“There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but with every temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1Cor.10:13).
Go back and read this verse again, but stop after “will not suffer you to be tempted.” How would you like the verse to end here—“He will not allow you to be tempted.” Period.
Sorry, but it doesn’t read that way. God will allow us to be tempted!
The Greek word here for “tempted and temptation” means “to test a thing for the purpose of ascertaining its quality, or how someone thinks or behaves—in a good sense.” God only tests in a good sense—to prove our fidelity, integrity, virtue, and constancy, to prove we can endure—we can make it! If He allows it to take hold on you, it’s because He knows you can pass the test. And He will not allow the test to be “above that which you are able to bear.”
The Greek word for “bear” is hyperphero and means “to bear up under something, to bear patiently, to endure.”
The Greek word for “able” is dunamis and means “strength, power, ability, to be capable.”
My dad, R.G. Hardy, always said: “God will never bring you to your breaking point—but He will bring you to your able point.”
“And He will WITH the temptation ALSO make a way of escape.” These two go hand-in-hand. The temptation has taken hold on you, but there is a way of escape.
Jesus is not only my way—He is my way out! The Greek word is ek basis and means EXIT. Those involved in warfare, espionage, covert ops, always have an exit plan if things go bad. I have an exit plan when things go bad. The Lord will either make a way out, or give me the commensurate grace to endure. Either: “Go out this way” or “Grace to stay.” Sometimes God does not bring us out of the trial in a timely manner, but allows us to endure for His purpose and our good.
I have found 4 reasons why God sometimes allows us to face prolonged temptations and battles.
1. To teach us spiritual warfare: Ephesians 6:10-17: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Paul detailed the six pieces of God’s armor that enable us “to stand against.” This means we are being opposed by a strong force. But when we face strong pushback, we have the stronger force of God’s mighty power contained in His divine armor. We stand against “the wiles of the devil.” The Greek word is methodos which refers to “strategies.”
God allows us to endure these supernatural battles to reveal His supernatural power and divine armor by which “we quench every fiery dart of the enemy. And having done all, WE STAND.”
(Study the whole armor of God in verses 14-17 to know how each piece functions.)
2. To manifest to angels—good and evil—Satan’s utter defeat: Luke 10:18: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven.”
His disciples had come to Jesus rejoicing that demons were subject to them in His Name. Jesus replied in a manner of speaking, that it was not a surprise to Him, because He had beheld Lucifer’s fall in ages past (Ref.: Isaiah14, Ezekiel 28).
The angelic hosts who are faithful to God saw it too, as well as one-third of the angels who rebelled with Lucifer. The angels had a front row seat when Michael, the Great Archangel, kicked Satan and his rebels out of heaven (Isa.14:12, Rev.12:7-9). Peter said: “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them in chains of darkness to be reserved unto the judgment” (2Pet.2:4).
During the three-day period, between Jesus’ crucifixion and His resurrection, Peter said, “He went and preached to the spirits in prison” (1Pet.3:19). Jesus did not go to Hell to be tormented and abused by Satan and his demons, as some erroneously teach. He went down and ripped the gates off of Hades House where the righteous dead were held. He took the keys—the authority over death and hell from Satan (Rev.1:18). And He led the captive righteous, who waited in Abraham’s Bosom for the price to be paid on the cross, into the Father’s house in heaven (Luke 16:23, Eph.4:8-10).
He went where the wicked angels are held captive in chains and preached to them! He probably said: “You sealed your doom when you joined Lucifer’s rebellion. Your master is utterly defeated, and when you leave here, you are going to be cast into the Lake of Fire with him. Meanwhile, I have given authority to those who follow Me, and they shall crush Satan’s head under their feet.” He had lost his place and position in heaven, but he usurped authority over Earth when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden. In Adams Fall—we all fall.
“By one man’s disobedience, sin and death entered the world, and death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom.5:12). We were born into the family of Adam as slaves to sin and Satan. But through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, we have been translated out of his kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col.1:13).
Jesus told His disciples: “Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means show hurt you” (Lk.10:19). Every time we cast out demons, Satan experiences his fall again!
And every time we endure temptation, we show the angels—God’s faithful “ministering spirits” and the evil angels in Satan’s service, that he is not only kicked out of heaven—but he is kicked out of our life! And he is under our feet! (Rom.16:20).
Every time we overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, we remind his fallen angels of Satan’s complete defeat!
3. To reveal to His good angels His plan of man’s redemption: 1Cor. 4:1-2, 9: “…We are ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.”
The Greek word for “minister” is interesting: huperaytas means “to under row,” or to be an under-rower on a big galley ship. They toiled in the belly of the ship, rowing in unity to keep it afloat. It is the lowest Greek word for “servant.”
Whereas “steward” refers to a manager, a superintendent, one to whom the owner or proprietor entrusts to manage and oversee his affairs and /or finances—“the master’s deputy.”
Paul’s main concern was to preserve, protect, and dispense the mysteries of God, the truth of the Gospel entrusted to him. This requires one to be faithful to the Master and to the Gospel. On the one hand, we are servants. On the other, we are stewards.
In verse 9, he said: “For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to the angels, and to men.” The word for “spectacle” in Greek is theatron, brought into English as theater. Paul was saying: “You and I are on stage!” We are being observed and studied to see how we act out our roles in the scenes of our lives and ministries. We are being assessed for our character, faithfulness, and obedience to our place in God’s plan of redemption.
We are being specifically observed by these three groups:
The World—kosmos—refers to the universe, the global system, the governments of men.
Angels: God’s faithful angels who are assigned to assist and protect the righteous. (Psalms 34:7, 91:11-12, 103:20, 104:4, Hebrews 1:7, 14).
Humans: family, friends, coworkers, and the public with whom we have contact. Paul said that “we are epistles, known and read of all men” (2Cor.3:2).
In regard to the angels, not only did they witness Satan’s utter defeat, but they are watching us. When we are reviled and persecuted for our faith, and we endure it for Christ, they observe the power of God’s plan of redemption. When we remain faithful to our Lord in our trials and sufferings, afflictions, and demonic warfare, the angels see us stand true—unlike their rebellious counterparts that fell.
They see the power of the cross to not only save and redeem us—but to keep us. This is extremely relevant to them, as Paul recorded in 1Cor.6:3: “Know you not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?”
Jude said, “The Lord is coming with 10,000 of His saints to execute judgment upon all that are ungodly” (vv.14-15). He said: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day” (vs.6). This confirms what we read in Peter.
The Greek word for “darkness” in these verses is tartaroo—a section of hell where they are imprisoned until judgment when they will be loosed from there to be judged and sentenced to eternal damnation.
Paul said that we are going to have a part in judging them. WOW! They will not be judged by the faithful angels—but by US—the redeemed! He reasoned, if we’re going to be given such an awesome responsibility, how much more should we be able to judge matters in this life?
The angels in heaven are observing our conduct now, and God is allowing us to face difficult trials to reveal His wisdom and grace to a fallen, but redeemed people such as us, as He conforms us to become His holy saints.
4. To teach us to never give up! 2Cor. 4:17-18: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Paul spoke of our “light” affliction. This is noteworthy considering the lifetime of suffering, extreme persecution, and physical attacks, including stoning to death, that he endured. But he said such things are “light.” The Greek word means “easy.” It is reminiscent of what Jesus said: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt.11:30).
The Greek word for “affliction”—thlipis, means “pressure, distress,” and 45 times in the NT it is translated “tribulation.” Jesus said: “In this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Finally, let’s look at the Greek word for “weight”—baros. It means “heavy,” most always in the negative sense: heavy burden, trouble, and the like. But here it is paired with “glory.”
The glory that we shall receive will be “very heavy”!
Paul’s comparison: LIGHT AFFLICTION—HEAVY GLORY!
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom.8:17).
“Not worthy to be compared to” = Does not have the same weight—does not weigh as much as—does not have the same value. Our present sufferings do not weigh as much as our future glory!
Not only that, but our present sufferings are only temporary, while our future glory is eternal.
When the Saints go marching in, the angels will step aside to make way for us to march around the Throne of God. And we will sing the song angels can’t sing!
“You have redeemed us to God by your blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And have made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev.5:9-10).
Will YOU be in that number when the Saints go marching in?
Then you must never give up!
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