In the sixth petition we pray for sanctification.
Sanctification has two parts. The first is removal of the corruption of our natures, and the second is making our natures holy again. We want more than spiritual neutrality; we want to be positively good, like God himself.
Another way to look at it is that we want to forsake sin and become passionate pursuers of holiness. The first is the putting to death of the old man and the second is the making alive of the new man. The first is the destruction of the image of the Devil, the second is our remaking in the image of Christ. The first is crucifixion of the flesh, the second is resurrection of soul and body to eternal life with our Lord Jesus.
The sixth petition makes explicit only the first part of our sanctification, but the second part is implied.
- The Need for the Petition
We have three deadly enemies: the Devil, the world and our own flesh.
The Devil is the leader of the fallen angels and has many evil spirits who serve him.
The Scriptures give him various names.
He is the Devil. That name means slanderer or false accuser and sometimes does not refer to the Devil himself. Jesus called Judas a devil in John 6:70. He probably means only that he was a false accuser, though we know that the Devil entered him on at least two occasions, first when he betrayed Jesus to the leaders of the Jews (Jn 13:2), and then again when Jesus sent him out from the last Passover (Jn 13:27). Other places in the New Testament where the word applies to others besides the Devil are 2 Timothy 3:3 and Titus 2:3. But when applied to the leader of the fallen angels, the name teaches us that he is the one who accuses the saints. Revelation 12 calls him the accuser of the brethren, and in Job 1 and 2 we see him accusing Job of serving God simply because of the good God had given him.
He is also called Satan, which means adversary. That name comes from the Old Testament (Job 1 and 2, 1 Chron 21:1, and Zech 3:1,2), but is carried over into the New Testament. He stands opposed to God, his cause, and his righteousness, and is the strongest, fiercest and most bitter of our enemies, as well as the leader of all our other adversaries.
He is called the Evil One or the Wicked One. That’s the name we have in this last petition of the Lord’s Prayer and a few other passages (Matt 5:37, 13:19, 13:38, 2 Thess 3:3, 1 Jn 2:13,14). It is a description of his character. He is evil through and through. He is the supremely evil one, more dedicated to evil than any other, and the source of evil both among the angels and among men.
He is the serpent who beguiled Eve (2 Cor 11:3), or “that old serpent (Rev 12:9). That name points us to his subtlety and deceptiveness. In Ephesians 2 he is the prince of the power of the air and works in the children of disobedience.
He is also the great red dragon. That he is a dragon signifies his strength, wickedness and subtilty. He has seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads. These signify his universal dominion. He opposes the woman and her seed and persecutes that seed throughout history. At the time of Christ’s ascension Michael and his angels cast him out of heaven, so that he no longer has access there. His sphere of activity is now limited to earth.
According to Matthew 13 he is the one who sows tares in the wheatfield of the Lord. In the parable of the sower (Luke 8) he takes the seed from those whose hearts are like the wayside. According to John 8:44 he is a murderer and a liar, and the father of the lie. He is also the father of the wicked. Cain was of him (1 Jn 3:12). At the time of Jesus’s earthly ministry, he oppressed many by means of demon possession (Acts 10:38). He is our adversary and goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet 5:8). He contended with Michael about the body of Moses (Jude 1:9). He caused infirmity in the woman of Luke 13:18. He desired to have Peter to sift him (Luke 22:31). He filled the heart of Ananias (Acts 5:3). He disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). He hindered Paul from visiting the church at Thessalonica (1 Thess 2:18). He presides over the synagogues of unbelieving Jews (Rev 2:9, 3:9). His seat was in Pergamos and he lived there (Rev 2:13). According to Revelation 13 he gives power to the beast, and men worship him. According to Revelation 16 he is the power behind the signs that deceive the nations into following him against the Lord
He holds the power of death from which Christ has delivered us (Heb 2:14), and excommunication delivers men to him (1 Cor 5:5, 1 Tim 1:20).
He is the great tempter. He tempted Jesus in the wilderness before his public ministry began.
Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Cor 7:5).
Our second enemy is the world. The Greek word here is kosmos, and it has a variety of connotations in the New Testament. It may refer simply to the earth or the inhabited world. In one of the three temptations Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. In Acts 17:24 Paul says God made the world. And in the great commission Jesus commands us to preach the gospel in the whole world (Mark 16:15). But sometimes, especially in the gospel of John, that word has moral connotations. It is the world as it lies under the curse, and as it stands in opposition to God. This is especially true in John 15:18,19, 16:8, 17:14,16,25, but also in some of Paul’s letters (1 Cor 1:20,21 is an example) and in James 1:27, 4:4, 1 John 3:1,13, 4:5, 5:4,5.
When Adam fell, he brought the world under the curse of God, and the whole human race into disobedience and rebellion. It has remained that way ever since. But God did not leave the world entirely in darkness. He redeemed, and is redeeming, some out of it and leaves them there in the fallen world for a time to show his righteousness in it. He puts enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, until the seed of the serpent is fully defeated in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the world hates righteousness. It has hated it since Cain murdered Abel. Of that murder 1 John 3:12 says that Cain did it because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Fundamentally the world hates all righteousness, and us. God has put enmity betweenhis people and the world.
That doesn’t mean that the world is as single-minded and ferocious in its pursuit of the righteous as Satan. But its goals, its ideas about righteousness and truth, the things it finds admirable and worthy of praise, are fundamentally different from ours. It pursues happiness, peace and the good life here. It establishes its own ideas of righteousness and truth. It admires wealth, power, skill, worldly beauty and the things that belong to this world. So the world is our enemy, even when it is not openly persecuting us.
Our third enemy is our own flesh. Again we have a word whose basic meaning is neutral. Jesus said to his disciples: Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have (Lk 24:39). But at times it has moral connotations. You see it in Romans 7:
For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. Verse 5
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. Verse 18
I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Verse 25
Chapter 8 uses it even more frequently. And in Romans 13:14 the apostle says:
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Paul also talks about the flesh as an enemy:
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Galatians 5:17.
That term describes us as we are by nature. It is meant to convey the idea of corruption, the perversity of nature that belongs to us in Adam. Even though we have become new creatures in Christ, we are still in part flesh, so that the antithesis is not only between us and the Devil, and between us and the world, but even within us. The flesh is always drawn to the world. It loves the things of this world. It is full of lust and the pride of life. It is inclined toward sin. And it is this that makes our other enemies so dangerous to us. We are always drawn to them and to their ways of thinking and living. This world is delightful to us. Rebellion against God, disobedience, sin, the enjoyment of the pleasures of the flesh have powerful appeal. So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27: But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. The word for discipline means beat black and blue. That’s how hard the struggle is.
These three enemies explain why this petition is so urgent.
2. The Petition Itself
In spite of the strength and number of our enemies, and in spite of our own weakness, victory is possible. The Devil can be defeated. According to Revelation 20 he was bound a thousand years. The armor of God protects us from his wiles (Eph 6). 1 John 5:18 teaches us that he cannot touch those who are begotten of God. The power of the gospel defeats him (Luke 10:18). He will be bruised under the feet of the saints (Rom 16:20). Fire is prepared for him and his angels (Matt 25:41), and he will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone with the beast and false prophet (Rev 20:10). Peter tells us resist the Devil and he will flee from you. The world can be overcome; for faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Our flesh can be conquered. “Who will delvier me from the body of death… I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 7:24,25).”
But it’s not a victory that comes by the strength of our own wills. It is the victory of faith. In other words, it is God’s victory through and in us as we trust in him. That’s why prayer is necessary.
We pray, Our Father who art in heaven… lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
We may include under that word temptation, both temptations and trials. Temptations come from the Devil or from other men and their purpose is to lead us into sin, and ultimately to bring us to ruin. Thus, Satan tempted Jesus, and thus, over and over again the leaders of the Jews tempted him (Matt 16:1, 19:3, 22:18,35). Trials come from God and are meant to purify us as gold is purified in the fire. But the same word is used of both temptations and trials. James 1 tells us that God does not tempt anyone. Yet in John 6:6 John says: But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. In 2 Corinthians 13:5 the apostle Paul uses the same word again to mean simply test: Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Hebrews 11:17: By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. So we may say that this prayer also means, lead us not into trial.
Furthermore, temptation and trial are usually indistinguishable in our experience. Both make sin look like the easier, better or even necessary choice. Both are therefore hard for us, weak as we are in the flesh, to stand against. It always takes toil, pain, sorrow, trouble and self-denial to do the right thing in trial and temptation.
In this petition we ask first to be relieved of temptation and trial. We want God to keep us out of those circumstances where temptation may overtake us. We want him especially to keep us from those temptations in which our peculiar weaknesses and sins may make it especially hard for us to resist. Ultimately, we want God to take them away altogether. We also want him to keep us from fiery trials, insofar as that is consistent with our need for chastisement and training. We know that it will not happen in this life, but the petition also looks forward, as all the petitions do, to the glory of the heavenly kingdom, and to the final putting to death of the flesh.
The petition implies that we will not throw ourselves into the way of trial and temptation with a childish desire to prove ourselves or with reckless disregard of its dangers. We know too well how weak we are, and how easy it is for us to fail even simple tests,o but sometimes it is as if we do not remember our ABCs.
We are also praying, of course, that we may never fall into sin. Whatever the temptation or trial may be, do not let us succumb, fall into unbelief, despair, disobedience or rebellion. Do not let us follow the way of sin. Provide for us a way of escape.
Therefore, we are also praying for the strength we need to stand. Physical strength may be very small, but that does not mean that spiritual strength must also fail. Old saints should understand much better than young ones the wiles of the Devil, the subtle tricks he plays, the waywardness of the heart and mind. They should be much more practised in turning away from and resisting temptation. They should be able more easily to perceive the way through and out. Their experience should have taught them how good and gracious and strong God is.
It means that we are praying for God to equip us in all necessary and helpful ways for fighting this battle, so that we may not go into like ignorant children and without any armor.
It means preserve us, so that we may persevere.
3. The Certainty of an Answer
We believe that by the grace of God we can withstand temptation, because he has promised that he will never permit us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure (1 Cor 10:13).
We believe that God will answer our petition. He will preserve us in every temptation. He will give us the power to do his will. Ultimately he will deliver us from all temptation and from all evil inclinations and desires by a complete victory over all our enemies..
Why? Not because of our own strength or goodness. Neither is enough for us to stand even for a moment. Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.
But God is able and willing. We pray to our Father in heaven. He is both almighty and all gracious. And he wants for us what we seek of him. No enemy is too strong, no temptation too great for his strength, no sin to great for his mercy.
We have the work of his Son to merit it for us, to intercede for us with him, and to exercise his power on our behalf.
We have his Spirit to work in us.
We have his promise that he is near those who call on him.
The kingdom and the power and the glory belong to him. He will certainly give us the kingdom by his power and for his glory when we seek it from him.
Therefore, we are able to close our prayers with an Amen: it shall truly and certainly be.