NEIL ANDERSON DAILY DEVOTIONAL
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

April 24

Satan’s Threefold Temptation

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust
of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the
Father, but is from the world (1 John 2:16).

You will be better prepared to resist temptation in your life
when you realize that, according to the Scriptures, there are
only three channels through which Satan will entice you to act
independently of God. They are summarized in John’s instructions
to believers concerning our relationship to this world: “Do not
love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the
world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the
one who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

The three channels of temptation are the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh
preys on our physical appetites and their gratifications in this
world. The lust of the eyes appeals to self-interest and tests
the Word of God. The pride of life stresses self-promotion and
self-exaltation. Satan confronted both the first Adam and the
last Adam through each of these three channels of temptation.

Notice how Satan used precisely those three channels to deceive
Eve: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food [lust of
the flesh], and that it was a delight to the eyes [lust of the
eyes], and that the tree was desirable to make one wise [pride of
life], she took from its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6).

The first Adam failed miserably and we still suffer the results
of his failure. But the last Adam–Jesus Christ–met Satan’s
threefold temptation head-on and succeeded triumphantly. In Him
we have the resources and the power to conquer every temptation
Satan throws at us.

Dear God, please tear down any pride or self-deception I may have
concerning Satan’s strategies of temptation. I know I can never
become complacent about spiritual warfare.

This daily devotional is published and distributed by
http://www.GOSHEN.net/ . It is written by Neil Anderson at
http://www.freedominchrist.com/ .