Many non-trinitarian cultists use the arguement that Jesus was tempted and since God can not
be tempted, Jesus can not be God. They use James 1:13 as evidence to support this. Let no one say
when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God';For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone'(James
1:13).
First of all, is the question on whether or not God can be tempted.
Yes He can. Psalm 106:13-15 tells of a time in which he was.
13They quickly forgot His works;
They
did not wait for His counsel,
14But craved intensely in the wilderness,
And
tempted God in the desert.
15So
He gave them their request,
But sent a wasting disease among them
(NASB)
The Hebrew word of "tempt" here is "nasaw." According to the Enhanced
Strong’s Lexicon, it means to "to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test." The NIV says, "they
put God to the test." The KJV says, "and tempted God in the desert." The NKJV says, "And tested God in
the desert." The 1901 ASV says, "And tempted God in the desert." Therefore, we can see that God was "tempted
in the desert." Yet, this temptation in no way negates the divinity of God Himself.
In the New Testament, when Jesus is tempted, in Matt. 4, the word for tempt is "peirazo." Again, according to the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon, it means "to try whether
a thing can be done, 2) to try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of ascertaining his quantity, or what he thinks, or how
he will behave himself; 2c) to try or test one’s faith, virtue, character, by enticement to sin."
We can see in both cases, that it was God who was tested.
In the Old Testament, God was being tempted, that is, being put the test in the wilderness even as Jesus was being tempted
(put the test) in the wilderness in the New Testament. This temptation can occur without God sinning. Furthermore, this
temptation, this testing is not a challenge to the deity of Christ any more than it was a challenge the the divinity of God
in the Old Testament.
Therefore, I conclude that Jesus could not have sinned, but that He
could be tempted; that is, He could have a sinful option presented to Him -- as was presented to God in the wilderness --
yet Jesus would not have sinned.
