I had to learn this lesson one day...
And, it stunned me.
We read normally translations done in English.
The Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek.
And, sometimes, in Aramaic.
The Greek language of the Bible was developed ( in part) for debates.
In the Greek when the Greeks saw the word "if" we today can not presume to know what was being said.
There were several syntactical conditions that could render the word "if' in various ways..
Depending upon the Greek wording, "if" could mean....
A.) If it were so, but it is not."
B.) If it is so. And, it is so.
C. If.. I wish it were so, but it is not.
D. If... Maybe it will, and maybe it will not be so.
The Greek found in Matthew 4:3... To the Greek mind?
Would have been understood in this manner.
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God (and you are), tell these stones to become bread.”
Satan was not trying to get Jesus to prove that he really was the Son of God.
For Satan already knew Jesus was the Son of God.
What Satan wanted Jesus to do was for him to stop manifesting himself as a man.
Because, as a man, Jesus would qualify as the perfect sacrifice for man's atonement.
Satan might have not understood what Jesus' intention was.
But, he keenly noted that Jesus was determined to remain in the state of being as a man!
To successfully tempt Jesus to turn the stones into bread?
Would have made Jesus stop being as a man. Causing him to take back up his powers of being God.
Now? If Jesus took back up his life as being God?
In that moment he did?
It would have disqualified Jesus to die as a man, for all men.
All Satan could know was that for some reason the one he knew as having great powers
in the past, was now carefully remaining in the self limiting state of being as a man.
Satan knew that Jesus was up to something, and after figuring out what Jesus wanted to remain being as?
Wanted to keep poking around to see if he could discover what it was Jesus was up to.
Jesus did not let Satan know why he was remaining always being as a man.
That shock was to be made known to Satan only after Jesus successfully died as man's perfect substitute on the Cross.
If Satan knew the real reason why Jesus was always being as a man?
Satan would have never allowed for Jesus to die on the Cross!
Jesus knew how to righteously keep His secret, perfectly!
No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined
for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8
You're both closest deists.
