er nature crosses the line into the relation to
other men. Fellow-feeling gives way to an ambition to get ahead of the
other man and to boss him. Proper appetite and desire become lust and
passion. The dominion that man was to have over nature, he seeks also to
have over his brothers, so crossing the line of his own proper dominion
and trespassing on God's. Only God is to have dominion over all men. Where
a man is lifted to eminence of rule among his fellows he is simply acting
for Somebody else. He is not a superior. He is a servant of God, in ruling
over his fellows.

John's famous grouping of all sin as "the lust of the flesh, lust of eye
and pride of life," refers to what is out "in the world." It touches only
_two_ of these three: sin in one's self and in relation to his fellows,
with the dominion line out of adjustment. Out in the world God has been
left clean out, so the phase of trust isn't touched upon by John.

Jesus' temptation follows these natural lines. Improper use of power for
the sake of the bodily appetite; to presume on God's care in doing
something unwarranted; to cross the line of dominion over nature and seek
to control men. For, be it remembered, Jesus was here as a man. The realm
of the body, the realm of religion, the realm of wrong ambition, these
were the temptation lines followed then, and before, and ever since.

The going into the wilderness was planned by the Holy Spirit. He was in
charge of this campaign of Jesus to win back the allegiance of man and
the dominion of the earth. Jesus yielded Himself to the control of the
Holy Spirit for His earthly mission, even as later the Holy Spirit yielded
Himself wholly to the control of the exalted Jesus for _His_ earthly
mission.

Here the Spirit proves Himself a keen strategist. He drives hard at the
enemy. He forces the fighting. A decided victory over the chief at the
start would demoralize all the forces. It would be decisive of the whole
conflict, and prophetic of the final outcome. Every demon possessing a man
on the earth heard of his chief's rout that day, and recognized his
Victor, and feared Him, and knew of his own utter defeat in that of his
chief. Having gotten the chief devil on the run, every sub-devil fled at
Jesus' approach.

The Spirit would show to man the weakness of the devil. The devil can do
nothing with the man who is calmly set in his loyalty to God. This new
Leader of the race was led up to the dreaded devil that men m