The devil does not have free reign to tempt you with whatever he wants. The devil is limited by God to what and how much he can tempt you. If God feels the temptation is too steep for you to handle, He will not allow it. Paul makes this point in 1 Corinthians 10:13. This verse has some great thoughts for us to keep in mind when we are going through a difficult time or are tempted to sin.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “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.”
Let’s divide the verse into two parts: past and present. Paul begins by mentioning what God has done for us in the past.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:…”
Paul is speaking of things done in the past here. “No temptation taken” (in the past). The temptations you have experienced in your life up until now are all things which other people have experienced. As Paul referred to in verse 11, some examples of these can be found in the Bible. God gives us lots of examples of people being tempted, how they dealt with them and how they succeeded.
Then, Paul turns to our present and the future temptations we may face.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “…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.”
Thank the Lord that He is faithful. What He’s done for others in the past He will do for us. God will look at each temptation the devil wants to hit us with and judge whether or not we can bear it. If He feels it is too much for us, then He will not allow the devil to tempt us with it. As Paul phrases it, God makes sure with each temptation we face, that we have a “way to escape.”
God will not box us into a room with no door. When we are experiencing temptation and we aren’t sure if we can hold out, look for the door. God has promised us a door to escape through when we face any temptation from the devil. If you are heavily tempted and not sure if you can withstand the temptation, remember this verse in 1 Corinthians where it says that God “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.” We can have victory over every sin in our life. We need to recognize the temptation when we experience it; then we need to look for that door to escape through.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
