THE TRINITY OF TEMPTATION

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat – Genesis 3: 6

Adam and Eve began with blissful, beautiful destinies in the serenity of Eden, until the day they entertained an uninvited visitor – Satan the serpent. They inadvertently opened the door of their domain to the DECEPTION and subtlety of the serpent. Their territory was trespassed by the TEMPTER. This once promising couple fell flat before the TRINITY of TEMPTATION: the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.
- the woman saw that the tree was good for FOOD…(lust of the flesh)
- it was pleasant to the EYES (lust of the eyes)
- a tree to be desired to make one wise (pride of life)

1 John 2: 16 speaks of the same: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Satan has no new tricks. The same ‘old tricks’ of deception he employed against Eve were repackaged against Jesus on the Mountain of Temptation (Lk. 4: 3-14). Whereas the former fell; the latter overcame triumphantly!

“And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made BREAD” (Lk. 4: 3). The devil uses the lusts of the flesh to distract our devotion and time away from God. False spiritual promptings, fleshly cravings and unbridled passions constantly vie to draw our attention from God’s will.

“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, SHEWED unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (Lk. 4: 5). Satan uses the lust of the eyes, material goods and possessions to distort our perspective on life. The Lord warns us: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Lk.12: 15). “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mk.8: 36).

“And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:“ (Lk. 4:9). The third snare of seduction is the pride of life. Society’s tendency is to view famous, ‘high-class’, powerful, or wealthy people as being successful, but people who live their lives quietly as worthless non-entities. Desiring to become well-known or financially successful is not necessarily wrong, but if these pursuits overshadow our love for God, our Christian walk is in danger.

Whereas these three snares succeeded in dislocating the destinies of the first Adam and his wife from their Life’s Garden, Jesus Christ – the Last Adam – defeated the devil hands-down. By faith in Him and His finished work of redemption, we also can overcome every of Satan’s repackaged ‘old tricks’!