GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
GBIBLE.ORG
ROBERT MCLAUGHLIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
PASTOR ROBERT R. MCLAUGHLIN
05/1/2022

KENOSIS Part 12

We have been noting the evidence testing of our Lord and how:

The three parts of His evidence testing challenged His relationship to:

1. The Holy Spirit; (MAT 4:1-4.
2. The Word of God; (MAT 4:5-7).
3. The plan of God; (MAT 4:8-10).

He passed the first test which was to use the Word of God as His divine solution to the temptations of Satan.

Matthew 4 records the evidence testing of our Lord, which was the first event in His public ministry.

This means that:

At the outset of His public ministry, He was immediately taken into the desert, alone, to face evidence testing.
We have already covered the first three verses and we are now ready to complete our Lord’s answer to His first Temptation.

For in MAT 4:1 we read Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

MAT 4:2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

MAT 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God [and you are], command that these stones become bread."

Satan recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Satan is the leader of the fallen angels and they have already fought in eternity and lost, so Satan recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God but obviously it does not save him.

He is already in his category for eternity where He lost his rebellion against God which was originally why the eternal lake of fire had to: MAT 25:41.

Since we are in the Gospel of Matthew, look at MAT 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

He has had his chance and he is out of the picture now, but it should be noticed that the devil and his angels will end up in the eternal lake of fire.

Turn to REV 20:7 And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,

REV 20:8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.

REV 20:9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

REV 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Satan recognizes that if he can get Jesus to turn stones into bread, even though He is deity [the Son of God], He can act independently of the Holy Spirit.

As we have noted, Satan learned the lesson quickly, Jesus cannot be bought for any price.

Notice that gall of Satan when he actually commands our Lord to do what he says.

So, I will give you eight points on this first temptation:

1. Jesus is hungry and He has the power to turn stones into bread which would be very simple for the Son of God to do.

2. To turn stones into bread would mean depending upon His own volition and upon His own divine power rather than the power of the indwelling Spirit and the volition and plan of the Father.

This is a point that you and I can really learn from: Will it be “My will” or “Thy will” be done.

3. The relationship of the humanity of Jesus to the indwelling Holy Spirit is under a test but not a Temptation.

The test is our Lord’s relationship with the Holy Spirit whereas the temptations are from the devil.

4. Jesus is being tempted to obtain a lawful thing in an unlawful way — apart from the power of the Spirit.

The lawful thing is the Word of God that the devil used to tempt our Lord whereas the unlawful thing is to pervert the word, misquote or add to it.

5. Jesus is being tempted as to the sufficiency of the grace of the Father for daily needs. We face the same issue today.

The Father’s provision is grace.

The issue is always grace versus legalism.

6. Would Jesus provide food for Himself by turning stones into bread or can He wait for the Father to provide all His needs.

He knows that the Father’s purpose for Him is to go to the cross and even though He has gone without food for forty days he knows that He will not die of starvation.

The point is does He have the patience to wait for the Father’s plan to operate or is He going to jump out ahead and not wait upon the Lord?
Our Lord knew such passages as PSA 25:4-5 Make me know Thy ways, O Lord; Teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation; For Thee I wait all the day.

He knew passages like:

PSA 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for Thee.

He knew passages like:

PSA 27:14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

Or especially:

PSA 37:7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Issue to us:

Do we have the patience to wait for the Father’s plan to develop in our lives or do we jump out ahead of it?

7. This introduces the faith-rest issue: Are we going to “trust” the Father or are we going to “do it” ourselves?

Simple but profound.

And finally, the eighth point:

8. The Father will not permit the humanity of Christ to starve to death because GEN 3:15 and ISA 53 and all of the Levitical offerings tells is how the Savior would die.

Now, our Lord Jesus Christ knows the Old Testament.

He has been fasting, which means He has been thinking about the Old Testament scriptures, and He knows that there is no scripture that says that Messiah will starve to death; GEN 3:15.

Will He believe it or not?
Our Lord believed this and that is why He gave the first answer that He did in MAT 4:4.

And this has tremendous application to us:

All that it requires on our part is the operation of the faith-rest technique and we can have a life of perfect peace and blessing in the midst of the pressures and testing’s and trials of life.

There is no command for you to fall apart through anxiety.

This leads us to our Lord’s answer in verse 4

MAT 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

“He answered” is an aorist active participle, and when you put them together you have an idiom which means He told Satan off.

He not only gave him an answer but He gave him a dogmatic answer, an answer which couldn’t have had greater power behind it.

He simply gave him scripture.

For forty days, He had been living on the Word and now He is ready for the devil.

Our Lord knew Deuteronomy because He quotes from Deuteronomy and:

He gave Satan a dogmatic answer from DEU 6:16: “It is written” = perfect tense, it is written in the past with the result that it goes on forever.

1PE 1:25 But the word of the Lord abides forever.

Now,…..

Some of you may be wondering how did our Lord know this passage if it hadn’t been written yet by Peter?
The answer to that is that Peter was actually quoting from the Old Testament in:

ISA 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

The passive voice of the verb “it is written,” means that the Bible receives writing from men as the thought content of the Bible comes from God and to us as the mind of Christ; 1CO 2:16.

Prin: Victory always comes through the Word.

The Word is the object of the faith-rest technique in our passage.

The Word is the basis for true spirituality for the Word teaches us to rebound and to live in the Word of God, which is maximum knowledge of doctrine and occupation with Christ.

If you do not know the Word, you do not know Christ.
“Man shall not live by bread alone”
Remember that:

Deuteronomy is the book that describes the walk of the people in the land. “Man shall not live” indicates that it takes more than mere survival to be alive, and to be truly alive is to be alive unto God.

Our life relationship with God on this earth is through the indwelling Spirit.

When Jesus Christ set up the pattern, He had the indwelling Spirit, the filling of the Spirit, and consequently He indicated that just having food, shelter and clothing and the necessities of life isn’t living.

Man does not truly live apart from relationship to God, and so, man is not going to live by bread alone.

The word “alone” means that real life is more than just eating and drinking in the natural realm because it can lead us to the spiritual food of knowing God.

You must have the logistics because you must also eat to survive.

However, as we have seen:

Relationship with the Lord must come first.

Food is necessary to sustain physical life, but the sustaining of physical life is meaningless without spiritual life.

Therefore, here are five principles on the differences between physical and spiritual food.

1. Bread or physical food is necessary for physical life but bread is a mere detail in man’s dependence upon God.

2. It isn’t “the food” but the “promise” which guarantees the food that counts.

3. While bread is necessary to sustain life it is a mere detail of life for survival.
4. What really sustains the believer is the promises of the Word because food and shelter though it can be taken away from us in a moment of time, we always have the promises of God.

However,

5. When the time of testing comes it isn’t what is in the Bible that counts, it is what you have taken out of the Bible and transferred into your frontal lobe that counts; both in the mind and the heart.

And…..

This goes with an anagram we use called “Time, Talent and Treasure,” but here it should be called more accurately the anagram of Head, Heart and Hand.

I say more accurately because:

The Head represents the mind, which is the place where we perceive and understand spiritual truth.

The heart is that place where we believe the truth.

The hand means you’re now ready to serve.

And that is what the spiritual life is all about.

Learn first, become prepared, and the you’re ready to serve.

Notice that in the resistance of temptation on the part of our Lord Jesus did not rely upon His deity,

He relied upon the Word of God and He resisted this great temptation through the Word of God.

This is the principle of divine versus human viewpoint.

This leads to the concept that all spiritual victory is directly related to the Word of God.

Therefore, notice our Lord’s answer.

MAT 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

We have six principles behind the first four verses of MAT 4:1-4.

1. Reliance on the Word of God rather than the word of man is the pattern of this victory.

This means once again that:

2. All spiritual victory is related to the Word.

3. Jesus never put His own power or His own works above or on a level with obedience to the Father’s plan.

To rely on the power of the Spirit was the Father’s plan for our Lord, therefore, in obedience to the Father’s plan He relied upon the power of the Spirit when He used the Word; HEB 10:5.

4. Jesus found strength, not in performing a miracle, but in the Word of God.

5. Reliance upon God and fulfilling the plan of God depends upon the believer become spiritually self-sustained by feeding on the Word and converting the Word into strength.

6. Just as physical food goes in and is converted into energy so doctrine in the frontal lobe is converted into divine power and orientation to the plan of God.

In verses 5-7, we now have the second recorded temptation.

First of all, let’s read the passage.

MAT 4:5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,

MAT 4:6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, #'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and ' On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.”

MAT 4:7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Since the power is in the Word and since Jesus Christ in His humanity is relying on the Word, Satan tried to pull the power out from under Him.

He tried to undermine Him by destroying the Word as the norm and standard that our Lord was living in.

The principles of the second temptation:

1. The second temptation deals with our Lord’s relationship with the Word as an example got us to live in.

2. Since Jesus resisted the temptation to act independently of the indwelling Spirit and the power of the Word, Satan attacks the source of resistance which is the Word itself.

3. Satan attacks the Word by quoting the Word, distorting the Word, and using a passage which is not pertinent to the situation; GEN 3:1-7.

4. To distort the Word by removing it from its context and interpretation has led astray many sincere and ignorant believers.

Sometimes the more sincere the believer the more stupid the believer!

In Verse 5, we have the location of the second temptation.

MAT 4:5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,

The first word “Then” is an adverb referring to the next temptation with the devil taking Him into the holy city, Jerusalem.

Some system of transportation was employed that we are not told about.
The “holy city” always refers to Jerusalem in the Bible; “Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple.

The word “pinnacle” is a porch, and the pinnacle of the temple is a wing of the temple which was constructed by Herod the Great.

This particular porch is actually 450 feet over the valley of Kidron so they are standing and looking over a cliff which was 450 feet straight down.

In Verse 6, we have the temptation.

MAT 4:6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, #'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and ' On {their} hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone."

Satan is talking to Jesus Christ and he says now to His deity: “Jump.”

But…..

Deity can’t jump because deity is omnipresent and is everywhere.

So, it can be seen how the devil is trying to distort things.

The command is an aorist active imperative, which means that the devil has the gall to command God Almighty, our Lord Jesus Christ, not only to change stones into bread, but now to jump.

Jesus had just said previously that He would live by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.

He has declared Himself upon the principle that in His humanity, He will rely entirely upon the Word of God.

This will be the pattern for His Doctrine of Kenosis.

So, the devil says in effect that if He is going to rely upon the Word of God, there is no reason why He can’t jump off this cliff…..

And…..

He now quotes a portion of scripture to prove the fact that He ought to jump just to demonstrate that He would live by the Word.

“for it is written” = Satan is now quoting Psalm 91:11-12 and He rationalizes that because the deity of Christ can’t jump he will go back to the humanity of Christ.

PSA 91:11-12, For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone.

The humanity of Christ is going to rely on the Word of God and the devil quotes scripture to imply that He can jump.

Notice Satan’s distortions:

1. To jump into the valley would violate the law of gravity and our Lord would be tempted by Satan to prove He is God by performing a miracle from His own deity.

2. In his own subtle way, the devil is trying to trick the humanity of Christ into proving His deity by performing a miracle such as jump and have God catch you.

Since you are God, Jesus, then prove it --- jump and catch yourself.

3. God does not protect the operation of negative volition in defiance of divine law by using miracles to solve the problem.

God always provides solutions but they are not prayer or miracles but always the Word of God; JOH 4:23-24.

4. If someone pushes the Lord over the cliff then the scripture, which the devil quotes, might apply but there is no one else present to do the pushing including the devil, he can’t because of the rules of the Angelic Conflict.

Which basically focuses in on “free will” and “being independent” from God.

And therefore, #5.

5. There is no protection for the one who acts independently of the Word, even when using the Word in a distorted fashion.

Remember GEN 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

GEN 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;

GEN 3:3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.' "

GEN 3:4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!

GEN 3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

In all these passages, I want you to note how:

Satan knows the Word of God and knowing it, he willingly perverts and distorts it.

Notice back in MAT 4:6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, #'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and ' On {their} hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone."

6. There are times that you could be falling and having been pushed, God would protect you but this is a case of where you do it of your own volition and this passage does not cover suicide.

God does not protect from death that believer who tries to commit suicide.

Suicide is the superimposition of human volition over divine volition.

Suicide is promoted by Satan to cause people to think that their life has no meaning, purpose, or definition.

Satan added to the word to distort the Word.

He could not completely distort this passage without a subtle addition to it.

There are times when God’s protection is definitely promised so we can all learn to wait upon the timing of God.

7. When the believer uses his own volition to operate independently of God’s plan, God’s Word, or God’s Law’s, then he is outside of divine protection.

And……

God does not protect that believer who tries to commit suicide from death.

Suicide is the arrogant expression of a person who does not care about others and how their suicide affects them.

Suicide is going out as a loser believer because of selfishness.

I am just dealing with those who are religious in this study.

Arrogance, jealousy, emotionalism, and anger, selfishness, and negative decisions tell us that committing suicide is a sin; PSA 31:15 My times are in Thy hand;
What Does the Bible Say about Suicide?

Christians will not find the word “suicide” in Scripture, but the fact that suicide exists is seen throughout Scripture as an evidence of the struggle some have with the effects of the OSN.

The Bible teaches that Satan, the father of lies, comes to steal, kill, and destroy but God emphasizes the sanctity of life by giving it to us more abundantly; JOH 10:10.

JOH 10:10 "The thief [Satan] comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have {it} abundantly.

What Does the Bible Say about Suicide?

Christians will not find the word “suicide” in Scripture, but the fact of suicide is seen throughout Scripture is an evidence of the struggle some have with the effects of mankind’s fallen nature.
There have been five suicides that we noted in the Old Testament:

1. Abimelech committed suicide;
2. King Saul
3. Saul’s armor-bearer;
4. Ahithophel, Absalom’s counselor;
5. Zimri. 1KI 16:16-18.

There is only one example of suicide. Judas, Jesus’ disciple and betrayer, hung himself when he understood he had betrayed “innocent blood” (MAT 27:3-10).

MAT 27:3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

Notice that Judas felt remorse or felt sorry for what he had done but feeling sorry for your sins DOES NOT SAVE you, it is only one way and one way only - faith alone in Christ alone.

MAT 27:4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they [that is what religious does once they use you said, "What is that to us? See {to that} yourself!"

MAT 27:5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

MAT 27:6 And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood."

MAT 27:7 And they counseled together and with the money bought the Potter's Field as a burial place for strangers.

This was a burial place for strangers, like our “tomb of the unknown soldier is.

MAT 27:8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

MAT 27:9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel;

MAT 27:10 and they gave them for the Potter's Field, as the Lord directed me. "

All of that and Judas, though he was an unbeliever, felt sorry for his sin but he knows now that feeling sorry for sins does not save you.

There are many reasons why people might commit suicide, and some are not addressed directly in Scripture.

For example,

A chemical imbalance, causing severe depression, or mental illness may drive people to commit suicide.

The Bible teaches that Satan, the father of lies, “was a murderer from the beginning” (JOH 8:44). He comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10a).

JOH 10:10a "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy;

Satan plants destructive thoughts in people, even Christians, and they may choose to act on Satan’s lies and kill themselves.

On the other hand,

Our Lord Jesus Christ gives is life more abundantly which emphasizes the sanctity of life.

Jesus came to give us abundant life and freedom (JOH 8:36; 10:10b).

JOH 8:36 "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.

JOH 10:10b "I came that they might have life, and might have it more abundantly.

The Lord doesn’t want us to live in fear, but to discover strength and help in Him.

ISA 41:10 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

PSA 34:18-19, The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

We can cast our cares on the Lord and know He will not condemn us (1PE 5:7; PSA 55:22; ROM 8:1-2).

All of us have been made in the image of God and it is extremely important that we understand what that means back in GEN 1:26-27.

GEN 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

GEN 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Therefore, mankind is not allowed to murder anyone, including themselves says GEN 9:6-7.

GEN 9:6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

And this is why….

Even Cain was not allowed to even kill himself because of how much he messed up the world at that time.

Instead GEN 9:7 says "And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it."

Suicide opposes the natural tendency of humans to preserve their own lives.

It is contrary to caring for others, cutting off the potential for loving relationships with family and friends, and is contrary to loving and honoring the Creator.

God wants his children to choose life, not death; DEU 30:19.

DEU 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

It is God’s sovereign right to give and take away life; JOB 1:21.

This is why Job said;

JOB 1:21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

We are all required to be faithful stewards of the life God gives and the devil is trying to get our Lord to reject that faithfulness from God the Father.

Remember that believers are temples of the Holy Spirit and don’t belong to themselves.

In the New Testament, we learn the Holy Spirit indwells believers and Christians should treat Him with respect; 1CO 6:19.

Suicide is not an appropriate response to our problems since suicide dishonors our body and the Lord who created us; 1CO 10:31.

Suicide is a rejection of 1CO 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Suicide is a rejection of Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

God wants us to care for our bodies in the same way Christ cares for the church; EPH 5:29.

EPH 5:29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

Many New Testament saints and Jesus Himself were tortured and put to death, but they did not commit suicide.

Instead, like Paul, they “fought the good fight” of faith until their death (2TI 4:6-8).

Nothing can separate true believers from God’s love in Christ (ROM 8:38-39; JOH 10:27-30).

For the Christian, all sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven through faith in the atoning work of Jesus.

Therefore;

For Jesus to jump into the valley of Kidron would have meant certain death for His humanity.

Now, all of the information from Satan’s distortion of the word where we noted the seventh principle that brought us to the subject of Satan’s distortions of the Word.

The seventh point again was:

7. When the believer uses his own volition to operate independently of God’s plan, God’s Word, or God’s Law’s, then he is outside of divine protection.

However, I am not going to leave you with that but with something I read from my book on Ecclesiastes.

Kenosis is based on the fact that the union of the deity of Christ to unglorified but true humanity is a necessary factor for a winner believer to know and understand.

That explains how a believer can be happy in the midst of wild and crazy circumstances.

If you love your life, you will have doors open to you that have never opened before.

People will observe your happiness and your life and they will be wondering what it is that makes you so happy in an evil world!

People will ask you why are you so happy?

Why do you seem to be enjoying life so much?

I will tell you why which I read from my book on Ecclesiastes that was taken from a song that was both written and sung by Andraé Crouch called “Through it all.”

Here is a positive way to end the message and get ready for the Lord’s supper.

Here’s the lyrics

I've had many tears and sorrow,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
There've been times
I didn't know right from wrong.

But in every situation,
God gave blessed consolation,
That my trials come
to only make me strong.

I've been to lots of places
I've seen lots of faces
There's been times
I felt so all alone

But in my lonely hours,
Yes those precious lonely Hours,
The Lord let me know
that I was His own.

So, I thank God for the mountains,
And I thank Him for the valleys,
And I thank Him for the storms,
He's brought me through,

For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know that he could solve them,
I'd never know
what faith in God could do!

Because through it all, through it all
I've learned to trust in the Lord.
Through it all, through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His word.

That my friends is the way to live!