THE GOD-MAN LIVING

MESSAGE FOUR

THE FIRST GOD-MAN’S LIVING
FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS

(2)

Scripture Reading: Matt. 3:13-17; 21:32; John 1:14; Rom. 1:3-4; 8:3; Matt. 12:17-19; Heb. 1:9; Matt. 4:1-11

OUTLINE

4. In His ministry:
   1. The commencement of the first God-man’s ministry for the accomplishing of God’s eternal economy:
      1. Through His baptism by John the Baptist—Matt. 3:13-17:
         1. To fulfill the righteousness according to the way of righteousness brought in by John—v. 15; 21:32.
         2. Recognizing that, according to His flesh (His humanity—John 1:14; Rom. 1:3; 8:3), He was good for nothing but death and burial.
      2. By God the Father’s anointing—vv. 16b-17:
         1. In opening the heavens, indicating that the significance of His baptism was accepted and sealed by the heavens.
         2. In sending His Spirit to descend upon Him, indicating that the Triune God would be one with Him as the source, supply, power, and authority of His ministry.
         3. Declaring to the whole universe, particularly to the angels, that according to the Spirit of holiness (His divinity—Rom. 1:4) He is the Son of God, the Beloved of the Father, in whom is the Father’s delight.
         4. Based upon the Father’s choosing—Matt. 12:17-19.
         5. Because of His loving of righteousness and hating of lawlessness—Heb. 1:9.
   2. His temptations:
      1. At the beginning of His ministry—Matt. 4:1-11:
         1. A temptation under the leading of the Holy Spirit of God arranged by God for the God-man to be tested before His assuming of His ministry—v. 1a.
         2. The temptation of the devil—vv. 1b-10:
            1. 1) The devil, based upon God the Father’s saying in His anointing to the God-man that He was God’s beloved Son, tempted Him to make a show of Himself being the Son of God for His self-exaltation and self-glorification and to do a miracle to bid the stones to become loaves of bread for His hunger, but the God-man defeated him by not making a show of Himself and not caring for the loaves of bread but for every word of God—vv. 3-4.
            2. 2) Again, the devil, based upon God the Father’s saying that the God-man was His beloved Son, tempted the God-man to jump from the wing of the temple so that God would command His angels to bear Him up, but the God-man overcame him by telling him that it is written, “You shall not test the Lord your God”—vv. 5-7.
            3. 3) The devil took the God-man to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said to Him, “All these will I give You if You will fall down and worship me,” but the God-man conquered him by not loving the worldly kingdoms and their glory and saying to the devil, “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve’”—vv. 8-10.
         3. It was under the leading of the Spirit of God that the first God-man was brought to be tempted by the devil for His test. With the devil, the enemy of God, that temptation was a temptation, but with God, it was a test, and the test became a battle between Satan and God concerning the accomplishment of God’s eternal economy. Knowing that God wanted to destroy him by the man, in his flesh, that is, in his humanity, whom he had poisoned and spoiled, Satan took the strategy of tempting the first God-man to assume that He was the Son of God, standing far off from the position of His humanity. Knowing this, the first God-man fought back by saying “man” (v. 4), holding fast the standing of His being a man. This defeated Satan’s subtle strategy! Furthermore, in the God-man’s second and third fighting back, His answers, “You shall not test the Lord your God” and “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (vv. 7, 10), all were His strongest emphasis that He was a man, a creature of God, dealing with Satan, another creature of God, to take the strongest stand with God for God’s glory.
         4. The God-man’s defeating of the tempter’s initial temptation equals His passing of God’s test and qualifies Him to be God’s Anointed, Messiah, and Christ for God’s economy.
         5. In this initial warfare Satan’s intention was to destroy the One anointed by God for His economy. But he lost the war and left that battleground in shame before the angels of God—v. 11a.
         6. In this initial fighting for God’s economy, the first God-man won the war for the glory of God, and the angels of God came triumphantly and ministered to the God-man, taking care of His forty-day fasting hunger— v. 11b.