Hebrews 4:15: Jesus is like us in everything, except that He did not commit sin. Temptation is not sin. There was no point in which He was not tested; yet He did not commit sin. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Jas. 1:12. We have the opportunity either to suffer defeat or to gain the victory; it depends on how we deal with the temptation. He was a man with the same nature as ours. If that was not the case, we could raise the objection that He was not tempted in all points as we are. If He had had a different nature than we do we could say with full assurance: Yes, it was an easy matter for Him to overcome, because He had a different nature than ours! However, now we have this perfect comfort that He was tempted in all points as we are. In the days of His flesh He offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears, etc. Heb. 5:7. He had a terrible battle. He spent the night in prayer to God. But He gained the victory! At the end He said on the cross: “It is finished!” How could we manage to walk in His steps if He had had a different flesh than ours? We would have to give up and pack our bags. They do not believe in an overcoming life in the free assemblies. That is not strange either, since their understanding is that He is something totally different compared to us. Do the Scriptures not say that we shall follow Him? How should we poor wretches manage to walk on a way on which Jesus, our forerunner, was like Adam before the Fall? However, now He has been tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. He is therefore obviously one flesh with those who suffer with Him. The great difference between Him and us is that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was the Seed of the woman that crushed the serpent’s head. The unspeakably great thing was that He was victorious even though He had a flesh and blood like we have. There would be nothing extraordinary about Him crushing the serpent’s head as God. It was as if Norbeck would advertise: “Magnificent performance! Norbeck can kill a mosquito with one blow!” People are like small children who understand little or nothing; therefore we have to use such very crude examples. Would it have been such a great thing if Jesus had overcome sin, Satan, and all the forces of darkness without our flesh? Not at all! He crushed the serpent’s head and inaugurated a new and living way for us as a root out of dry ground, as Someone who took upon Himself flesh and blood like us. Not many people want to lead a life like this because it is a life of suffering. Just endure! We will be home in just a little while. He suffered while He was tempted. Endure! He has gone before us! Why did He partake of flesh and blood? Heb. 2:14. So that He through death could destroy Him who had the power of death. Jesus could not very well have died if He had been like Adam before the Fall. Is it not very wise to compare Jesus to Adam before the Fall? We have to say like Job to those who do not believe in Jesus manifested in flesh: “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.” Job 12:2. Job says that would be the end of wisdom. Even Jesus used ironic words when He said, “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” Matt. 15:6. It is so comforting that Jesus was tested in all points. If He had had a different flesh, He would have been a different Jesus than the One whom we have learned to know. Now they say that we belittle Jesus with our doctrine. However, that is not the real issue of the matter. It doesn’t really matter to them whether we make Jesus little or great. They are concerned with completely different matters than Jesus. This is the crux of the matter: If Jesus partook of flesh and blood like us and suffered death in the flesh, then we are also obligated to suffer with Him, which is the very thing they do not want. They lack the fear of God. They consider godliness as a means of gain besides lacking the knowledge of God. If you say something to them, they do not want to hear it, because people who are wise in their own eyes have nothing to learn. They know everything because they had their sins forgiven at some point in time. However, it is not those who are wise in their own eyes but those who are dissatisfied with themselves, who come to Christ and receive help to live an overcoming life.

Righteousness. “For the kingdom of God is . . . righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17. Righteousness is mentioned first because it is the only real foundation on which true peace can be established. This is an eternal law of God’s providence. It applies just as much the first time a person comes to God, as it does after he has been reconciled to Him to live the life of a Christian. Since righteousness, in common with all other things, has several sides, and since it is the most important aspect of our life here on earth, it is important to have an accurate knowledge of its nature and how it works. Man, who by nature is corrupt and unrighteous through and through because of sin, is justified when he repents and believes in Jesus, without any personal merit or good works whatsoever, but purely by grace. This is God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ. This is how we are reconciled to God and receive hope of eternal life. How­ever, this does not mean that we have entered God’s kingdom, in the sense that righteousness is the element in which we live and have our being in our daily life. In 1 Corinthians 6:11 we read about some who were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus; yet, in spite of this, they were unrighteous in their personal lives. Verses 5 and 8. “Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly.” Isaiah 26:10. From the above we can see that it is possible to be justified and still commit unjust deeds in one’s per­sonal life. To be righteous in our personal lives we not only need Christ’s imputed righteousness, but by being faithful to the Spirit He gives us, we take up the battle against all our unrighteousness, so we can be taught to be righteous—little by little—as He is righteous. 1 John 2:29. Now is the time when we are chosen and molded for the place we shall have in eternity. If we do not learn to do righteousness here, we will never learn it. For this reason it is foolishness when so many people so lightly reject it all by saying, “Jesus is my righteous­ness, and that is sufficient for me.” In the old covenant, the Israelites were eager to establish their own righteousness, and when Jesus came and offered them His right­eousness, they did not want to have anything to do with Him. Simi­larly, there are many people in these days who do not want to repent and believe, but who seek to please God with their own efforts. This results in the work of man. Imputed righteousness is not the same as personal righteousness. The first is the evidence of God’s grace toward a person, but the latter is the fruit of a life that is lived in obedience to the “teacher of righteousness.” We need to make a distinction be­tween what has been done for us—which is grace; and what is done in us which is righteousness. We realize that God has been unable to do a work in a person when he has been converted for a long time, and yet has not become any more righteous in his life than when he was first converted. It is therefore absolutely righteous of God not to give him any reward, but simply to save him into eternity, naked. However, we read that those who build with gold and precious stones will not only be saved for Jesus’ sake, but that their works which follow them will be to their praise. They receive a reward for their works because they are righteous. Imputed righteousness is received by grace, but we partake of a per­sonal righteousness when we agree with God’s judgments, and then act accordingly. Isaiah 26:8-9; Psalm 94:15.Trygve Sandvik