"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6: 13)
This verse, at first glance, may bring more bondage than freedom, even confusion.
James writes:
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be
tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." (James 1: 13)
God does not tempt us, certainly. Then why would Jesus pray that God the Father would not lead any of us into temptation?
"Lead us" can be more properly rendered "Bring us", and "temptation" is originally " πειρασμός peirasmos: an experiment, a trial,
temptation, or judgment. A better translation would read, "And do not bring us into judgment."
Today, we are no longer under judgment, because Jesus Christ was judged in our place:
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
Spirit:" (1 Peter 3: 18)
By rightly dividing the Word (2 Timothy 2: 15), we recognize that Jesus offered up a prayer which He has answered for us by dying on the Cross.
By His death, we also receive the promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 33, 39), and in Him we receive the Kingdom of Heaven:
"For the kingdom of
God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost." (Romans 14: 17)
In Christ, we are no longer in temptation or under condemnation, but received in highest honor as a child of God!
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