Fulness: Judgment and Recompense Part 2; winning over temptation.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days,

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 4:1–2.

Jesus is taken into the desert by the FULLNESS of the Spirit, and the temptation occurs right at the end of the 40 day period. He had strengthened Himself in that fullness so that in the power He would depart from the wilderness. The wilderness causes us to transition from fullness to power. What is really well defined is the mission of Jesus is as the “son of man” dependent on knowing the Father’s will, and not moving into the role of the “Son of God” until His earthly mission is almost over, and Son of David when the Kingdom is coming into manifestation first in the human heart, and by His return, upon all the earth. Whilst He is all those things, He functioned in each in definite times. In determined purposes.

There are 3 particular tests that Jesus passed through, Satan permitted to try Him. These tests are well defined, they have to do with Jesus’ mission. His hunger had come, the final 40th day hunger, and He had to resist the temptation to use His position and power to serve His own personal interest. Then He had to resist the temptation to presume on His Person to put Himself in circumstances that would obligate a divine response, in contrast to what Jesus said to Pilate, that He was submitting Himself to death, even though He could call upon angels to save Him, but to save humanity He would need to be obedient unto death. Then He would need to worship and submit to the Father’s own Will. All three tests would define His Messiahship and how He would go from Fulness to Power.

Right now we are in this test, many times we try to use our position in vocation to serve our own interest. Then we cannot move into presumption by putting ourselves into circumstances where we would presume upon divine help. These tests are necessary for God to entrust us with His authority. Unfortunately I think we have to visit these tests again and again.

We cannot equate the fullness of the Spirit with the power of the Spirit, as moving in power is passing the tests that God places in our walk. Moving in His power is representing Him fully and any mixture with our own character and agenda will just not do. For both judgment and recompense in these times must have the stamp of the purity of the Divine in them, and for this reason we walk in times of great testing.

And so moving in these end times is marked by the principle of fulness so that walking out His tests, and those which Satan is permitted to place us, is necessary so that we can represent Him in those end time judgments. The tests we need help to pass there is always Grace on hand to bring the help we need.

Fulness desired must be accompanied with the comprehension that the same fullness leads us through the tests necessary for the highest places spiritually speaking. The test brings us into testimony.

May we understand this fullness so that we may flow in His Power.

Maranatha!