Knowing God through The Lord’s Prayer
Gregory Chao
Class #5
Dec. 5, 2010
‘Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom and the power and glory forever. Amen’
1. Lead us not into temptation - A better wording would be ‘Do not let us succumb to
testing’ or ‘don’t let us yield to temptation’ (New Living Translation). We are to pray
that God will bring us safely through testing (Ps 141:3-4) rather than avoiding
testing.
a. God does not tempt – James 1:13 – When tempted, no one should say, ‘God
is tempting me…but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desires, he is
dragged away and enticed’
b. Avoiding temptation does not harmonize with Gen. 22:1 (Abraham) ; Job;
Matt 4:1 (Jesus) where people are put to the test including Jesus himself.
Same phrase used in Matt 26:41 - Watch and pray ‘lest they fall into
temptation.’ Meaning here is to be prepared.
c. We are to endure temptation - I Corth 10:13 – ‘No temptation has seized you
except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be
tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also
provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’
d. Aside – We are not be be foolish and create our own temptations. Proverbs
26:11, ‘As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.’ Proverbs
28:26, ‘Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in
wisdom are kept safe. Flee sexual immorality (I Corth 6:18).
e. This has been a very debated point. References: New American Commentary
on Matt. By Craig Blomberg. The New American Commentary on Luke by
Robert H. Stein.
2. But deliver us from evil – God protects us from harm…calamity, evil. We are to ask
Him for protection daily.
a. It reminds us that there are things outside our control and that we need
God’s protection. David called out to God as protector often in Psalms. Ps
91:1-2, ‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the
shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my
fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Ps. 23:4, “Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.’
b. It reminds us that there are evil people. Proverbs 4:14-16, ‘Do not set foot
on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers…For they cannot
rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone
stumble.’
c. Note – ‘evil’ can be translated ‘evil one’ or Satan. It is ambigious enough that
either meaning is acceptable.
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3. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
a. Not in the original manuscripts 1 - - There is nothing theologically wrong with
the phrase, similar to I Chron. 29:11. It is a good ending that focuses us back
to God’s greatness.
b. God’s perfection – God’s perfection means that God completely possesses all
excellent qualities and lacks no part of any qualities that would be desirable
for him. His ways are perfect (Ps. 18:30; Deut. 32:4).
c. God’s blessedness – To be ‘blessed’ is to be happy in a very full and rich
sense. God’s blessedness means that God delights fully in himself and in all
that reflects his character. When he finished creation, it was ‘very good’
(Gen 1:31). God will rejoice over his people (Is. 62:5; Prov. 8:30-31; Zeph
3:17).
d. God’s beauty – God’s beauty is that attribute of God whereby he is the sum
of all desirable qualities. Ps 27:4, ‘One thing have I asked of the Lord, that
will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my
life, to behold the beauty of the Lord. (Ps. 73:75, I Peter 3:4, Titus 2:10). Rev.
22:4, ‘They shall see his face.’ The church reflects the beauty of the Lord
(Eph 5:27).
e. God’s glory – God’s glory is the created brightness that surrounds God’s
revelation of himself. Ps 104:1-2, ‘O Lord my God, you are very great! You
are clothed with honor and majesty, you who cover yourself with light as
with a garment…’ Luke 2:9, ‘the glory of the Lord shone around them.’
(transfiguration Matt. 17:2 and in Rev. 21:23). Amazingly, God made us to
reflect his glory, ‘changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to
another.’ (2 Cor. 3:18; Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:15)
4. Concluding remarks for this week
a. We are to call on God daily to give us strength to live well withstanding the
trials that we face.
b. We are to acknowledge that God is constantly protecting us from harm.
c. We are to be keenly aware that there is evil in this world and that we are to
ask God to protect us from evil.
d. Praising God’s greatness is good.
1
Wikipedia (Lord’s Prayer) The doxology of the prayer is not contained in Luke's version, nor is it present
in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew, representative of the Alexandrian text, but is present in the
manuscripts representative of the Byzantine text. The first known use of the doxology, in a less lengthy
form ("for yours is the power and the glory forever"), as a conclusion for the Lord's Prayer (in a version
slightly different from that of Matthew) is in the Didache, 8:2. There are at least ten different versions of
the doxology in early manuscripts of Matthew before it seems to have standardized. Jewish prayers at the
time had doxological endings. The doxology may have been originally appended to the Lord's Prayer for
use during congregational worship. If so, it could be based on 1 Chronicles 29:11. Most scholars do not
consider it part of the original text of Matthew, and modern translations do not include it, mentioning it
only in footnotes. Latin Rite Roman Catholics, as well as some Lutherans, [29] do not use it when reciting
the Lord's Prayer, but it has been included as an independent item, not as part of the Lord's Prayer, in the
Mass. It is attached to the version of the Lord's Prayer used by most Protestants.
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5. Summary of Previous Lessons (including today)
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven
God’s Attributes
God as ‘abba’ Father, God’s independence,
unchangeable/immutable, eternal, and
omnipresent
Hallowed be thy name
God’s goodness, holy, jealous, wrath, love,
graciousness, and patience
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on
God’s omnipotence, wisdom, and
earth as it is in heaven
righteousness
Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us God as provider, God as forgiver
our debts as we forgive our debtors
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us God’s perfection, blessedness, beauty, and
from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the glory
power and the glory forever. Amen
6. Concluding remarks (entire class)
a. Our lifelong pursue is to know God both in knowledge and in relationship.
The more we know God, the more we become like Him in all that we think,
say and do. And, the happier we become.
b. May this class grow your determination to pursue knowing God. Amen.
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