Satan’s first temptation challenges Jesus’ identity introducing doubt. As in the garden, his first temptation opens a world of possibilities apart from God’s will. He said, “if you are the Son of God.” Temptation navigates a fine line between inflated egos or depressed ones. Whether we think more or less of ourselves the outcome of our flesh is to satisfy our God-given needs in ways that are contrary to his will. The flesh seeks selfish satisfaction of our wants in our ways apart from God. Jesus defeats this temptation showing that our deepest hunger is satisfied not by doing our will but by surrendering in obedience to God’s word. God made us to be satisfied with his word not with the world. It is obedience to God’s word not a selfish miraculous display of our selfish prowess that truly demonstrates what being a child of God is all about. In the first temptation, fasting is the process God uses to learn to deny ourselves. To say yes to God we must say no to our flesh.
The Desires of the Flesh: Misusing Our God-Given Powers for Selfish Gain
