Jesus Gained the Victory for Us

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Jesus Gained the Victory for Us

Today's Text: The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. Proverbs 18:10

The Message:      There was never a time when Christian men and women, in all walks of life, were in so great need of clear spiritual eyesight as now. It is not safe to lose sight of Christ for one moment. His followers must pray and believe and love Him fervently....      Satan demanded of Christ a miracle as a sign of His divinity. But that which is greater than all miracles, a firm reliance upon a "Thus saith the Lord," was a sign that could not be controverted. So long as Christ held to this position, the tempter could gain no advantage.      It was in the time of greatest weakness that Christ was assailed by the fiercest temptations. Thus Satan thought to prevail. By this policy he had gained the victory over both men and women. When strength had failed and the willpower weakened, and faith ceased to repose in God, then those who had stood long and valiantly for the right were overcome. Moses was wearied with the forty years' wandering of Israel, when for the moment his faith let go its hold upon Infinite Power. He failed just upon the borders of the Promised Land. So with Elijah, who had stood undaunted before King Ahab; who had faced the whole nation of Israel with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal at their head. After that terrible day upon Carmel when the false prophets had been slain and the people had declared their allegiance to God, Elijah fled for his life before the threats of idolatrous Jezebel....      Whenever one is encompassed with clouds, perplexed by circumstances, or afflicted by poverty or distress, Satan is at hand to tempt and annoy. He attacks our weak points of character. He seeks to shake our confidence in God, who suffers such a condition of things to exist. We are tempted to distrust God, to question His love....      Christ declared to the tempter, "Get thee behind me, Satan."... So we may resist temptation and force Satan to depart from us. Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." We cannot save ourselves from the tempter's power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but "the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.-Manuscript 15, 1908.

Commentary: My friend, the key to victory over sin does not lie with our resistance but in our submission to God.  Jesus, the Son of God, did not overcome sin in His human strength, but by His firm reliance and submission to God.  In this way are we to gain the victory.  As we surrender ourselves to the Father through Jesus Christ we are empowered to resist temptation and gain the victory. It is only by the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ can we gain the victory over sin.  James 4:8 says "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you", and how we draw nigh unto God is through His Son Jesus Christ.  "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5). The trinity would have you believe that we gain the victory over sin by the indwelling of another being called the Holy Spirit, but if this were true then that being would be another mediator, and would contradict the word of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, for they share the same Spirit.  Ephesians 4:4 says that there is but one Spirit, saying "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;"  The Father and the Son share the same Spirit because the Son was brought forth from the Father; He was born of the Father and as such is the only begotten Son of God.  "The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.  I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.  When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.  Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:" (Proverbs 8:22-25). My friend, Jesus gained the victory over sin for us that by taking hold of Him, inviting Him into our hearts, He may gain the victory over sin for us.  Satan well knows that as he was defeated in the wilderness, so too will he be defeated by the weakest sinner that relies upon Jesus.  Therefore, Satan has introduced a counterfeit mediator that we may not gain the victory over sin. The trinity is a false image of God and as such cannot save us.  The question that you have to ask yourself today is who do you worship?  Are you worshiping the One true God of the Bible through His Son Jesus Christ, or are you worshiping the false god of the trinity?  How you answer this question will determine your destiny for all eternity. God bless,

Video of the Week The Amazing Work of Christ in You - Dr. Allen Davis Part 3 of 6, A response to the trinitarian symposium held in the Central California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.  Dr. Allen Davis presents the most important message of the work that Jesus is to accomplish in all that are to be saved.