanding great patience.
But it leads to perfect fulfillment of each of the three areas, and—infinitely more valuable—the possession of God Himself in Christ.
9. Who leads us into the wilderness?
The Holy Spirit.
10. Who is allowed to test and sift us?
Satan.
11. What is the concern of the second temptation?
Conquering sin.
12. Read Luke 4:5.
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. (Luke 4:5)
13. What does the “high mountain” represent?
Dominion over the kingdoms of the world.
Today such dominion includes places of prestige, of fame, of status, of popularity, of pride and vanity, of soulish romanticism and exaltation, of living according to the lusts and impulses of our sinful nature.
14. Why were the kingdoms of the world particularly strong and cunning temptation at this time?
Because of the contrast with the bleak surroundings of the wilderness area in which the test was being administered.
15. Where does Satan always set his traps for us?
Where we are most likely to fall into them.
16. Why was the second temptation suited particularly to Christ?
Because He is a king by Nature and inheritance.
17. Where do our trials originate?
In the realm of spirits.
18. Can Satan give us anything at all?
Only as God permits.
19. Read Luke 4:6.
And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. (Luke 4:6)
20. How do we know the kingdoms of the world are not inherently evil?
If the kingdoms of the world were inherently evil, God would not give them to Christ for His inheritance.
21. What is the evil of the kingdoms of the world?
The sin and rebellion against God that Satan has introduced into them.
22. To whom do the riches of the world rightfully belong?
The Lord Jesus Christ.
23. Did Christ desire the bread, the kingdoms of the world, and to get off the gable?
Yes.
24. What does Satan attempt to persuade the saint to do?
To take a shortcut to his inheritance.
25. What must we do in order to take a shortcut?
Plunge ahead without waiting for God to move.
26. What question is raised when we think about taking a shortcut?
Will we be faithful to God or will we esteem our desires above pleasing God?
27. What three forms of evil abound in the kingdoms of the world?
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
28. What problem is associated with the achievement of our desires?
How we go about getting what we want.
29. What tendency exists in human beings?
The desire to be free to take from the world the things that appeal to us, that we covet.
30. What is true of the “liberty” that the world extols?
It is slavery.
31. Read Psalms 2:2,3.
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” (Psalms 2:2,3)
32. What is God’s response to those who decide to rule their circumstances apart from God’s will?
God laughs in derision.
33. How does God regard the person who chooses to gratify himself rather than to seek the Lord?
As being foolish and shortsighted.
34. What is God offering to us in the lordship of Christ?
The only true freedom.
35. What is true of the seeming freedom to gratify our desires that Satan offers?
It is a delusion and a snare—a horrible pit filled with piercing torments and eternal agony and remorse.
36. Read James 4:2,3.
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:2,3)
37. What was the ruling motive that caused the leaders of Israel to be blind to their Christ and to demand His murder?
Envy.
38. Read John 12:19.
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” (John 12:19)
39. Read Luke 4:7.
“Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be Yours.” (Luke 4:7)
40. What was the greatest abomination ever to take place in the history of the world?
Satan standing before God’s Christ and asking for His worship.
41. What abomination, though on a lesser scale, happens to you and me each day of our life?
Satan stands before us and invites our worship.
42. How do evil spirits overcome the righteous?
By the boldness of their suggestions and demands.
43. What are we doing when we sin?
Worshiping Satan?
44. Read I John 3:8.
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8)
45. If the Spirit of God brings to our attention that we are engaging in some lustful action, word, or imagination, and we refuse to allow Christ to deliver us and cleanse us, what are we doing?
We are choosing Satan over God.
46. What is true of the individual who commits sin?
He is the servant of the sin he is committing.
47. How can we stop the evil practices, words, and thoughts with which we are occupied?
By the wisdom and enabling power of the Spirit of God.
48. Read I John 3:8.
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8)
49. Why was Christ revealed?
In order to destroy the works of the devil.
50. What is one of the first works of the devil that must be destroyed?
The sinning that keeps Christian believers from fellowshiping with God.
51. When is God worshiped?
When we do the things that please Him.
52. When is Satan worshiped?
When we do the things that please him.
53. Read I John 3:9.
Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. (I John 3:9)
54. What is the meaning of I John 3:9?
The verse means that sin is of Satan, not of God.
As long as we continue sinning, no matter how firmly we profess to be a Christian, we are not serving God in the questionable area but are serving the devil.
55. Read I John 3:10.
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (I John 3:10)
56. Who are the children of God?
Those who resist the devil and practice righteousness.
57. What do we receive when we worship Satan?
Remorse, grief, broken health, the destruction of those who were trusting in us, early physical death, eternal separation from God, and everlasting torment in the Lake of Fire.
58. Read Luke 4:8.
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Luke 4:8)
59. How are we to answer when sin (Satan) approaches us?
“Get behind me, Satan, for I am a servant of Christ.
I choose to serve Him and to resist the deeds, words, motives and imaginations that the Word of God declares to be unholy and against God’s will.”
60. What is the result of righteous decisions?
Our decisions for righteousness will prove to be the source of deliverance and blessing for multitudes of people—perhaps many of them yet unborn.
61. What is the result of sinful decisions?
If we decide to yield to Satan our decisions may become the source of agony and death to the same multitude.
62. What is true of the individual who is not for Christ?
He who is not for Christ is against Him.
He who gathers not with Christ, scatters.
There is no middle ground.
63. What is the first area of redemption?
Initial salvation.
64. What is the second area of redemption?
Sanctification.
65. What is the subject matter of the second area?
The worship of Satan versus the worship of God.
Are our actions, our words, and our motives and imaginations holy or unholy? Are they part of God’s Person or not part of God’s Person?
66. What have we termed the third area of redemption?
Conquest.
It is the test of the gable.
The Third Temptation of Christ
1. Read Luke 4:9-13.
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle [gable, edge] of the temple, and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
“For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’
“and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:9-13)
2. Where are we brought for the third test?
To Jerusalem.
3. What does “Jerusalem” symbolize?
The arena of religious activity.
4. When are we tested rigorously in the third area?
After we have had some experience as a Christian.
5. What was the pinnacle of the Temple?
The pinnacle of the Temple was a wing or gable, perhaps on the southeast corner of the Temple overlooking the Kidron Valley.
6. What was taking place in the Temple, underneath the gable where Jesus had been placed by the devil?
The Mosaic ordinances were being conducted beneath Him in the Temple according to the statutes He Himself—the Lord of Glory—had given Moses on Mount Sinai.
The priests, scribes, and Pharisees were busily engaged in the daily tasks and responsibilities of the service of God in the Temple, while the Lord whom they were supposed to be worshiping sat up on the gable.
7. What was true of Jesus’ placement on the gable?
It was a foolish, futile, ridiculous, dangerous place to be.
8. What happens on occasion to the fervent saint?
He is removed from the place of glorious revelation and service and is thrown into the prison of weakness and futility.
9. What could Jesus see from the gable?
The horizon, symbolizing the scope of God’s plan for the redemption of the earth—the release from slavery of earth’s prisoners.
10. What else was known to Jesus at this time?
That in the Temple below Him were the priests observing sacraments and rituals He understood better than anyone else—He being the Author and the perfect fulfillment of them all.
11. What must happen to us before we move forward to God’s plan for our life?
We must have our pinnacle experience.
We must be brought to the place of uselessness and helplessness.
12. When may the test of the pinnacle be administered to us?
After we have the vision of the needs of the world and God’s plan to meet those needs; and have also the understanding of what the Lord will perform in the Church.
13. When the fervent saint who is anxious to serve Jesus is placed on the gable of futility, what does Satan attempt to persuade him or her to do?
To jump off; to move ahead of God.
14. What is the issue of the gable?
Will we remain perched on the pinnacle of futility until God brings us down?
15. What must be true of each of our moves and decisions?
Each must be accompanied by prayerful attention to the mind of the Spirit.
Also, we must examine the actual results of what we are doing.
16. What must we do in order to discover God’s will for our life?
We must present our body a living sacrifice in consecration in order to prove the will of God.
17. Are there quick, easy ways to find God’s will?
No.
18. What does the world, Satan, and his own self-willed nature challenge the saint to do?
To do something, to come down from the pinnacle, down from the cross.
19. Why have the Christian churches through the centuries not faced and overcome the pinnacle temptation?
Perhaps it is because the motivation of each denomination is to get to work and “do something for the Kingdom of God.”
20. What is the only path to the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion?
By way of the pinnacle.
21. What must the Christian do who possesses a gift from God?
Avoid all pressures that would attempt to ignore the will of the Spirit as to how and when to use the gift.
22. What often is true of us?
We desire to use the Lord Jesus in a manner tailored to our fancies.
We are never to use God’s eternal love as a means of accomplishing our ends.
God loves us and we love Him.
We are the expression of His Being.
We flow in the Divine will and purposes.
To attempt to wrench this relationship so that the Lord is (we think) hopping around to do our bidding, while we are adoring our idols of people and things, is to miss God’s will and lose His Presence.
23. What are the apostles and prophets of the twenty-first century announcing?
The coming of the Kingdom of God.
24. What is the power of the Spirit ready to do?
To anoint the members of the Body of Christ with power so they may reveal the Kingdom of God and call all people everywhere to repentance in preparation for the Day of the Lord that is at hand.
25. What must happen to us before God can trust us with the power of the Kingdom?
We first must be willing to allow God to bring us down to helplessness and barrenness, weakness and futility.
26. What did Job become?
An object of derision and disgust to all who had once trembled at his presence
27. What was Christ willing to do?
To become nothing, to do nothing.
He emptied Himself of His Divine Glory and became a servant.
He waited helplessly on God for all things.
28. Where did Christ remain throughout His ministry?
On the cross, on the pinnacle of helplessness, coming down to act only in the perfect timing of the Father.
29. Are there instances when the saint must press forward in faith?
Yes.
30. What is true when God “shuts us up in prison”?
We cannot come out without breaking God’s laws.
31. What did Abraham do?
Abraham jumped off the pinnacle, so to speak.
Ishmael was the result.
32. What happens every time we jump off the gable before God’s time?
“Ishmael,” the enemy of God’s people, always results from our jumping off the pinnacle before the Lord’s time.
33. Who alone can perform God’s work?
God Himself.
34. To whom is the prophet always subject?
The Spirit of God.
35. Why would God give someone great gifts, and then place him or her in a position of futility?
Because God is more interested in the spiritual maturity of His servants, in their obedience to Himself, than He is in their works.
36. What is God preparing at this time?
God is preparing kings and priests who will rule and serve God throughout eternity.
37. What does the Book of James instruct us to be?
Charitable and practical.
38. What happened to Joseph in prison?
The Word of the Lord tested him.
39. What happened to Joseph when his hour came?
He was released and placed in charge of the land of Egypt, the land of his imprisonment.
40. What happened to Jesus when His hour came?
He was released from the pinnacle and brought into His ministry in the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit.
41. What is the route to the throne of Christ?
The throne of Christ and the glory and joy thereof can be reached only by way of the pinnacle—the cross.
42. What is the cross?
The cross is death to ourselves, to our way of doing, our impulses, our enthusiasms, our timing, our understanding, our eagerness to help God and people.
43. How do those to whom we are ministering view the cross?
The cross is seen as weakness, defeat, shame, disgrace.
44. How does God create obedience in our inner being?
By taking from us many relationships, things and circumstances that we embrace, and by delaying the gratification of our most fervent desires, the answers to our most fervent prayers.
45. What is the incorrect response to the trials of our faith?
We may lapse into bitterness, blaming people or even God!
46. What is the correct response to the trials of our faith?
Praising God, trusting in His Word and giving Him glory for the relief we hope and believe will come our way in His time.
47. What are being created in us by the heat and pressure that are brought to bear on us?
Precious jewels of patience, faith, courage, and obedience.
48. What happens to the saint who faithfully endures God’s prison?
He is brought into a larger place with God.
49. Should we pray for release when we are in the Lord’s prison?
Yes! Continue praying to God for everything you need and desire.
Never, never, never give up.
Your answer shall come!
The afflicted saint should pray (James 5:13) and keep his future bright with the promises of God.
There is an end to your tunnel.
Remain faithful to God and you will receive the desires of your heart.
The Scripture cannot be broken.
If we do not pray for release and fulfillment we will lapse into passivity and may accept many pains that are not necessary.
This is not healthy spiritually or mentally.
Jesus instructed us to ask so we may receive and possess fullness of joy.
Let us pray for the desires of our heart, giving thanks to God continually.
Paul had learned to glory in his infirmities.
We can do this when the power of Christ is resting on us and we then can observe the relationship between our weaknesses and the abundant fruit being produced.
Nevertheless, the afflicted saint should hold his desire for better days fervently before the Lord while he is faithfully and diligently working at the tasks set before him.
50. Does Christ know the grief and frustration we are experiencing?
Yes.
51. What is God’s promise to you?
He who upholds the heavens and the earth and all who dwell therein will make certain that you emerge in victory over all your enemies.
You will receive the desires of your heart.
Your prison doors will open by the Lord’s hand.
There shall come an end to the refining and testing.
Just remember that—there shall come an end to your misery!
The experience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego reveal that we will lose nothing in the furnace of affliction except our bonds.
52. What is true of the death of obedience to God?
The deeper the death of obedience the higher will be the ascension into the Glory of the Lord.
53. What must we keep our eyes fastened on?
The reward ahead of us.
54. What will be entrusted to us if we are faithful in small responsibilities and tasks?
Greater responsibilities and tasks.
55. What problem is associated with obedience to God?
Obedience to God in the inner being of the believer is more of a problem with self-will than it is with the bondages of sin.
In the process of sanctification, the Holy Spirit leads us to put to death the deeds of the flesh—lust, murder, covetousness, idolatry, occult practices, stealing, lying, and all the other manifestations of the nature of evil, unclean spirits.
Obedience, on the other hand, has more to do with our desire to be ourselves, to be noticed, to succeed, to receive honor, to achieve, to have our own way.
56. Are the desires to succeed and to receive recognition sin?
No.
57. Why does Christ interfere with our right to be ourselves?
The children of Adam are not able to perform the high roles to which God has called them.
Only children of God can fulfill these callings.
Therefore our first, adamic nature must die so the new Divine nature that has been placed in us can come to maturity and participate in the high calling of the Kingdom of God.
58. After we have been saved from wrath and delivered from the bondages of sin, what further work of redemption is necessary if the saint would reign in and with Christ?
The re-creating of his entire personality.
All that he is must be broken to powder and pounded into the essence of Christ.
We are being made part of God Himself through marriage to God’s Son.
59. Why was Abraham subjected to the terrible ordeal of having to offer Isaac to the Lord as a sacrifice?
Because of his incalculable inheritance of fruitfulness and strength.
60. What was the purpose for the imprisonment of Joseph; the afflictions of Job; the suffering of Jeremiah; the tribulations of Paul?
That God may build His holy dwelling place, that the resurrection Life of Christ may replace the mind and strength of flesh and blood.
61. What is the saint being created?
The purified expression of single-minded obedience to the Father.
He or she is the flesh being made the Word of God, the shining of the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
62. What four questions is the Lord Jesus asking us?
- “Will you believe in Me and be saved?”
- “Will you follow the Holy Spirit in ministry and in holy living?”
- “Will you be sternly obedient to the Father?”
- “Will you become nothing so I may become everything in your life?”
What are your answers to His questions?
(“A Study Guide For the Three Temptations of Christ”, 3989-1)