He had fully known the character of God prior to his own fall. Satan knew that God couldn’t sin, neither could He be tempted with evil (James 1:13). Matthew 4:1 says, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (peirazo) by the devil.” Both the Spirit of God and the devil were involved in what was going on and each of them had a different purpose with regard to the temptation.įirst, the devil was obviously tempting Jesus for the purpose of causing Him to sin-to act contrary to the will of His Father. So how does all of this relate to the temptation of Christ? Well, on that occasion in the wilderness, it appears that there were two things going on. Strictly speaking it was a test, not a temptation. He was giving Abraham on opportunity to prove his unwavering trust in God’s promise to give him a seed. For instance in Hebrews 11:17 it says, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested (peirazo), offered up Isaac…” God was not trying to get Abraham to sin. Sin is not the objective here but rather, an opportunity to prove one’s character or intent. Sometimes it simply refers to a trial or a test. This is the way we normally think of the word “tempted.” We are tempted to sin.īut there is another way this word is used in the Scriptures. For instance, in Galatians 6:1 it says, “Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted (peirazo).” Here “tempted” (peirazo) is in parallel with “trespass,” which is a reference to sin. Sometimes it is used to refer to temptation with evil or enticement to sin. It is the Greek word peirazo which can be used in two senses. Part of the answer to these questions lies in the meaning of the word “tempted” as found in the New Testament. Was He peccable (He was able to sin but He didn’t) or was He impeccable (He didn’t sin because He wasn’t able to sin)? If He was impeccable, what does that say about the nature of His temptation? If He couldn’t sin, was He really tempted?
Was Jesus Christ able not to sin or was He not able to sin? This is a question that is often raised with regard to the temptation of Christ.
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