It may come as a surprise to many when I say that Jesus did not completely agree with the word of God. He was not naturally inclined to concur with everything God said. This is what makes Jesus’ ministry and teachings so incredible. Despite having his own will, Jesus still put himself into subjection to God’s will. He did not base his beliefs on what he agreed with, he based it on what the word of God and the Holy Spirit says. And he did this by acknowledging his repentance to God’s word. Repentance means to turn away from your way and accept God’s way.
A truly repentant person accepts the word of God, even if he does not agree with it.
Mark 4:8 & 20 – But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
The operative word here is “accept”. The unrepentant person does not accept what he does not agree with. Here is an example of this in the bible:
Luke 18:18-25 – A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.” 21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
This rich young man refused to accept Jesus’ statement (words) of giving up his money and possessions because he did not agree with them, and so, he walked away from Jesus, sadly.
Matthew 19:22 – And having heard this statement, the young man went away grieving; for he was one having many possessions.
Mark 10:22 – But the man was saddened by these words and went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.
Others still physically stay with Jesus but spiritually, they have manipulated Jesus’ words. So although they are physically present as Christians, they are spiritually far away from him.
Matthew 15:7-9 – You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.
Mark 7:6-7 – He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’
Isaiah 29:13 – The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
An example of this is Judas:
John 6:70-71 – Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
An unrepentant person only believes and accepts what he agrees with or rather, after they have manipulated the word enough to make it agreeable and suitable to themselves and their own beliefs.
2 Timothy 4:3 – For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold,
Upon first hearing the teachings of Jesus, both a repentant and an unrepentant person do not agree with everything Jesus says. The unrepentant person proceeds to manipulate the words of Jesus to suit their understanding (their way of thinking) without them having to change. They make the word agreeable to themselves through compromise and manipulation.
Mark 4:16-17 – Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
When some people disagree with the teachings of Jesus, they refuse to accept it and they no longer believe in him. They stop going to church, reading the bible or living by the bible.
John 6:60,66 – 60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”…66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
The repentant disciples, who had accepted Jesus as the Messiah and all his teachings of eternal life, stated:
John 6:67-69 – You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
The disciples understood very well that if they were to believe Jesus was the Messiah ( the Holy One of God), then they must accept all of his words and teachings, even if they did not agree with it. This is the difference between the disciples and the followers who fell away from Jesus and walked with him no more. They would not accept his teachings if they could not agree with it.
By ‘fall away’ this does not mean that they all stop going to church. On the contrary, some just stop walking with Jesus due to disbelief in his teachings.
Mark 4:18-19 – Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
They may still call Jesus ‘Lord’, they just do not do what he says. Meaning, they manipulate Jesus’ teachings to become agreeable and suit themselves. This is what is meant by choking out the word.
Luke 6:46 – Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Matthew 7:21 – Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
All these people fell away from Jesus’ teachings through unbelief, compromise and manipulation. They fell away through belief in their parents’ teachings and denominational teachings (which are essentially tradition), over the teachings of Jesus. They manipulate Jesus’ teachings to suit their traditional or cultural thinking. Yet many can still be found week after week, in the church, speaking their compromised gospels.
Matthew 15:6-9 – Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.
Proverbs 26:24 – Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.
They harbor deceit by manipulating the word to suit their own desires. What’s more, they have fooled themselves with their own manipulations, compromises and justifications that they no longer can identify their sin:
Psalm 36:2 – In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin.
The concept of unbelievers in the church is spoken of by Jesus in the parable of the tares and the wheat.
Matthew 13:24-30 – He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’
Even men of God whom God does miracles, signs and wonders for, are not able to enter the kingdom of heaven unless they accept the entire word of God, including the elements they do not agree with.
Matthew 7:21-23 – Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Matthew 7:23 (KJV) – And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
This is the will of the Father; that we accept the whole word of God.
Mark 12:30 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
The concept of false believers in the church is mentioned many times by other authors in the New Testament:
Acts 20:29-31 – I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
Titus 1:16 – They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:1-9 – But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
2 Peter 2:1-3 – But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Romans 16:17-18 – I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 – Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Galatians 2:4 – Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus.
Jude 1:4-19 – 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. 17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 5:11 – But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
The repentant person accepts the word even though they do not personally agree with it. This is because although they may not like what Jesus has said, they still acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, and whatever he says is the truth. Instead of changing the word to suit themselves, they change to suit the word.
Proverbs 3:5-7 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
A repentant person feels a war within themselves.
Galatians 5:16-17 – So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
Before we can understand this scripture, we must understand what ‘flesh’ is.
1 Corinthians 15:39-40 – Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
It is also important to note that the Greek word for ‘body’ is the same word for ‘flesh’. So in 1 Corinthians 15:40, when Paul mentions that we have heavenly “bodies”, he is speaking of spiritual flesh.
Spiritual flesh is our spirit.
Romans 8:16 – The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Paul is speaking of the Holy Spirit speaking to our spirit. We have spiritual eyes which are our understanding. A spiritual mind is where our thoughts develop and a spiritual heart is where we store or keep the philosophies that we live by. Spiritual feet are our will. These are all things that we cannot see but they make up our personality. Without these things, we would merely be a shell, meaning just earthly flesh.
Now we can see what Paul means in Galatians 5:17 – 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
There is a war between our will and God’s will. A conflict exists between what we agree with and what we accept and we must not base our beliefs on what we agree with. Our beliefs should be based on exactly what the Holy Spirit says by accepting it even if our spirit does not agree.
Galatians 6:8 – Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 5:24-25 – Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Romans 8:14 – For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Jesus went through this same experience in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Matthew 26:41 – “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Hebrews 2:18 – Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
We are also tempted and experience this exact war within us between what we agree with and what we accept. Jesus is stating his spirit (which is the flesh) is weak. It is dithering on obeying God, which is why Jesus stated:
Matthew 26:38 -Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
The spirit, however (the Holy Spirit) is willing to obey God.
Matthew 26:39 – Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus knew this was the very reason for his existence.
John 12:27-28 – Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.
In this scripture, we can see that Jesus does not agree with God’s way, but he will accept God’s will over his own.
Matthew 26:42-44 – He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Jesus said the same thing in:
Mark 14:34-36 & 38 – “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”….38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane is a perfect example of a truly repentant person. Jesus was afraid and did not agree with the fact that he was about to endure great suffering. His will was different to God’s, yet he accepted what God willed, over his own. This is true repentance. Jesus did not twist God’s will to suit his own so as to make God agreeable. Jesus was in full subjection to God:
1 Corinthians 15:27-28 – For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
Jesus was always in acceptance of God’s word, even as a child.
Luke 2:41-52 – His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And [l]Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”
49And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.
Here, we can see the teachers in the temple are amazed at the boy, Jesus’ wisdom, and yet his parents could not understand a simple statement such as “I must be about my father’s business”. Especially since they were the ones who heard this from the angel, Gabriel.
The angel Gabriel appeard to Mary:
Luke 1:26-35 – In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
And the angel appeared to Joseph:
Matthew 1:20-21 – But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
In spite of his parents’ lack of wisdom and understanding, Jesus still submitted himself to his parents. He had accepted the word of God regarding obeying his parents, even though he may not have agreed with submitting to someone who has less knowledge than himself.
51Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them…
Other translations:
ESV – And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them…
NASB – And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them…
ISV – Then he went back with them, returning to Nazareth and remaining in submission to them…
Jesus put himself into subjection to his parents due to accepting the word of God.
Exodus 20:12 – Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Leviticus 19:3 – Each of you must respect your mother and father…
Jesus repeats this as an older man in:
Matthew 15:4 – For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.
Matthew 19:19 – honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.
Mark 7:10 – For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.
Mark 10:19 – You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.
Luke 18:20 – You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.
It must not have come easy to Jesus, who had such great wisdom and knowledge, to obey his parents who knew far less about right and wrong than himself. It must have been a struggle for a young child to do so. Most children, knowing far less than their parents, still struggle with obeying them and are tempted to disobey. What more for a child who actually did know more than his parents, yet still chose to submit himself to them! For Jesus, it must have been a constant struggle between what he agreed with and what he accepted as the truth in God’s word.
Paul states:
Hebrews 4:14-15 – Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 2:18 – Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
We cannot be tempted to fall away from something that we do not agree with. The mere definition of temptation means: the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. To be tempted at all, a person must want to do something but has accepted the concept that it is wrong. For example, although Jesus was tempted in every way, he did not sin. This means that he was truly repentant and based all of his actions on the word of God, which he had accepted without manipulating it, in order to suit and make it agreeable to himself. This also means that Jesus, in his own flesh (own spirit), may not have agreed with everything God has said. Otherwise, he would not have been able to be tempted. Nonetheless, he accepted it out of obedience and repentance allowing him not to sin. It is not a sin to be tempted, this is natural to our flesh. It is, however, a sin to act upon temptation. We also see evidence of this in the various accounts of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness.
Matthew 4:1 – Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Mark 1:12-13 – At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Luke 4:1-2 – Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
A person cannot be tempted with something unless they have a desire for it in the first place. Jesus desired all the same things that every man desires: power, wealth and glory. Jesus was continuously tempted by the devil. He was tempted according to his own spirit (flesh) which is what he naturally agreed with. Through accepting the word without compromising or manipulating it (by making the word agreeable to his flesh), Jesus did not sin.
Romans 8:3 – For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh…
Jesus condemned sin in the flesh by acting and living by what he had accepted in the word of God as the truth, and not by justifying his own desires and what he agreed with by manipulating and compromising the word. When you too are repentant in this fashion, you can also condemn sin in your flesh.
Hebrews 2:17 – For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 4:14-15 – Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 2:18 – Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
These scriptures are highlighting the fact that Jesus had his own spirit (came in the flesh). This is why John writes:
2 John 1:7 – I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
1 John 4:2-3 – By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
Even though Jesus had his own spirit and will, he always responded back to temptation through the Holy Spirit, meaning with what he has accepted as the truth, not what his spirit agreed with. This is how you resist the devil.
James 4:7 – Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Luke 4:2-13 – being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 9Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ 11and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 12And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 13Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Paul confirms this concept:
Galatians 5:16-17 – So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
Colosians 3:5 – Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Ephesians 4:22-24 – You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
1 John 2:15-17 – Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Although Jesus had his own spirit, he condemned sin by not following what he naturally agreed with in his own spirit and wanted to do. Instead, he followed what he accepted, which was the word of God, through the Holy Spirit. And he taught us this by his example and teachings. Jesus condemned sin in his flesh by making his spiritual flesh, his philosophy, understanding, will and actions, repentant. Thus, fulfilling all the commandments.
Matthew 22:36-38 – Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
Paul speaks of this concept also:
Romans 8:3 – For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh…
Romans 8:4-14 & 16-17 – 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
The ‘realm of the flesh’ means those who live according to their own understanding and philosophies by manipulating God’s word and Jesus’ teachings to become agreeable to their own will.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God…16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
The suffering that the Apostle Paul is speaking about is the dilemma between what we disagree with and our acceptance based on faith in Jesus the Messiah.
The Apostle Paul also went through the same struggle, which he explains in:
Romans 7:13-25 – 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Paul is explaining that a repentant person may not agree with the word of God, causing him to be able to be tempted by sin. However, he accepts the word as the truth, causing him not to sin. He does not twist the truth so that it becomes agreeable to him. This is an ongoing war within the true believer.
Romans 13:11-14 – And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Romans 6:1-13 – What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
To be united with Jesus in a death like his, Paul is referring to the death of your own spiritual flesh through repentance. This is what Jesus did. He died to his own self and this is repentance. This repentance means that your own spirit is now dead. We can achieve this, like Jesus, by living and believing according to what we have accepted as the truth, and not what our spirit agrees with.
If we refuse to do this, then we cannot hear, meaning that we cannot understand the word of God. We will always manipulate the truth so that it suits ourselves.
Luke 8:10 – He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’
The disciples could hear the truth because they accepted all of Jesus’ words as the truth and the way to eternal life.
John 6:68 – Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Cont’d Romans 6: 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
Peter states this also in:
1 Peter 2:11 – Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
1 Corinthians 2:14 – The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
Now only a person with the spirit can understand this concept. This is because they understand the suffering of not doing what you don’t agree with due to accepting Jesus’ teachings unconditionally because of the belief that he is the Messiah.
The person without the spirit does not understand this concept because they have made the gospel agreeable to themselves and rejected anything they do not agree with, by manipulating and compromising it to suit themselves. Thus, not having to suffer in this way.
2 Timothy 4:3 – For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold.
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