Amen! Surrendering to Jesus results in 1) "overcoming as Jesus overcame" and 2) "righteousness and true holiness". Is there a difference between the two? If so, how do you explain it?

He was tempted by the unnatural beauty of things Satan had done, which is evidenced by Satan's temptation of Christ, where Satan showed Him his (Satan's) creations. Christ resisted this temptation by looking away.

Christ was tempted by the same things which tempt us. He overcame and defeated these temptations, which is what enables us to do the same. Without Christ's victory, there would be no victory for us. He built a bridge, and we walk across the bridge that He built.

Placing Jesus upon a high mountain, Satan caused the kingdoms of the world, in all their glory, to pass in panoramic view before Him. The sunlight lay on templed cities, marble palaces, fertile fields, and fruit-laden vineyards. The traces of evil were hidden. The eyes of Jesus, so lately greeted by gloom and desolation, now gazed upon a scene of unsurpassed loveliness and prosperity. {DA 129.2}


Is the unregenerate tempted by the same things as the regenerate?

Why would Christ have any interest in man-made cities? Why would He have to look away to avoid being tempted?



I'm not understanding how the question, "Is the unregenerate tempted by the same things as the regenerate?" ties in here, since it implies we are "unregenerate."

In addition to taking our nature, Christ took our sin upon Him, which is what made His temptations so difficult to meet. EGW discusses this in her pamphlet on Christ's temptations in the wilderness. In addition, A. T. Jones goes into great detail regarding this in his messages in the 1895 General Conference Bulletin, starting around sermon# 16, IIRC.

Are we there yet?

For example, are recently reborn believers tempted to smoke, drink, overeat, curse, steal, cheat, hate, etc the same as unbelievers are? Yes, of course. Even seasoned soldiers of the cross are similarly tempted. However, as time slips by, believers who are serious about abiding in Jesus and partaking of the divine nature are tempted by fewer of their former favorite sins. Does it mean Jesus was never tempted like a common believer? Well, was He "tempted in all points like as we are" or not? Remember, being tempted is not a sin. Struggling not to sin is not a sin, either. Did Jesus ever really struggle not to commit the types of sins listed above?

I don't know. But I know that I once had a strong interest in man-made cities. Living in the jungle for a while weakened that interest, but it's not completely gone.

And I know some people who have a great interest in man-made cities, and would rather die than live away from the city. I even know of some people who have a great interest in man-made brothels.

Was Jesus interested in these as well?


Perhaps "by beholding we are changed" applied to Him as well.


It seems to me that you are saying that the "bridge" Jesus built, that "we walk across," was built at least partially, by His being "tempted by the same things which tempt us." I want to know if you believe the "bridge" He built reaches to the unregenerate as well. Furthermore, did He also take the sins of the unregenerate upon Himself?

Regarding the first part of the post, if Jesus had come as you perceived Him to have come, it doesn't appear to me that what Satan was presenting to Him would have been any temptation to Him whatsoever. That's what's not making sense to me.



Yes, it reaches to the unregenerate as well. In addition to taking our nature, He took our sins upon Him. This wasn't something which happened merely at the cross, but during His whole life. The SOP tells us that it was His having taken our sins which made these temptations of Satan so difficult to meet (in the pamphlet regarding Christ's being tempted in the wilderness, as I recall). A. T. Jones deals with this in detail in his 1895 GCB sermons.

Regarding which sins Christ took, He took everyone's sins upon Him; all sin. E.g. "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2).

Why not? I perceive Jesus as not wanting sin, but recoiling from it. Is Satan only able to tempt those who already like sin?


So, was Jesus tempted in the same way the unregenerate are?

Temptation involves a desire to do the thing about which one is being tempted. There is a struggle involved because, on the one hand, one does not wish to do the thing tempted, because one feels it is morally wrong, and one does not wish to do something morally wrong for moral reasons, but, on the other hand, one desires to do the thing about which the temptation revolves. EGW speaks of being "strongly motivated," I think her words are. She speaks, in the pamphlet I've been mentioning, about how Jesus went through this process of temptation that we go through.

Jesus took our nature and took our sin upon Him. He was tempted as human beings are tempted. One has a desire to do something which one considers to be morally wrong, and must make a decision whether to do the thing one feels to be morally correct or morally wrong.

After hearing the message at the 1888 conference in Mpls, EGW was excited about what she heard, and preached with Jones and Waggoner. She wrote:



That Christ had taken our nature and was tempted as we are was something which EGW had written earlier, but not something that had been emphasized until Jones and Waggoner. They emphasized this point, along with her, and received questions about, the same questions raised today, objecting that if Christ had taken our nature He would have fallen, and the response to that objection is the same now as it was then.