James 1:12-15 states,
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
At first read we may instantly think this passage says that the enemy can not bring a temptation to God. That is, God can not be approached by a single temptation; he is beyond that possibility. Such an interaction, the approach of evil towards him, is impossible. Unlike Cain, sin can not crouch at God's doorstep. This is both true and untrue.
I've come to learn that James is saying that God can not be overcome by temptation and not that an enemy can not try to bring evil to God's feet. This is a much stronger God than the God who can not be tempted. A God who can be approached by evil but never defeated by evil gives me more confidence than a God who can't be approached by evil. That's a great power to be so removed from the approach of evil suggestions, I guess, but it's not a great strength. A God who is tempted and victorious seems stronger and more able to deliver in love than a God who is far off from evil's advances. The God that is too powerful or high up for evil to try and speak to is a God that would also probably be distant from me and my evil
However, the story of Jesus (and the entire Biblical story) tells us that this is not the way God operates. The Triune God of the scriptures has always been a God that comes to humanity and interacts with sinfulness. God does not sin but he loves those who do sin and rescues them from the clutches of evil. The world was overtaken by sin and God was not satisfied with letting evil win.
Our God jumps into evil's realm and defeats it. That speaks volumes to the greatness of God's power and love. Much more preferable than the God who is simply far off from sin I'd say. Jesus in God incarnated. That means God himself came to earth in the person of Jesus to correct what was made wrong in the world by sin. He came near. He is God With Us (this is what Emmanuel means). Jesus came to earth and was tempted by the Satan but he was not overcome, he overcame. Then he went to the cross and overcome death and the power of sin which put him on the cross (along with his unwillingness to sin himself). His strength in faithfulness allowed him to be tempted, beat down, buried, and then victorious. So in a sense, God can be tempted. Temptation from outside sources such as the Satan can approach God is Jesus Christ, but it can not defeat him.
In another (perhaps greater) sense, God truly can not be tempted. Reading forward into the next verses, we learn that James is more referring to our own evil desires and that we are tempted by our desires (this is a part of our fallen nature). Our desires are compromised (due to influence of the enemy and the world that raises us predominantly). But God is not fallen because he never sinned like humans did. He has never broken relationship but rather has always stayed faithful.
God is faithful and thus he can not be overcome or tempted by his own desires because his desires are wholly good. This is why Jesus can overcome the temptations of Satan. His character and desires are wholly good. They are strong, resilient, perfect. Jesus lacks nothing. In the previous verses we learn that steadfastness (the nonabandonment of commitment) proves a lacking of nothing, a perfection. Jesus has this steadfastness unlike anyone else due to his sinlessness. The Triune God is sinless and wholly good, perfect, lacking nothing.
We must remember that Jesus, being God, is not tempted by his own desires in the wilderness. He is tempted by the enemy, an outside source, and he wins out. The enemy appeals to Jesus' desires but finds out quickly that Jesus' desires are not compromised and will not betray him. Jesus was tempted but not by his desires and thus he is still able to be God and we find that the account in Matthew does not contradict James' teaching. As a side-note, it should bring us great comfort to know that Jesus endured trials and temptations of all kinds (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15) and that as a result he can identify with us and the world we live in. He overcame where we have not and this gives us reason to trust him and accept his rescuing help.
As a result, God's desires can not turn against him and tempt him to perform evil. It is impossible for the perfectly good to be anything but good. A grape that can never dry or age will never be a raisin. So it is with God's desires. They will never be his enemy as our desires can be our enemies. Our desires can be compromised due to sin's influence but God is safe from this due to who he has chosen to be, due to who he is. In that sense, God can never be tempted. And because God is wholly good and is full of love he never tempts anyone else. He can not lead us into evil because of his goodness. Surely, though, he can lead us out of our evil.
So we pray to God that he would "not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil" for the power and the glory and the kingdom are his. As we pray this we must take an honest look at our life and ask God to help us see what our desires are pulling us toward. Do our desires pull us into healthy and loving relationships that honor and build up others or do they lead us to feed our own greeds and leave others alone and unloved? Do we do what makes us feel good at the expense of someone else or despite the fact that we know doing this won't be beneficial in the long run?
Our desires are compromised. They can lead us astray. We want goodness, all of us, but sometimes we believe lies about goodness and trust our desires to be pure and to lead us into goodness when in reality we need to be discerning about our desires. Let us acknowledge we're influenced by evil and that we need the God who is not compromised and who overcomes evil and all it's wiles to guide us. Let us walk with the God who is safe from temptation and delivers us from evil while he, in Jesus, calls us to a stronger and more steadfast love for others as we abandon our compromised desires.
I've come to learn that James is saying that God can not be overcome by temptation and not that an enemy can not try to bring evil to God's feet. This is a much stronger God than the God who can not be tempted. A God who can be approached by evil but never defeated by evil gives me more confidence than a God who can't be approached by evil. That's a great power to be so removed from the approach of evil suggestions, I guess, but it's not a great strength. A God who is tempted and victorious seems stronger and more able to deliver in love than a God who is far off from evil's advances. The God that is too powerful or high up for evil to try and speak to is a God that would also probably be distant from me and my evil
However, the story of Jesus (and the entire Biblical story) tells us that this is not the way God operates. The Triune God of the scriptures has always been a God that comes to humanity and interacts with sinfulness. God does not sin but he loves those who do sin and rescues them from the clutches of evil. The world was overtaken by sin and God was not satisfied with letting evil win.
Our God jumps into evil's realm and defeats it. That speaks volumes to the greatness of God's power and love. Much more preferable than the God who is simply far off from sin I'd say. Jesus in God incarnated. That means God himself came to earth in the person of Jesus to correct what was made wrong in the world by sin. He came near. He is God With Us (this is what Emmanuel means). Jesus came to earth and was tempted by the Satan but he was not overcome, he overcame. Then he went to the cross and overcome death and the power of sin which put him on the cross (along with his unwillingness to sin himself). His strength in faithfulness allowed him to be tempted, beat down, buried, and then victorious. So in a sense, God can be tempted. Temptation from outside sources such as the Satan can approach God is Jesus Christ, but it can not defeat him.
In another (perhaps greater) sense, God truly can not be tempted. Reading forward into the next verses, we learn that James is more referring to our own evil desires and that we are tempted by our desires (this is a part of our fallen nature). Our desires are compromised (due to influence of the enemy and the world that raises us predominantly). But God is not fallen because he never sinned like humans did. He has never broken relationship but rather has always stayed faithful.
God is faithful and thus he can not be overcome or tempted by his own desires because his desires are wholly good. This is why Jesus can overcome the temptations of Satan. His character and desires are wholly good. They are strong, resilient, perfect. Jesus lacks nothing. In the previous verses we learn that steadfastness (the nonabandonment of commitment) proves a lacking of nothing, a perfection. Jesus has this steadfastness unlike anyone else due to his sinlessness. The Triune God is sinless and wholly good, perfect, lacking nothing.
We must remember that Jesus, being God, is not tempted by his own desires in the wilderness. He is tempted by the enemy, an outside source, and he wins out. The enemy appeals to Jesus' desires but finds out quickly that Jesus' desires are not compromised and will not betray him. Jesus was tempted but not by his desires and thus he is still able to be God and we find that the account in Matthew does not contradict James' teaching. As a side-note, it should bring us great comfort to know that Jesus endured trials and temptations of all kinds (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15) and that as a result he can identify with us and the world we live in. He overcame where we have not and this gives us reason to trust him and accept his rescuing help.
As a result, God's desires can not turn against him and tempt him to perform evil. It is impossible for the perfectly good to be anything but good. A grape that can never dry or age will never be a raisin. So it is with God's desires. They will never be his enemy as our desires can be our enemies. Our desires can be compromised due to sin's influence but God is safe from this due to who he has chosen to be, due to who he is. In that sense, God can never be tempted. And because God is wholly good and is full of love he never tempts anyone else. He can not lead us into evil because of his goodness. Surely, though, he can lead us out of our evil.
So we pray to God that he would "not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil" for the power and the glory and the kingdom are his. As we pray this we must take an honest look at our life and ask God to help us see what our desires are pulling us toward. Do our desires pull us into healthy and loving relationships that honor and build up others or do they lead us to feed our own greeds and leave others alone and unloved? Do we do what makes us feel good at the expense of someone else or despite the fact that we know doing this won't be beneficial in the long run?
Our desires are compromised. They can lead us astray. We want goodness, all of us, but sometimes we believe lies about goodness and trust our desires to be pure and to lead us into goodness when in reality we need to be discerning about our desires. Let us acknowledge we're influenced by evil and that we need the God who is not compromised and who overcomes evil and all it's wiles to guide us. Let us walk with the God who is safe from temptation and delivers us from evil while he, in Jesus, calls us to a stronger and more steadfast love for others as we abandon our compromised desires.
"To pursue goodness rather than merely our own interests is to transcend ourselves and thereby be more authentically who we truly are." -Miroslav Volf
