And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’”
Matthew 6:13 NIV
Why is it that the devil draws so much attention when it comes to the issue of temptation and sin? The translation of Scripture from its original languages is a case in point. When we examine the meaning of the Greek word, “poneros”, translated, “the evil one” in the above verse, we will discover something different from the meaning the translators implied in the translation.
As we have learned from our studies in the Word, many of the original words get their meaning from the context. In this verse, “poneros”, often translated “the evil one”, can have a variety of meanings. However, to be true to the whole scope of Scripture, in this verse the devil is not named or even implied because most often when “the devil” is intended, he is named.
The tendency in our thinking is to blame the devil for the bad things we think and do rather than to take responsibility for our own behaviour because we have been given the freedom to choose. James tells us…
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
James 1:13-15 NIV
In verse 13, James uses the word “kakos” for evil which refers more to character than action. God never tempts us to evil actions because He is not “kakos”.
In Jesus’ prayer, “poneros” implies the results of our actions which stem from our corrupt “kakos”, our evil nature, including the pain and anguish, not stated here, which are the results of our evil behaviour.
How different is the implication of Jesus’ prayer from our inclination to shrug off responsibility for what we say and do by palming our “poneros” onto the devil!
When we work through the epistles in the New Testament, we can never escape the truth that our problem is not the devil but our own fallen nature. For example, in Romans 8, Paul explains, first, how through God’s grace in Christ, we have been delivered from sin and death. We have a new nature which must be nurtured and obeyed. Then he continues, through the whole chapter, to teach us that there is a mortal conflict between our new and old natures. We are responsible for the outcome of this war. By putting to death the deeds of our old nature and by submitting to and obeying the Holy Spirit who is in us, we can overcome the “poneros” that remains in us.
God is at work through all our circumstances, good and bad, to restore the nature of His Son in us. The Holy Spirit both reassures us that we are God’s children and helps us, in our weakness, to partner with God in prayer according to His will.
Yes, we have a treacherous old nature that is always seeking to please self above God. Yes, the struggle is a life-and-death issue in which the devil plays his part. He eggs us on to independence and disobedience but…we have a powerful Helper inside us who gives us the strength to obey the Father instead of the flesh when we lean on Him.
So, Jesus instructs us to ask the Father not to test us above our limits and to keep us from straying into the evil things that stem from our corrupt natures. He promises, as Paul assures us…
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
Let us not be deceived into thinking that we are helpless pawns in the devil’s hands. He is a defeated foe. Jesus unmasked and overpowered Him at the cross. He tries to keep us captive by holding us responsible for breaking God’s law. However…
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
Colossians 2:13-15 NIV
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1-4 NIV