Handling Temptation
Thinking God’s Way, Lesson 11
Thinking God’sWay is a series of Bible studies that help believers meditate on theWord of God for the purpose of Christian growth. Each lesson features a verseof Scripture in English and the original language (whether Hebrew or Greek). Italso provides basic background information, followed by basic word definitionsand other key insights. Each lesson concludes with some questions formeditation and for applying the truth to life.
InitialThoughts
Sometimes whenyou love and serve people, they play “hard to get,” push back, or reject yourinput in their lives. These are difficult junctures in relationships, so howshould you respond? This verse provides some perspective that will help youface these challenges head on with the mindset of Christ himself.
Key Verse: 1Corinthians 10:13
In English(NKJV)
God isfaithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, butwith the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able tobear it.
In Greek
πιστος … ο θεος ος ουκ εασει υμας πειρασθηναι υπερ ο δυνασθε αλλα ποιησει συν τω πειρασμω και την εκβασιν του δυνασθαι υμας υπενεγκειν
English andGreek Together
God is faithful(πιστος … ο θεος), who will not allow you (ος ουκ εασει υμας) to be tempted(πειρασθηναι) beyond what you are able (υπερ ο δυνασθε), but with thetemptation (συν τω πειρασμω) will also make the way of escape (αλλα ποιησει … και την εκβασιν),that you may be able to bear it (του δυνασθαι υμας υπενεγκειν).
BackgroundInformation
This statementappears in the New Testament (NT) book of 1 Corinthians, which is a letter Paulwrote to the church in the city of Corinth in southern Greece.
As an apostle,he had labored tirelessly to strengthen their spiritual lives and increasetheir Christian maturity. He invested his life into them, even though they hadmany problems and proved to be a serious challenge!
Among otherchallenges, the members of this church faced many temptations to sin. Corinthwas an immoral and promiscuous city. Idolatry was rampant and hundreds of cultprostitutes roamed the streets at night. In this verse, Paul gave them valuableperspective for how to avoid giving in to the temptations around them which haddominated their former, non-Christian lives.
Keywords andtheir Meanings
Mounce’sComplete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006) together with an interlinearBible, like The NKJV Greek English Interlinear New Testament (ThomasNelson, 1994) is an excellent way to get accurate definitions for your Biblestudy based upon Greek and Hebrew meanings.
- Faithful(πιστός): “true, trustworthy, certain, dependable, reliable.”
- Allow(ἐάω): “to let, allow, permit, suffer to be done.”
- Betempted (πειράζω): “to make proof of, put to the proof,tempt, try, subject to trial.” The underlying idea is to reveal, discover, orprove something through an experience that is difficult but strategic.
- Above(ὑπέρ): “above, over, beyond, more than, in a higher degree.”
- Able,2x (δύναμαι): “to be able, capable.” In other words, to be doable as opposedto impossible.
- Temptation(πειρασμός): “a proof, trial, temptation (to sin), calamity, affliction”
- With (σύν): “with, together with, besides, accompanying.”
- Make(ποιέω): “create, make, form, construct.”
- Away of escape (ἔκβασις): “a way out, a way toescape, an egress, a means of clearance.”
- Bear(ὑποφέρω): “to bear under, bear up under, support, sustain, endurepatiently, undergo.”
Other KeyInsights
This versebegins with an introductory statement affirming the following: “No temptationhas overtaken you except such as is common to man.” This means that the sametemptations you face are faced by many other people. Your temptations are neverso powerful, exceptional, or extraordinary that you can say you’re alone inyour struggle – that no one else has to go through anything as bad as whatyou’re facing. Indeed, “we’re all in the same boat” when it comes totemptation.
Allow and make are given in the future tense, which indicates thatno matter what kind of temptations you face in the future, this principle willapply. No special exceptions will arise.
Questions forMeditation and Reflection
In the contextof this verse, what does it mean that “God is faithful?”
It means thatno matter what you experience or encounter, no matter how you may feel, or nomatter what things may seem to be like for you, God will always be reliable.You can count on him completely every single time. He will never change, andhis word to you will never change either.
Why does thisverse say “allow” and not “cause?”
God nevercauses evil. James says that he never tempts anyone with evil (Jam 1:13). Buthe can grant permission for Satan to tempt you to do evil (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-10;Luke 22:31-32; Rev 12:10). Why would God allow Satan to do this?
What will Godnever let happen to you?
He will never allowyou to be tempted beyond what you can possibly overcome. In other words, hewill never give you a test that’s beyond your spiritual grade level andskillset. This doesn’t always feel true or seem true, does it? Yet rest assuredthat it is.
What are thetwo kinds of temptation that you face in life? How are they different?
The first isthe temptation to sin and the second is the temptation to give up. The first isan opportunity to do something that is outright evil in a moral or ethical sense.The second is an opportunity to give up under overwhelming pressure, though notnecessarily evil (like growing discouraged during an illness or financialcrisis).
If God allows a difficult temptation or trial to come into your life, what will he always do for you? (What will he make?)
He always provides a way out, like an egress window gives a way outof a burning building. He’ll never allow you to face a temptation without firstconstructing an exit route. This “way out” may not always be easy to find, butyou need to look for it and take it.
What is the reason for him doing or making this for you?
Ironically, hedoesn’t always intend for you to escape from the problem immediately. Youshould always flee from sin whenever possible (Jam 4:7; 1 Cor 6:18; 2 Tim 2:22).Yet sometimes God intends for you to endure a problem instead, especially incases of overwhelming pressure to give in when confronted with physical suffering,relationship challenges, and financial pressures. When this is the case, the “egress”can also mean that he will provide an end, meaning that there will “always belight at the end of the tunnel.” It might be a long, dark tunnel, but the wayout is down there – you can count on him for that in the end.
A PersonalTranslation
Before youconsider how to apply this truth to your life by allowing it to change yourmindset and approach to life, write out a personal translation. Use what youhave learned to write this verse in yourown words.
Questions for Personal Application
- Have you ever felt like your temptations and trials were especially difficult, more difficult than anyone else deals experiences?
- Do you ever feel like the temptations and trials you face are so overwhelming that you must either give up or give in to them?
- What are some temptations to do evil that you face?
- What are some temptations to give up that you face?
- How does God provide a “way of escape” for you in these instances?
- What happens when you decide to take his “way of escape?”
