1Corinthians 10:13

 

 

Home
Site Index
Inductive Bible Study
Greek Word Studies
Commentaries by Verse
Area Precept Classes
Reference Search
Bible Dictionaries
Bible Maps & Pictures
It's Greek to Me
Bible Commentaries
Discipline Yourself
Christian Biography
Wailing Wall
Bible Prophecy

Search by Verse
Word or Phrase:

 

 

Study Tools

 
 

INDEX

 

COLLECTIONS
Commentaries, Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament.

   
  

   

 

Search Every Word on Preceptaustin
PicoSearch
    Help

 

1Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.  (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: peirasmos humas ouk eilephen (3SRAI) ei me anthropinos; pistos de o theos on ouk easei (3SFAI) humas peirasthenai (APN) huper o dunasthe, (2PPI) alla poiesei (3SFAI) sun to peirasmo kai ten ekbasin tou dunasthai (PPN) hupenegkein. (AAN)
Amplified:  For no
temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
ASV: There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it.
Berkley: No
temptation except what all people experience has laid hold of you, and God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted beyond your ability but will, at the time of temptation, provide a way out, so that you will be able to stand it.
BBE:  You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test a way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.
ESV: No
temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
KJV: There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Moffatt: No
temptation has waylaid you that is beyond man's power; trust God, he will never let you be tempted beyond what you can stand, but when temptation comes, he will provide the way out of it, so that you can bear up under it. 
Montgomery: No
temptation has overtaken you that is beyond man’s power; but God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but will, with every temptation, provide the way of escape also, so that you may be able to withstand.
NET: No
trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful, who will not let you be tried too much, but with the trial will also provide a way through it so that you may be able to endure.
NIV: No
temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
NJB:  None of the
trials which have come upon you is more than a human being can stand. You can trust that God will not let you be put to the test beyond your strength, but with any trial will also provide a way out by enabling you to put up with it.
NKJV: No
temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
NLT: But remember that the
temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. (NLT - Tyndale House)
NRSV: No
testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Phillips: No
temptation has come your way that is too hard for flesh and blood to bear. But God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has a way out, so that it will never be impossible for you to bear it.
TEV: Every
test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out
TLB: But remember this--the wrong desires that come into your life aren't anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation's power so that you can bear up patiently against it.
Wesley: There hath no
temptation taken you, but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above your ability, but will with the temptation make also a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Weymouth: No
temptation has you in its power but such as is common to human nature; and God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. But, when the temptation comes, He will also provide the way of escape; so that you may be able to bear it.
Wuest: A
testing time or a temptation has not laid hold of you with the result that these have you in their grip, except those to which mankind is continually subject. But God is faithful who will not permit you to be tested nor tempted above that with which you are able to cope, but will, along with the testing time or temptation, also make a way out in order that you may be able to bear up under it.
Young's Literal: No
temptation hath taken you--except human; and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but He will make, with the temptation, also the outlet, for your being able to bear it.

REFERENCES

Don Anderson
Paul Apple
Albert Barnes
Brian Bell
John Calvin
Alan Carr
Rich Cathers
Adam Clarke
Ron Daniel
Bob Deffinbaugh
Early Church
Dave Guzik
Matthew Henry
Jamieson, F, Brown
S Lewis Johnson
John MacArthur
Robert Morgan
Ray Pritchard
A T Robertson
C H Spurgeon
C H Spurgeon
Ray Stedman
Joseph Stowell
Marvin Vincent
Steve Zeisler
Precept Ministries

1 Corinthians Study Guide
1 Corinthians Commentary - 296 pages
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary0
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 How To Tame Temptation
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary
1 Corinthians 10 - Dealing with Temptation
1 Corinthians 10:11-14 Lessons We Must Learn From Our “Fathers”
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary - Ante-Nicene Fathers
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary
1 Corinthians 10 Commentary
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Lessons From the Past
1 Corinthians 10:13 Triumphing over Temptation
1 Corinthians 10:13 Seven Ways to Break Bad Habits
1 Corinthians 10:13 Faithful to the Tempted
1 Corinthians 10 Word Pictures in the NT
1 Corinthians 10:13 Comfort for the Tempted
1 Corinthians 10:13 Comfort for the Tried Believers

1 Corinthians 9:24-10:13 Disqualified
1 Corinthians 10:13 - Load Limits
1 Corinthians 10 Word Studies in the NT
1 Corinthians 10 Liberty, Limits and Love
1 Corinthians 7-16 - Part 2 - Download first Lesson
NO TEMPTATION HAS OVERTAKEN YOU BUT SUCH AS IS COMMON TO MAN: peirasmos humas ouk eilephen (3SRAI) ei me anthropinos: (Je 12:5; Mt 24:21, 22, 24; Lk 11:4; 22:31,46; 2Co 11:23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28; Eph 6:12,13; He 11:35, 36, 37, 38; 12:4; James 5:10,11; 1Pe 1:6,7; 5:8,9; Re 2:10; 3:10) (Common - 1Cor 1:9; Dt 7:9; Ps 36:5; 89:33; Is 11:5; 25:1; 49:7; Lam 3:23; Ho 2:20; 1Th 5:24; 2Th 3:3; 2Ti 2:11-13; He 6:18; 10:23; 11:11; 1Pe 4:19; 1Jn 1:9; Re 19:11)

Having just given a warning (1Cor 10:12, really 1Co 10:1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7,8, 9, 10, 11) Paul passes to encouragement.

Temptation is the first word in the Greek for emphasis. It refers not only to temptation but to trials and testings. Some versions in fact translate it as a test and others as a temptation (see versions above), which is understandable in view of the fact that in every test that God allows there always comes with it the potential that we might allow it to become a temptation to sin. God never tempts us to sin (Jas 1:13-note), but our fallen flesh processes the test God allows and says in essence "I think I will use this as an opportunity to sin." We are always responsible for how we chose to respond. Don't blame God, other people, circumstances, etc, if you sin when tested/tempted!

Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God. - John Quincy Adams

Temptations discover what we are. - Thomas à Kempis

Temptations are a file which rub off much of the rust of our self-confidence. - François Fenelon

My temptations have been my masters in divinity. - Martin Luther

Just to make sure we understand -- whether the test becomes a proof of righteousness or an inducement to evil depends on our response. If we resist in God’s power (The only way! cp self control Gal 5:23- note, Gal 5:16-note, Gal 2:20-note, Ro 8:13-note, etc), it is a test that proves our faithfulness. If we do not resist, it becomes a solicitation to sin.

Matthew Henry...

We live indeed in a tempting world, where we are compassed about with snares. Every place, condition, relation, employment, and enjoyment, abounds with them; yet what comfort may we fetch from such a passage! For, 1. "No temptation," says the apostle, "hath yet taken you, but such as is common to man, what is human; that is, such as you may expect from men of such principles as heathens, and such power; or else such as is common to mankind in the present state; or else such as the spirit and resolution of mere men may bear you through." Note, The trials of common Christians are but common trials: others have the like burdens and the like temptations; what they bear up under, and break through, we may also.

Temptation (3986) (peirasmos from peirazo = to make trial of, try, tempt, prove in either a good or bad sense) describes first the idea of putting to the test and then refers to the tests or pressures that come in order to discover a person’s nature or the quality of some thing. Peirasmos connotes trouble or something that breaks the pattern of peace, comfort, joy, and happiness in someone’s life. Trials rightly faced are harmless and in fact beneficial to the saint as Peter (and James 1 explain), but wrongly met become temptations to evil as explained below. Think of yourself as a tube of "spiritual toothpaste". Pressure brings out what's really on the inside! 

Jay Adams writes that peirasmos is...

itself colorless and depends upon the context for its specific hue. In one sense every trial (or test) is also a temptation for it affords the opportunity to fail. Viewed from one perspective, a problem is a test which, if solved biblically, strengthens and helps one grow in grace (cf. James 1:2, 3, 4). Looked at from a different perspective, the same problem may be used by Satan as a temptation for sin. The book of Job shows the two-sidedness of every trial. (Adams, J. E.  Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling)

In a sermon titled "Faith Tested and Crowned," Alexander Maclaren distinguished between being tempted and being tried or tested. He said that the idea inherent in temptation

conveys the idea of appealing to the worst part of man, with the wish that he may yield and do the wrong. The latter (trial) means an appeal to the better part of man, with the desire that he should stand.

"Temptation says, 'Do this pleasant thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is wrong.'

Trial or proving says, 'Do this right and noble thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is painful.'"

In sum, peirasmos refers to all the trials, testing, temptations that go into furnishing a test of one's character.

Matthew records that

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (verbal root of peirasmos) by the devil. (Mt 4:1)

The temptation was morally neutral -- there was nothing inherently evil in offering Jesus bread. The context however allows us to determine that the purpose of the testing is for evil not good.  Satan, the Evil one himself, uses the "neutral" peirasmos for the purpose of inducing Jesus to sin,. When the context in a passage is to induce one to sin, most modern Bible versions translate the test as a "temptation". Remember however that God in His sovereignty is able to take even temptations to evil and cause them "to work together for good to those who love God" (see notes Romans 8:28, 8:29).

John MacArthur comments that

tests and temptations are two sides of the same thing. I want you to follow that: tests and temptations are two sides of the same thing. Life is full of tests. Every test, every trial potentiates a temptation.

A friend of mine told me one time, that he had taken a new job, with a very important company—he was very excited about it. He had only been on the job for a little while. Everyone had left the office one night and on his desk someone had left a HUGE sum of money. He immediately took the money, put it in his briefcase, and thought I am going to have to return this. He wrapped it up and the next morning brought it back, and when he came to work he immediately walked into the bosses’ office and put the money down on the desk and said, “Somehow, someone left this money on my desk and I don't know who it was or who will be missing it, but I wanted to turn it in as fast as I could, so no one would be distressed by its absence.” The boss looked him in the face and said, “I put the money there—it was a test—you passed.”

Now life offers us those kinds of tests. If my friend had gone home, and opened the brief case and counted the money, and thought about, hmmm . . . nobody will know and began to battle in his heart . . . boy, I could use that money. I could buy this and I could buy that, and I could go here and I could go there. I could think of ten ways to explain if anyone wondered about the money . . . then it would have become a temptation.

Once the external becomes the solicitation of the heart, it's turned into a temptation. Temptation is an inward solicitation resulting from an outward test. Life is full of those kinds of tests. Tests can be financial stress . . . financial setback. You are in the midst of the test of financial setback, and you say I am just going to trust God for this; I am going to believe the Lord for this: we are going to cut things back, we are going to live frugally, we are going to budget, we are going to be faithful to our obligations, we are going to live on less, and we are going to believe the Lord to provide. You've passed the test. If you say, how can I steal from the till, how can I cheat on my income tax, how can I not pay what I owe to someone—you have moved it into a temptation because the external problem has become an inward solicitation to evil.

It could be personal disappointment. You had expectations of someone—they didn't perform. You either accept that with a trusting heart, love them in spite of it or you begin in your heart to feel animosity and bitterness, and now you are dealing with a temptation. It could be unkindness, it could be mistreatment, it could be injustice, it could be the test of illness, it could be the test of injury, it could be the test of unexpected disaster, it could be the test of death in the circle of your love, it could be the test of thwarted plans, it could be the test of failure to accomplish something that you had dreamed for a long time, it could be the test of facing a problem with no acceptable solution, it could be the test of a person or an experience that gives you an opportunity to do evil.

These are the tests that make up life and when they go inside, then they begin to solicit evil and they become temptations. Look at James chapter one for a very lucid explanation of this internal processing. In James chapter 1, verse 13, James talks about the fact that God is not involved in tempting anyone. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn't tempt anyone.” Now that is very important. God does not bring about an inward solicitation to do evil in anyone's life. But go back to verse 2. “Consider is all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various tests, (“trials,” same word), because the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” God sends tests but not temptations. God will bring the outward extremity to produce patience and endurance and spiritual maturity. 1 Peter 5 says, that after you have suffered for awhile, the Lord will make you perfect.

So God allows the tests of life to make us strong, but God never brings them to inward solicitation to do evil. You say, “How does that happen?” Verse 14, God doesn't tempt . . . verse 14 . . . “but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by” . . . what? “His own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Don't you be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above." That's all God ever sends. God will bring the test for spiritual maturity and perfection. It is your own lust that begins to produce the solicitation to do evil.

Our victory then, I think, starts with understanding the means by which temptation comes. It comes through the trials, tests, and disappointments of life. So, we simply remind you that when things aren't going the way you want them in life and you are facing a test, that is the means by which temptation comes to you, so you learn to watch how you respond to tests.  (
Sermon notes)

Oswald Chambers wrote that ...

Temptation is not sin; temptation must always be possible for our sonship to be of worth to God. It would be no credit for God to bring mechanical slaves to glory—“for it became Him … in bringing many sons unto glory”—not slaves, not useless channels, but vigorous, alert, wide-awake men and women, with all their powers and faculties devoted absolutely to God. (The Philosophy of Sin)

J C Ryle once said...

Trials are intended to make us think, to wean us from the world, to send us to the Bible, to drive us to our knees.

Spurgeon explains the great value of his personal trials writing...

I am afraid that all the grace that I have got out of my comfortable and easy times and happy hours might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable. What do I not owe to the crucible and the furnace, the bellows that have blown up the coals, and the hand which has thrust me into the heat?... I bear my witness that the worst days I have ever had have turned out to be my best days... I can bear my personal testimony that the best piece of furniture that I ever had in the house was a cross. I do not mean a material cross; I mean the cross of affliction and trouble.... In shunning a trial we are seeking to avoid a blessing.

John Macarthur has an excellent illustration and explanation of the purpose of "trials" (temptations). He writes

"To test the genuineness of a diamond, jewelers often place it in clear water, which causes a real diamond to sparkle with special brilliance. An imitation stone, on the other hand, will have almost no sparkle at all. When the two are placed side by side, even an untrained eye can easily tell the difference. In a similar way, even the world can often notice the marked differences between genuine Christians and those who merely profess faith in Christ. As with jewels, there is a noticeable difference in radiance, especially when people are undergoing difficult times. Many people have great confidence in their faith until it is severely tested by hardships and disappointments. How a person handles trouble will reveal whether his faith is living or dead, genuine or imitation, saving or non-saving." (Macarthur J. James. 1998. Moody)

Has overtaken you - "has laid hold of you" (Berkley, Wuest), "has seized you" (NIV), "has waylaid you" (Moffatt), "has overtaken you and laid hold of you" (Amplified), "has you in its power" (Weymouth). As you can see, some of the translations render the Greek verb lambano (eilephen) in such a way that it paints a picture of an emotion or urge that suddenly attempts to seize a person's mind, will and emotions, so that he or she might be led astray from the right way. The picture is as occurs in a war, when the enemy seizes or grasps us and attempts to hold us fast.

Overtaken (2983) (lambano) means taken hold of, grasped, seized and in so doing bringing under one's control. In some secular uses lambano meant to be taken by violence, seized or carried off (as prize or booty). It was also used of passions, feelings, etc meaning to be seized by them (cp Lk 5;26), and such a nuance could apply in the present context.

Common to man - Such as is human. But don't use this as an excuse for sinning when you are tested rationalizing it by saying "I'm only human!" That's not the application Paul intends! As one person has written God promises a safe landing but not a calm passage.

Barclay comments that...

Any temptation that comes to us is not unique. Others have endured it and others have come through it. A friend tells how he was once driving Lightfoot, the great Bishop of Durham, in a horse carriage along a very narrow mountain road in Norway. It got so narrow that there were only inches between the wheels of the carriage and the cliffs on one side and the precipice on the other. He suggested in the end that Lightfoot would be safer to get out and walk. Lightfoot surveyed the situation and said, “Other carriages must have taken this road. Drive on.”

In the Greek Anthology there is an epigram which gives the epitaph of a shipwrecked sailor, supposedly from his own lips. “A shipwrecked mariner on this coast bids you set sail,” he says. His bark may have been lost but many more have weathered the storm. When we are going through it, we are going through what others have, in the grace of God, endured and conquered. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)

Albert Barnes...

What temptation the apostle refers to here is not quite certain. It is probable, however, that he refers to such as would, in their circumstances, have a tendency to induce them to forsake their allegiance to their Lord, and to lead them into idolatry and sin. These might be either open persecutions, or afflictions on account of their religion; or they might be the various allurements which were spread around them from the prevalence of idolatry. They might be the open attacks of their enemies, or the sneers and the derision of the gay and the great. The design of the apostle evidently is to show them that, if they were faithful, they had nothing to fear from any such forms of temptation, but that God was able to bring them through them all. The sentiment in the verse is a very important one, since the general principle here stated is as applicable to Christians now as it was to the Corinthians.

The word temptation suggest something bad we need to remember that (1) temptation is really a test and (2) temptation is not in itself is sin. In fact temptation is a guarantee as long as we exist in these mortal bodies.  As Oswald Chambers says...

Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust (Ed: And self or flesh) a god...Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else--what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations--He sustains us in the midst of them...

For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered (Jesus' suffering was a test - yes, He was fully God, but he was tested in His Humanity), He is able to come to the aid (pictures one who upon hearing a cry for help comes running) of those who are (present tense, passive voice = continuously being) tempted. (Hebrews 2:18-note)

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace (Ed: When should we draw near? Of course, always, but in context, when we are being tempted!), that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15, 16-note).

But such as is common to man...The design of the apostle is to comfort and encourage the Corinthians, and to keep their minds from despondency. He had portrayed their danger; he had shown them how others had fallen (cp 1Co 10:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12); and they might be led to suppose that in such circumstances they could not be secure. He therefore tells them that they might still be safe, for their temptations were such as human nature had often been subject to, and God was able to keep them from falling.

Think of it this way - Trials/temptations are part of human nature and we all experience them. To be sure, each of us has his or her besetting sin or susceptibility to temptation but none of us are immune to these "intruders". They are part of our fallen human condition.

Jesus as the God-Man also experienced the temptations common to man...

For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. (He 2:18-note)

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (He 4:15-note)

In Galatians Paul alludes to this "common" aspect of temptation writing...

Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted (Ga 6:1)

Vine writes...

God permits the circumstances to take place from which a temptation arises, but He does not bar the way of retreat. The believer must take it. This is his responsibility. God is not the author of sin. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

J Vernon McGee writes that...

A great many people feel that nobody has ever been tempted as they are tempted. My friend, no matter what temptation you experience, there have been others who have had the same kind of temptation. The encouraging thing is that God will make a way of escape for you. God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can endure. Dr. Hutton used to say it like this:

God always makes a way of escape and sometimes the way of escape is the king's highway and a good pair of heels.

In other words, let the Devil see your heels -- run as hard as you can to get away from the temptation. One of the reasons we yield to temptation is that we are like the little boy in the pantry. His mother heard a noise because he had taken down the cookie jar. She said, "Willie, where are you?" He answered that he was in the pantry. "What are you doing there?" He said, "I'm fighting temptation." My friend, that is not the place to fight temptation! That is the place to start running.

Guzik

We often want to excuse our particular tempting circumstances as "very unique" and a "special exception." But God reminds us that our temptation is not unique, many other men and women of God have faced the same or similar temptation, and have found the strength in God to overcome the temptation.  Others before you have found strength in the Lord to overcome your same temptation and worse. So, you can be victorious in the strength of Jesus, not in your own strength (cp Jn 3:30, Ro 13:14-note, Gal 5:16, 17-note). We fight temptation with Jesus' power, like the girl who explained what she did when Satan came with temptation at the door of her heart: "I send Jesus to answer the door. When Satan sees Jesus, he says, 'OOPS, sorry, I must have the wrong house.'"

Alan Carr addresses who is affected and where the temptation comes from...

A. All humans are subject to temptation. (Ill. Best to the least) (Ill. Jesus, Peter, David, etc!)

B. We are daily assaulted with a wide range of temptations. (List some!) (Illustration -We all have one area where we are particularly susceptible.

C. It is not a sin to be tempted. (Ill. Jesus - Heb. 4:15) Sin enters the picture  when temptation is surrendered to.

D. Our greatest danger is to think we have arrived at a place where we are above sinning, 1Cor 10:12; Pr 16:18. When our pride tells us that us that we cannot fall, then we are headed for a huge one! Pride in this area just tempts the devil!

E. Why doesn’t God just kill the devil and remove the attraction for sin? If that were to happen, then you and I would lose the ability to be overcomers in Jesus. Without opposition, there is no victory! God has not called us to a life of ease, but to one of victory. A victory that we cannot enjoy until we have faced evil and overcome it.

 

THE SOURCE OF TEMPTATION (Where)

A. “Common” - Do not think your temptations are so great, they are just like the ones we all face. They are just common, run of the mill, garden-variety temptations. We all get the same ones from the same sources. (Ill. 1John 2:16; Eve - Ge 3:1, 2, 3, 4, 5ff) There are three primary sources of temptation:

The world, the flesh and the devil. Let’s look at these three sources and how they attack us.

B. The World - In the Bible, the word for world means “system or order.” The Bible speaks of this system called the world and says that it is evil. (Ill. 1John 2:15; James 4:4) It is possible for believers to become so worldly that they fail to stand out for the Lord. We are to be different and distinct. We are not to allow the world to force us into its mold, Rom. 12:1, 2; Mt. 5:13, 14, 15, 16 (Illustration of a Thermostat and thermometer) Ill. The world’s idea of beauty - 1Pe 3:3. God’s Idea is inward beauty of the soul untouched and unspoiled by the taint of the world.

C. The Flesh - Born into everyone of us, from the most innocent child to the most godly adult, is a bent in our nature. There is a leaning toward sin. We inherited this from our first father, Adam. It is called the “old Nature.” (Ill. There is a civil war in the heart of every saved person here today - Gal 5:17! ) When we fail, we try to blame our sin on the devil. Yes, he tempts us and points us toward sin, but we are responsible for the final decision, Ill. V.13. (Ill. Even if Satan were gone, we would still sin - Illustration Millennium - Rev. 2:27.

D. The Devil - His main objective, as far as you are concerned, is to cause you to fall so that God is dishonored and your become useless to the Kingdom work of God. He knows every weakness you have and he exploits them trying to get you to sin. He tells you how great sin will be, that you will get by with it, that you even deserve it, but he hates you and he is plotting your defeat. He loves to point at fallen saints and laugh before God as he stands accusing us of evil. Don’t give him the satisfaction!

J. C. Philpot in his devotional Pearls has this entry entitled "Were we left wholly in its hands!"

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man." 1 Cor. 10:13

There is not a single sin ever perpetrated by man which does not lie deeply hidden in the recesses of our fallen nature! But these sins do not stir into activity until temptation draws them forth.

Temptation is to the corruptions of the heart, what fire is to stubble. Sin lies quiet in our carnal mind until temptation comes to set it on fire.

Temptation is to our corrupt nature, what the spark is to gunpowder. Have you not found this sad truth: how easily by temptation are the corruptions of our wretched heart set on fire, and burst into every kind of daring and dreadful iniquity?

In temptation, we learn what sin is . . .

its dreadful nature,
its aggravated character,
its fearful workings,
its mad, its desperate upheavings against God,
and what we are or would be,
were we left wholly in its hands!

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." Matthew 26:41

"Hold me up, and I shall be safe!" Psalm 119:117

AND GOD IS FAITHFUL: pistos de o theos on ouk easei (3SFAI): (Nu 23:19, Dt 7:9, 32:4, Ps 100:5, Is 25:1, 49:7, La 3:22, 23,1Co 1:9, Php 1:6, 1Th 5:24, 2Th 3:3, Titus 1:2, Heb 2:17, 6:18, 10:23, 11:11, Re 19:11)

When we are most satisfied in Him
Is when we are safest from sin

Observe, that when the temptation/test comes, God does not or has not "vacated the premises". He is there with you (Heb 13:5-note), in you (Col 1:27-note, Gal 2:20-note), and for you (Ro 8:31-note). Nothing can separate you from Him (Ro 8:38, 39-notes). Of that truth, that certainty you can be fully assured and confident. You can trust Him, secure in Who He is and what He promises.

As S Lewis Johnson observes...

The text says God is faithful, doesn’t it? So if we fall, who’s to blame? Well it’s not God. He’s faithful. The text says that God is in control. No temptation is overtaken you except such as is common to man, but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted above that which you are able. He is in control. So if I fail, it cannot be excused.

Not only that, we read, he will also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it, and so since he provides a way of escape there are no excuses for our falls. We have a God who is faithful, we have no excuse. We have a God who controls circumstances, we have no excuse. We have a God who, as he says here in the last part of the text, makes ways of escape. We are of course inexcusable. This is marvelous provision for the weak and I happen to be of this category, the weak. There is a beautiful protective providence, no temptation is ever overtaken you except such as is common to man. What a comfort that is. God has overseen my life and he does yours to be sure I do not have a temptation beyond my capacity with his help to overcome. Not only a protective kind of providence but a preventive kind of providence; God is faithful he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. He doesn’t shield us, but he sustains us in the trials of life.

In all these things we are, in all the things Paul says, doesn’t he, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us; not out of them, in them. And so many of us have to go through some very disappointing circumstances. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through some of them. The loss of loved ones, how deeply one feels that through him who loved us. Job, what an illustration of this. Joseph what an illustration. And finally this kind of providing providence we could call it in verse 13c, but with the temptation also make the way of escape -- something like a way out that you may be able to bear it. Not an escape from temptation, but a present power to endure it in its midst. What a glorious provision is made for those who are sorely tried in the Christian life to know there is a way of escape that God provides. Some of you in this audience have had some very serious, serious trials. I know some of them, some I don’t know. But this is the comfort of the saints in the midst of their trials. May God help us to live in such a way that we are not disqualified. (
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Lessons From the Past)

Faithful  (4103) (pistos from peítho = to persuade - induce one by words to believe, have confidence) is something or someone who is worthy of faith or keeps promises and is applied to God, humans, His Word, etc. Paul's point is that God always acts consistently with His character, and thus has made provision adequately to meet the need of those who rely upon His strength and seek to be conformed to His will (cp He 4:14, 15, 16-see notes)

Pistos is used 67 times in the NT (Mt 24:45; 25:21, 23; Luke 12:42; 16:10, 11, 12; 19:17; John 20:27; Acts 10:45; 13:34; 16:1, 15; 1Cor 1:9; 4:2, 17; 7:25; 10:13; 2Cor 1:18; 6:15; Gal 3:9; Eph 1:1; 6:21; Col 1:2, 7; 4:7, 9; 1Th 5:24; 2Th 3:3; 1Ti 1:12, 15; 3:1, 11; 4:3, 9-10, 12; 5:16; 6:2; 2Ti 2:2, 11, 13; Titus 1:6, 9; 3:8; Heb 2:17; 3:2, 5; 10:23; 11:11; 1Pe 1:21; 4:19; 5:12; 1Jn 1:9; 3Jn 1:5; Rev 1:5; 2:10, 13; 3:14; 17:14; 19:11; 21:5; 22:6) Pistos is translated believe(2), believer(4), believers(5), believing(1), faithful(43), Faithful(1), faithful one(1), faithfully(1), sure(1), trustworthy(7), who believe(1).

J. C. Ryle exhorts us to...

settle it firmly in our minds that there is a meaning, a needs-be and a message from God in every sorrow that falls upon us...There are no lessons so useful as those learned in the school of affliction... (and be encouraged for) The tools that the great Architect intends to use much are often kept long in the fire, to temper them and fit them for work.

Spurgeon after preaching on 1Corinithians 10:13 prayed...

O Lord, fulfill thy gracious purpose unto thy servants! Hold thou us up, lest we fall. We are very weak; keep us, for thy dear Son’s sake! Amen.

John MacDuff writes...

"For myself," says one whose saintliness has stirred the pulses of the century, "now, at the end of a long life, I say from a full heart that God has never failed me; never disappointed me; has ever turned evil into good for me…and what He has been to me who have deserved His love so little, such He will be, I believe and know, to every one who does not repel Him, and turn from His pleadings." (John MacDuff. The Pillar in the Night)

Illustration of God's faithfulness - There was once a young boy whose dad left him on a downtown corner one morning and told him to wait there until he returned in about half an hour. But the father’s car broke down and he could not get to a phone. Five hours went by before the father managed to get back, and he was worried that his son would be in a state of panic. But when the father got there, the boy was standing in front of the dime store, looking in the window and rocking back and forth on his heels. When the father saw him, he ran up to him and threw his arms around him and hugged and kissed him. The father apologized and said, “Weren’t you worried? Did you think I was never coming back?” The boy looked up and replied, “No, Dad. I knew you were coming. You said you would.”

Jamieson writes...

To be led into temptation is distinct from running into it, which would be “tempting God” (1Co 10:9; Mt 4:7).

C H Spurgeon writes...

God is true to His promises. “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able” (1 Cor. 10:13). “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5). “God is faithful,” and He will fulfill that promise. This is one of Christ’s promises, and Christ is God. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27–28). “God is faithful,” and God will fulfill these promises.

You have often heard this promise, “As your days, so shall your strength be” (Deut. 33:25). Do you believe it? Or will you make God a liar? If you believe it, then banish all dark depression with this blessed little sentence, “God is faithful.”

God sends our trials at the right time. If He puts an extra burden on us in one way, He takes something off in another. John Bradford, the famous martyr, suffered with rheumatism and depression, in which I can greatly sympathize. Yet when they imprisoned him in a foul damp dungeon, and he knew that he would never come out except to die, Bradford wrote,

It is a singular thing that ever since I have been in this prison and have had other trials to bear, I have had no touch of my rheumatism or depression. (Ed note: This writer can attest to this truth, for more than 10 years ago I began to have a loud humming/buzzing noise in my right ear and I thought I would go crazy. And yet to this day, even though I can still "hear" it, God daily gives me the grace to be able to "ignore" it.)

How blessed, and you will find that this is true, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted (tested) beyond what you are able, but with the temptation (test) will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13). (Spurgeon, C., & Clarke, R. H. Beside Still Waters: Words of Comfort for the Soul Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Albert Barnes...

God is faithful. This was the only source of security; and this was enough. If they looked only to themselves, they would fall (cp 1Co 10:12, Pr 16:18, Peter's example Mt 26:33). If they depended on the faithfulness of God, they would be secure. The sense is, not that God would keep them without any effort of their own; not that he would secure them if, they plunged into temptation; but that if they used the proper means, if they resisted temptation, and sought his aid, and depended on his promises, then he would be faithful. This is everywhere implied in the Scriptures; and to depend on the faithfulness of God, otherwise than in the proper use of means and in avoiding the places of temptation, is to tempt him, and provoke him to wrath. See Barnes "Matthew 4:1" and following.

Matthew Henry...

God is faithful. Though Satan be a deceiver, God is true. Men may be false, and the world may be false; but God is faithful, and our strength and security are in him. He keepeth his covenant, and will never disappoint the filial hope and trust of his children.

GOD—HIS KEEPING

He will “keep” you as the apple of His eye (Ps 17:8).
He will “keep” you in all your ways (Ps 91:11).
He will “keep” that which you have committed to Him against that day (2Ti 1:12).
He will “keep” you as a shepherd cares for his flock of sheep (Jer 31:10).
He will “keep” you in perfect peace (Is 26:3).
He will “keep” you from the hour of temptation and support you in the time of trial (1Co 10:13).
He will “keep” you from falling (Jude 24). (The Speaker's Quote Book)

WHO WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU ARE ABLE: on ouk easei (3SFAI) humas peirasthenai (APN) huper o dunasthe, (2PPI): (Ex 3:17; Ps 125:3; Da 3:17; Lk 22:32; Jn 10:28, 29, 30; Ro 8:28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39; 2Co 1:10; 12:8, 9, 10; 2Ti 4:18; 1Pe 1:5; 2Pe 2:9)

He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (violate the "law of nature" and conscience) for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented (imperfect tense = over and over - describes a vessel tossed by the waves Mt14:24, disease Mt 8:6, pains of childbirth Re12:2) day after day with their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows (Study passages that speak of what the Lord knows - 2Ti 2:19, Ps 1:6, Lk 16:15, Ps 103, 14, Nah 1:7, Mt 6:8) how to rescue (rhuomai = bring out of severe, acute danger emphasizing greatness of peril from which deliverance is given by a mighty act of power) the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, (2Pe 2:7, 8-notes, 2Pe 2:9-note)

Not (3756) (ou) signifies absolute negation -- as a child of the Living God, you can be sure that He will absolutely not allow a temptation or test into our life that He knows we cannot handle. He is not trying to destroy us but refine us.

To be tempted beyond - "to be pressured above". As Vine puts it, God...

is fully aware of all the circumstances attaching to every temptation and not one comes to us except under His permissive will. His restraining power is such, that we can meet and overcome the temptation by the exercise of our wills in response to, and by the power of, the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts. (Ibid)

Beyond (5228) (huper) is used in this context as a marker of a degree beyond that of a compared scale, thus signifying over and above or more than. This speaks of the extent of the temptation we experience. God made each of us and knows each of us intimately and thus He can be trusted to not allow us to go into a temptation which is more than we can handle. A corollary thought is that the test/temptation that God allows in the life of a more mature saint might be "stronger" or "greater", but it will always be within the spiritual capability of the one tested to be able to bear up under it. (See Joseph Stowell's devotional on "Load Limits")

The Plimsoll Mark- It was due to the efforts of Samuel Plimsoll (1824-98), British reformer, that the Merchant Shipping Act of 1876 was passed, requiring all ships to bear a mark known as the Plimsoll mark and indicating the maximum load line. By this act the Board of Trade of England was empowered to detain any vessel deemed unsafe, and the amount of cargo was restricted, thus making the long and perilous ocean voyage of those days much safer. Because of his work, Plimsoll became known as the sailor's friend. The Plimsoll mark, with its gradations and figures, may be seen on the bow of ships near the water line as they lie at anchor in a harbor. In God's sight, each of us has a similar mark, though we may not be able to see it The burdens and responsibilities He gives us may seem unbearable, but He knows our limit, His everlasting arms are underneath, and by His grace we can bear them without sinking. "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13b).—Sunday School Times

Beyond what you are able - In short, no trial/temptation is inherently stronger than our spiritual resources. People sin because they willingly sin. Notice that God does not promise to deliver us from the trial/temptation, but He does promise to limit its intensity so that it does not overwhelm our ability to handle it. And as discussed more below, He also promises to provide the way of escape that we might be enabled to bear up under the t