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The Desire of Ages
humanity through Christ; now He communicated with humanity in
Christ. Satan had hoped that God’s abhorrence of evil would bring an
eternal separation between heaven and earth. But now it was manifest
that the connection between God and man had been restored.
Satan saw that he must either conquer or be conquered. The issues
of the conflict involved too much to be entrusted to his confederate
angels. He must personally conduct the warfare. All the energies of
apostasy were rallied against the Son of God. Christ was made the
mark of every weapon of hell.
Many look on this conflict between Christ and Satan as having no
special bearing on their own life; and for them it has little interest. But
within the domain of every human heart this controversy is repeated.
Never does one leave the ranks of evil for the service of God without
encountering the assaults of Satan. The enticements which Christ
resisted were those that we find it so difficult to withstand. They were
urged upon Him in as much greater degree as His character is superior
to ours. With the terrible weight of the sins of the world upon Him,
Christ withstood the test upon appetite, upon the love of the world,
and upon that love of display which leads to presumption. These
were the temptations that overcame Adam and Eve, and that so readily
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overcome us.
Satan had pointed to Adam’s sin as proof that God’s law was
unjust, and could not be obeyed. In our humanity, Christ was to
redeem Adam’s failure. But when Adam was assailed by the tempter,
none of the effects of sin were upon him. He stood in the strength
of perfect manhood, possessing the full vigor of mind and body. He
was surrounded with the glories of Eden, and was in daily communion
with heavenly beings. It was not thus with Jesus when He entered
the wilderness to cope with Satan. For four thousand years the race
had been decreasing in physical strength, in mental power, and in
moral worth; and Christ took upon Him the infirmities of degenerate
humanity. Only thus could He rescue man from the lowest depths of
his degradation.
Many claim that it was impossible for Christ to be overcome by
temptation. Then He could not have been placed in Adam’s position;
He could not have gained the victory that Adam failed to gain. If
we have in any sense a more trying conflict than had Christ, then He
would not be able to succor us. But our Saviour took humanity, with