Then Shall the Sanctuary Be Cleansed - Donald K. Short

here that Christ, who "came in the flesh," did not
yield to the temptation of rendering worship to
"self" but proclaimed that all should "worship the
Lord thy God" (Matthew 4:10). It was here that
Christ in a very special way began to prove to
humanity that sin could be overcome by God's
word, if man was willing to live by faith. Jesus
knew whereof He spoke when He called man to
repent of serving "self" and the desire to have
God's place. He had had that very place but
considered that "to be equal with God" was not
something to covet or grasp or hold on to
(Phillipians 2:6). He was susceptible to conviction
and had a willingness to face the selfishness of the
soul as evidenced in Gethsemane. In this way the
supreme law of the universe was proved valid. God
was not party to a detour around the cross.
But Christ's call for repentance went unheeded.
Man had to prove to himself the root of his sin, his
desire to take God's place, his will to kill Him. And
so at Calvary the evidence was established for
eternity. This is the sin facing the church and
calling for repentance. This is the hidden source of
120