1 Corinthians 10:13
Ps Paul Cheng
~5 min read
Dear Bethelites,
1 Corinthians 10:13, There hath 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 ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This is a very encouraging verse, but we need to understand the circumstances that surround this verse. In the preceding chapters, the Apostle Paul had warned the Corinthians to stop craving evil things and falling into idolatry, and to live righteous lives when the environment was so wicked. Do not murmur and complain like the children of Israel in the wilderness! But how could they do that? The believer should understand that victory was always available to them if they would trust in the sovereign purpose of God. This is what we want to learn from this verse.
I. Your temptation is not unique
1 Corinthians 10:13a, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
The basic meaning of the word temptation is simply to test or to prove, and it has no negative connotation. Whether it becomes a test of our faith, or a temptation to fall into sin, it depends on how one would respond. If one resists the temptation in God’s power it is a test that proves his faithfulness. If he does not resist, it becomes an inducement to sin (c.f. Matthew 4, the temptation of Christ in the wilderness)
God allows certain circumstances and situations to come into our lives, never as a temptation to cause us to fall into sin, but as a test to prove our righteousness and faithfulness. To cause us to turn to Him for strength, and provision and purposes; James 1:13, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. Notice the phrase, with evil, which means God never intended for the testing to be with evil, but it becomes a temptation to evil only when we respond to it negatively. Instead of trusting God, we yield to our own sinful desires. That was why James continued to say, But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:14-15)
Dear friend, oftentimes God would allow circumstances into our lives to test us. At that moment, we may not recognize it as a test, but our response to it would prove whether we are faithful or not. Perhaps, you may have just received your medical report and it says, “You have contracted a very serious illness (that is a test), and you respond to it by trusting God that all things work together for good (God must have a sovereign purpose). Or you respond to it by being bitter and angry with God.” Perhaps, you may be a businessman, and you have hit hard times; the economy is not good (that is a test), you respond to it by trusting God that He will provide for your needs and it may even be His will to close down the business, or you respond to it by stealing from your customers or falsifying your accounts.
The circumstances of life will present themselves to us, in many different shapes and forms. It could be an issue in the workplace, or a problem one faces in school, or a decision one has to make. How we respond to those situations becomes an opportunity for us to prove whether we are faithful to God or not, righteous or not, growing spiritually or declining tragically. It all depends on our response. That is the reason why we learn to pray the Lord’s Prayer, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. In other words, we are praying that God will not allow the test to become a temptation, and the idea is, “Lord, stop us before Satan will turn your test into his temptation.”
Whenever we go through really hard times, we have the tendency to think that no one has faced the same kind of trials we are going through. We feel as if we are the only ones on the face of this earth, going through such an experience, and we will say things like, “This is so horrendous. No one knows or understands what I have gone through.” But the truth is, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; The phrase, common to man, simply means that which is human or that which belongs to mankind. In other words, there is no such thing as a supernatural temptation, or an out-of-this-world experience. Let us not think that we are the special one in that we have experienced something that no one in this whole world has ever experienced before. Our situations may be different, but the basis of temptation is the same. The Bible reminds us, For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Jesus became 100% man, and He had faced the temptation that every man would have experienced.
Do you know what happens when people start to think that the temptation they are facing is unique, special, and no one has ever experienced before? That is the time when people would begin to spiral downward into depression because they feel that no one understands them. No one has experienced what they have gone through, and therefore they cannot see any example of victory nor any hope of recovery.
As believers, we must understand that our temptation is not unique. Temptations are just the common experiences of every man; millions and millions of other people have gone through the same experiences. That is why it makes perfect sense to us that in the preceding verses, the Apostle Paul would go back a thousand years and spoke about the Israelites in the wilderness. Those Israelites lived in the desert and we lived in brick buildings, they lived in ancient times and we lived in modern times, and what do we have in common? What we have in common is the temptation to murmur and complain; the temptation to crave for evil things, and the temptation to fall into adultery and idolatry. It is always the same!
In this regard, let us consider a word of advice to all our young people, “Please do not keep saying that your parents do not understand what you are going through, like peer pressure or cyber bullying. Whatever you are going through is not unique, though the circumstances may be different, but the basis of temptation is the same. Your parents do understand, and you need to speak to them!”
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
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