Now, the next question, it's a big one, and I think it's got a lot of historical contours. Wim made a notation, it's long, it needs to be a bit edited. So I think we'll save that one for next time.
Question Introduced
So Jim, is there a difference between the temptations that we face, since we've just spoken about heaven, let's really change directions now. Is there a difference between the temptations that we face and the temptations that our Lord Jesus Christ faced?
The Nature of Christ's Temptations
Well, I suppose it depends on what is intended by the word difference. He endured the same temptations that we do, not in the same way that we do, because there was no sin in his heart by which they could lay hold of who he was in his soul and cause him to sin. Nor does it mean that he faced every single temptation that potentially we could face, but rather that his encounters with temptation were real, and he was able, by the Word of God, by the Spirit of God, to turn them away. So I'm not sure what is meant by that word difference.
If it's meant to say, were they somehow different because he was the Son of God and because he was a sinless human, I want to say, well, he endured what we endure. Good. Yes. Yeah, I would think true humanity means the temptations that are unique or common to true humanity.
Exactly. If it's not, then whatever is not, you know, assumed is not redeemed. So, Ten Commandment violations, Ten Commandment temptations, that's how I would understand it. Yeah, well, when you look at the devil coming to him in the wilderness and the Three Temptations, they are all in categories that we can easily relate to, right?
We can easily relate to, yes. Food, power, yeah. There's all those consistent things. Yeah, for sure.
I thought, just to make a book plug, it's always good to make plugs, Stephen Duby's book, Jesus and the God of Classical Theism, I thought he dealt with impeccability in a really good way. I can't sing that book's praises. He denied that our Lord assumed a fallen human nature. He did, yeah.
I'm so glad.
Christ's Assumed Nature and the Two Adams
When you think about our Lord as the last Adam, questions come up like, okay, the nature assumed by the Son of God, was it, can we liken it more unto Adam in his fallen state or us in our fallen, Adam in his pre-fall state, created state, or us in our fallen state? And our scripture and our confession acknowledges He assumed a nature like ours with infirmities. Yep, common infirmities. Except essential properties and common...
So in one sense, he kind of overlaps the two ages because I think he did assume a sinless human, no original sin in our Lord. So he has different... apparati to work with than us in one sense. But he assumed that this side of the fallen into sin with everything going on horizontally attacking him and then of course I think his chief enemy was the devil and more times than once. So it's the same.
Adam could be tempted before he fell as a sinless son of God in the image of God. Jesus could be tempted, but doesn't mean he's a sinner. But Jesus was tempted in a world not like Adam's world. So it's harder for our Lord.
Way harder, you know. The fall into sin, Adam's fall into sin, is just ridiculous. It's like, you're in paradise. What are you doing?
This is a no-brainer. That's easy for us. It was a great fall. He fell fast, hard, and I think Which all this kind of connects with the previous question.
You've got Adam in the paradise. You've got Israel in a wilderness. You've got Jesus in a wilderness. In a wilderness, yeah.
When you look at the temptation... Oh, that's all connected, yes. And he invokes the same message. Luke calls Adam the son of God in Luke 3.38.
And then chapter 4 is on... Temptations. He's driven out 40 days. Wilderness. opposite of Adam.
Adam, Israel, and Jesus in the Wilderness
Adam was driven out, but after he sinned, but Israel and 40 and, you know, it's, there's a lot, there's more. Same with Matthew. Oh yeah. My firstborn passes through the waters of baptism.
There you go, the waters of baptism. All that. There's a lot. I've told my students, I said, there's more connections than we're going to ever figure out.
And most of us aren't going to feel comfortable with all the connections that are actually there if we do figure at least more out. Yeah, it's one of those realities that Adam had all of the blessings, the easy road. Jesus had all of the difficulties, the difficult road. He overcame, Adam failed.
That's right, yeah.
Magnitude of Adam's Fall
I was reading somebody, was it, could have been Tureton, that's probably a guy, I think it was Augustine, where he said, we more applaud somebody's obedience in a difficult situation, this side of the fall into sin, than we depreciate or appreciate the magnitude of the fall. In perfect conditions. And he said, we need to go back there and say, wait a minute, he didn't have, you know, what Abraham had with Isaac on the mountain. There was a lot of pressures on Abraham.
What in the world? And he had his own heart and his own, you know, his family domestic problems. And the son he loved. And the son he loved.
Where's the sacrifice, dad? Yeah, that's a tough scene. Yeah, I think it was Augustine that was saying we need to go back and look at the fall of Adam and call it what it was. Yeah, what it was.
It was a tragedy. The biggest tragedy of man's making.
The Devil's Lies in Genesis 3
And you know who's behind it? The serpent. Who is the serpent? the devil, the liar from the beginning. By the way, the liar from the beginning, not that he was created as a liar, but from the beginning of man's experience with him, all he does is lie.
Now go back and read Genesis 3 and keep that in your head. These are lies. He's lying. This is not what God said.
And it changes the way you, anyway. I was going to say, apparati. You must read big books with lots of footnotes. That was pretty impressive.
Apparati.