When the serpent tempted Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she “saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise.” However, it was when she transgressed God’s instruction by eating of the tree and “gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6) that man fell into sin and became prey to “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” of which the apostle writes (1 Jn. 2:16). Until then, their innocence had been guarded by obedience to God; now they were slaves to a malign master they could not resist.

What a pleasure to turn our gaze to the second Man when He was confronted with the same range of temptation, indeed “every temptation” (Lk. 4:13). If the first man hid himself from the presence of God in the midst of the trees of the garden, it is the devil who departs from our Lord in the desert. What made the difference? Eve, when questioned, replied, “God has said,” but only initially. In contrast, we hear our Lord say throughout His encounter with the evil one, “It is written … It is written … It has been said” (Lk. 4:4, 8, 12). He fills out His perfect humanity by setting His God ever before Him and obeying Him.

The apostle John writes to the young men of the family of God, “you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.” But more is needed: “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” The devil is out to draw believers of both sexes from the path of obedience through the attractions of his world. May we keep God—Father and Son—ever before us.