Translate this site into you preferred language, look for our Google translator in our home page: diningwithjesus.net
Traduce este sitio en tu idioma preferido, busca nuestro traductor de Google en nuestra página de inicio ve a: diningwithjesus.net
Pastor Chris White says to all of you: HELLO MY FRIENDS. May the Lord bless you today.
HOLA MIS AMIGOS. Que el Señor los bendiga.
The phrase “pride of
life” is found only once in the Bible, in 1 John 2:16, but
the concept of the pride of life, especially as it is linked with the “lust of
the eyes” and the “lust of the flesh,” appears in two more significant passages
of Scripture—the temptation of Eve in the Garden and the temptation of Christ
in the wilderness (Matthew 4:8-10). The
pride of life can be defined as anything that is “of the world,” meaning
anything that leads to arrogance, ostentation, pride in self, presumption, and
boasting. John makes it clear that anything that produces the pride of life
comes from a love of the world and “if anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
The first example of the temptation of the pride of life occurs in the Garden
of Eden, where Eve was tempted by the serpent to disobey God and eat the
forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve perceived that
the fruit was “good for food,” “pleasing to the eye,” and “desirable for
gaining wisdom” (Genesis 3:6). She
coveted the fruit in three ways. First, it was appealing to her appetite. This
John refers to as the “lust of the flesh,” the desire for that which satisfies
any of the physical needs. The fruit was also pleasing or delightful to the
eye, that which we see and desire to own or possess. Here is the “lust of the
eyes” John refers to. Finally, Eve somehow perceived that the fruit would make
her wise, giving her a wisdom beyond her own. Part of Satan’s lie was that eating
the fruit would make her “like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).
Here is the essence of the pride of life—anything that exalts us above our
station and offers the illusion of God-like qualities, wherein we boast in
arrogance and worldly wisdom. Eve wanted to be like God in her knowledge, not
content to live in a perfect world under His perfect grace and care for her.
Satan tried these same three temptations on Christ during His 40 days in the
wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). He
tempted Jesus with the lust of the flesh, bread for His hunger (vv. 2-3), the
lust of the eyes, “all the kingdoms of the world with their splendor” (vv.
8-9), and the pride of life, daring Him to cast Himself from the roof of the
Temple in order to prove that He was the Messiah by an ostentatious display of
power that was not in the will of God or His plan for the redemption of mankind
(vv. 5-6). But Jesus, though He was “tempted in every way, just as we are” (Hebrews 4:15),
resisted the devil and used the Word of God to ensure victory over him.
Christians have always been, and will always be, lured by the same three
temptations Eve and Jesus experienced. Satan doesn’t change his methods; he
doesn’t have to because they continue to be successful. He tempts us with the
lust of the flesh—sexual gratification, gluttony, excessive alcohol
consumption, and drugs, both legal and illegal, as well as the “deeds of the
flesh” about which Paul warned the Galatians, “sexual immorality, impurity,
sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger,
rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like
these” (Galatians 5:19-21). He
tempts us with the lust of the eyes—the endless accumulation of “stuff” with
which we fill our homes and garages and the insatiable desire for more, better,
and newer possessions, which ensnares us and hardens our hearts to the things
of God.
But perhaps his most evil temptation is the pride of life, the very sin that
resulted in Satan’s expulsion from heaven. He desired to be God, not to be a
servant of God (Isaiah 14:12-15). The
arrogant boasting which constitutes the pride of life motivates the other two
lusts as it seeks to elevate itself above all others and fulfill all personal
desires. It is the root cause of strife in families, churches, and nations. It exalts
the self in direct contradiction to Jesus’ statement that those who would
follow Him must take up their cross (an instrument of death) and deny
themselves. The pride of life stands in our way if we truly seek to be servants
of God. It is the arrogance that separates us from others and limits our
effectiveness in the kingdom. The pride of life “comes not from the Father, but
from the world.” And, as such, it is passing away with the world, but those who
resist and overcome the temptation of the pride of life do the will of God, and
“the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).
Thank you to Got Questions Ministries
© Copyright 2002-2019 Got Questions Ministries. All rights reserved.
You must be logged in to post a comment.