Title: What to Think and Do During Temptations
Topic: Salvation
Summary: This bible study outlines five things to think and five things to do during the suffering of spiritual temptations.
Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.
References:
Exodus 14
James 1:13-14
Matthew 4:1-11
Psalms 107
Isaiah 24
Jeremiah 5:14-18
Nahum 2:1-2
Psalms 34:15; 37:24; 118:17-18; 119:71
#44 What to Think and Do during Temptations
Po Jonathan S. Rose
Spirit and Life Bible Study broadcast from 6/8/2011. The complete series is available at: www.spiritandlifebiblestudy.com
Matthew 3
1
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
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And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
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And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
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Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
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And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
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But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
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Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
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And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
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And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
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I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
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Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
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Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
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But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
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And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
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And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
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And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Arcana Coelestia #9002
9002. 'If he takes another one for himself' means being joined to an affection for truth stemming from some other source. This is clear from the meaning of 'taking (or betrothing) another' as being joined to, as in 8996; for in the spiritual sense marriage, which is implied here by betrothal, is the joining of the life of one to that of another. Divine order decrees that the life of the truths of faith and the life of the good of charity should be joined together; this is where all spiritual joining together begins, from which, as its origin, natural joining springs. 'Taking another one' means being joined to an affection for truth stemming from some other source, because 'a female slave', dealt with before, is an affection for truth springing from natural delight, 8993, and therefore 'another one' is an affection for truth stemming from some other source
[2] An idea of what an affection from some other source is may be gained from the consideration that every affection belonging to love is very broad and wide indeed, so broad that it extends far beyond all human understanding. Human understanding cannot go so far as to know even the genera of the varieties of such affection, still less the species making up the genera, and least of all the particular aspects and individual details of those aspects. For all that exists within the human being, especially that which belongs to affection or love there, is infinitely varied. This becomes perfectly clear from the consideration that the affection for what is good and true, an affection that belongs to love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, constitutes the whole of heaven, and yet in respect of good those in the heavens, where millions live, are all different from one another. And they would still all be different even if multiplied into countless millions of millions. For it is not possible in the universe for one thing to be exactly like another and have separate existence. It must vary, that is, be different from another, if it is to be something by itself, see 684, 690, 3241, 3744, 3745, 3986, 4005, 4149, 5598, 7236, 7833, 7836, 8003. All this gives some idea of what one should understand by an affection from some other source, namely an affection which is different from another but can nevertheless be joined to the same spiritual truth. Such affections, which are represented by female slaves betrothed to the same man, belong to the same genus but different species, the difference between them being called a specific difference. Various examples could be used to illustrate these matters; but the general idea conveyed by the things that have just been said is better.
[3] So that the joining of such affections to the same spiritual truth, and their subordination to it, might be represented, it was permissible within the Israelite and Jewish nation for men to have a number of concubines. Abraham had them, Genesis 25:6, and so did David, Solomon, and others. For anything permitted among that nation existed because of what that thing represented; or to be more precise, it existed so that by means of outward things that nation might represent the inner realities of the Church, 3246. But when the inner realities of the Church were disclosed by the Lord, representations of inner realities through outward things came to an end; for now it was the inner realities - forms of faith and love - that were to be apprehended by a member of the Church and to be the means by which he worshipped the Lord. For this reason they were no longer permitted to have a number of wives, or concubines as well as wives, see 865, 2727-2759, 3246, 4837.
