In the previous message, we saw the definitions of the way of righteousness and the proper and righteous base of Jesus’ baptism. Jesus received the baptism by John the Baptist, standing on the base of realizing that He was a man in the flesh. Of course, Jesus had no sin. Romans 8:3 says that He was in the likeness of the flesh of sin, but He was still in the flesh, which in the eyes of God is altogether condemned, rejected, and worthy only of death and burial. Jesus stood on this base to receive the baptism from John.
Before the Lord Jesus began to do anything for His ministry, the first thing He did was to come to John to receive such a baptism to declare to the whole universe that He did not depend at all upon the flesh for God’s ministry. We all have to see this. No one should bring anything of his natural life, anything of his flesh, into God’s ministry. Especially the co-workers and elders need to realize that as a natural man in the flesh, we are good for nothing except death and burial. We need to have ourselves absolutely terminated in the water of baptism. This is the intrinsic significance of the base of Jesus’ baptism. I hope also that all the full-time trainees, spiritually speaking, have accepted such a baptism. We all should declare in our life and work: “I am a person in the flesh, worthy of nothing in the eyes of God but death and burial; so I want to have myself terminated, crucified and buried.”
In this message we want to go on to see three definitions covering the three sections of the enemy’s one temptation of the first God-man.
Jesus was led to fast for forty days. After the forty days, He was hungry. Then the tempter, Satan, said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, speak that these stones may become loaves of bread” (Matt. 4:3). It was as if Satan were saying to Jesus, “God appointed You and declared that You were His beloved Son, the Son of God, when You were standing in the waters of baptism. If You are such a Son of God, give the word for these stones to become loaves of bread.”
I believe we would have failed such a test. We would have performed a miracle to display to everyone that we are the sons of God. But if the Lord had done this, it would have been against the base of His baptism. He came to the wilderness to be tempted as a man, not as the Son of God. The Son of God is just God Himself. Who can tempt God? Jesus was a man in the wilderness. As God Himself, could He be hungry? With God there is no hunger, but as a man Jesus was hungry. Satan’s stratagem was to tempt Jesus to ignore His standing as a man and to assume His position as the Son of God. So the Lord answered him by saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God’” (v. 4). He defeated the enemy by His standing as a man.
In His anointing the first God-man, God declared that He was His beloved Son (Matt. 3:17). Based upon God’s declaration that the first God-man was His beloved Son, the devil exercised his first stratagem, tempting the first God-man to ignore that He was a man. But the first God-man defeated His tempter by standing firmly in His position of a man and answering him by saying, “Man shall not live...,” insisting to indicate that He was a man.
Now we need to consider the application of the devil’s first stratagem to our own situation. When some co-workers visit another place, they may expect that the elders there will welcome them as the top co-workers in the recovery and ask them to give a message. What would we do in such a situation? Would we accept this invitation or stand on the base that we are men in the flesh? We should have the attitude that we have nothing good and are worthy only of death and burial. Suppose we take the chance to speak and speak successfully. Then we could declare, “I am a real son of God.” Is this what we should stand on? We should stand on the base that we are men in the flesh. What we have is not worth anything in the eyes of God except death and burial.
After passing through two years of training, the full-time trainees may feel that they are special when they return to their localities. Perhaps they expect that everyone will come out in a parade to welcome them back. Even the elders may feel this way because they are so natural. They would announce to the congregation that a certain trainee has returned, and they would ask him to give a message. The returning trainee may feel that this is his golden opportunity to show that he is a son of God. In principle this is the same as Satan’s temptation of the Lord to make the stones loaves of bread.
On the other hand, if a trainee returns to his locality and nobody pays any attention to him, he may be disappointed and not know what to do or where to go. Where should you go? Go to the water to die and be buried there. Such a temptation is a test. The Greek word is the same for both temptation and test. With God it is a test; with the enemy it is a temptation. When we pass through the temptation of the enemy, we pass through the test of God to be approved by God. The first stratagem of the enemy is to annul our proper standing and encourage us to assume a higher standing. Some sisters may become jealous of others who receive more amens than they do in response to their prayer. This means that they need another burial. We all need to realize that in our flesh we are worthy of nothing except death and burial.