1 Corinthians 10:13 - Temptation Comes with Limits and a Way of Escape!

1 Cor 10:13 (KJV)  There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation
also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

God will not suffer you to be tried above the strength he gives
you; but as the trial comes, he will provide you with sufficient
strength to resist it; as the trial comes in, he will make your way out....
Should an upright soul get into difficulties and straits, he may rest
assured that there is a way out, as there was a way in; and that the
trial shall never be above the strength that God shall give him to
bear it. (Adam Clarke Commentary)

This verse is one of the most helpful verses in the NT and
presents the great antidote to falling into sin through temptation.... The
temptations that come to the Christian are those all human beings face--they
are unavoidable. But, says Paul, God is right there with us to keep
us from being overwhelmed by the temptation. [Expositors Bible
Commentary]

God in his faithfulness always arranges a way of escape from
temptation (lit., "a way out") and before that, gives strength to endure
it. [New Bible Companion]

PURPOSE OF TEMPTATION

Temptation in itself is not sin. Jesus was tempted (Mt 4:1-11).
Yielding to the temptation is sin. [NIV SB]

Temptation is not sin. Jesus was holy and pure; yet He was
tempted in all points as we are...5T425-7

The Greek word which we translate temptation means far more a
test. It is something designed, not to make us fall, but to test us,
so that we emerge from it stronger than ever. [Barclay Commentary]

God has not promised to remove the temptation, since we need
such experiences to grow in faith and patience (James 1:2-4, 12), but
he guarantees that it will never be too strong for us to resist.
[Jamieson, Fausset, And Brown Commentary]

I have often heard my husband tell our teenagers, "Temptation is
not only an opportunity to do the wrong thing, but an opportunity to
do the right!"  Although we usually consider temptation in negative
terms, God allows us to be tempted in order to provide us with a chance
to be obedient.  If we are to learn to say no, and we are certainly
supposed to say no sometimes to some things, then circumstances become
life's workshop to that end.  Saying no when you want to say yes
strengthens you, produces endurance, and builds character - Christian
character.  [Jill Briscoe; Time with God devotional SB]

Spiritual privileges never give us license to sin. Rather, they
lay upon us the greater responsibility to obey God and glorify Him.
[Wiersbe Expository Outlines]

JESUS IS THE WAY OF ESCAPE

If they looked only to themselves, they would fall. If they
depended on the faithfulness of God, they would be secure. The sense is,
not that God would keep them without any effort of their own; not
that he would secure them if they plunged into temptation; but that
if they used the proper means, if they resisted temptation, and
sought his aid, and depended on his promises, then he would be
faithful. This is everywhere implied in the Scriptures; (Barnes' Notes)

If we are self-confident or self-righteous we shall be left to
fall under the power of temptation; but if we look to Jesus and trust
in Him we call to our aid a power that has conquered 5T425-7

We cannot fall by temptation, if we cleave fast to him. [Matthew
Henry Commentary]

The way out is not the way of surrender nor of retreat, but the
way of conquest in the power of the grace of God. [Barclay
Commentary]

Trusting in Jehovah: this is the secret of victory. The first
mark of the true Christian is reliance on Jehovah-Jesus.  We rely on
Him exclusively as the vicarious Sinbearer through whom we have the
salvation of our souls. We are to rely on Him continually as our
victorious Champion through whom we have victory in our daily life ... So
long as we rely on Him we have victory.  Temper, fear, lust, pride,
envy, grudging, moodiness, impatience, despondency, worry ; over all
such we gain victory as we really rely on Jesus.  We are to rely on
Him as our vigilant Provider, who "supplies all our need" (Phi.4:19;
Psa.34:22).  He does not always employ ravens to feed His Elijahs, but by
one means or another He sustains them if they really rely on Him.
[J. Sydlow Baxter; Time with God devotional SB mod]

The only safeguard against evil is the indwelling of Christ in
the heart through faith in His righteousness. It is because
selfishness exists in our hearts that temptation has power over us. But when
we behold the great love of God, selfishness appears to us in its
hideous and repulsive character, and we desire to have it expelled from
the soul. As the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ, our hearts are
softened and subdued, the temptation loses its power, and the grace of
Christ transforms the character. MB117-119

If you draw close to Jesus, and seek to adorn your profession by
a well-ordered life and godly conversation, your feet will be kept
from straying into forbidden paths. If you will only watch,
continually watch unto prayer, if you will do everything as if you were in
the immediate presence of God, you will be saved from yielding to
temptation, and may hope to be kept pure, spotless, and undefiled till the
last. If you hold the beginning of your confidence firm unto the end,
your ways will be established in God, and what grace has begun, glory
will crown in the kingdom of our God. GW127,8

Satan makes every effort to lead people away from God; and he is
successful in his purpose when the religious life is drowned in business
cares, when he can so absorb their minds in business that they will not
take time to read their Bibles, to pray in secret, and to keep the
offering of praise and thanksgiving burning on the altar of sacrifice
morning and evening. . . . When we voluntarily absent themselves from
religious meetings, when God is not thought of and reverenced, when He is
not chosen as their counselor and their strong tower of defense, how
soon secular thoughts and wicked unbelief come in, and vain
confidence and philosophy take the place of humble, trusting faith. . . .
We cannot be safe a moment unless right principles are cherished in
the heart and carried into every business transaction.  5T425-7

The surrender of all our powers to God greatly simplifies the
problems of life. It weakens and cuts short a thousand struggles with the
passions of the natural heart. MYP30

ESCAPE VIA JESUS IN PRAYER

Prayer is heaven's ordained means of success in the conflict
with sin and the development of Christian character. AA564

There are times when we just say, "Lord, take me home, this is
too much for me."  But when we finish saying that, we must remember
that His strength is made perfect in our weakness and that He gives
us no more than we are able, with His Spirit, to bear. [In His
Time; Walk With Wisdom]

ESCAPE VIA JESUS IN THE BIBLE

When Satan comes in like a flood, we must meet his temptations
with the sword of the Spirit, and Jesus will be our helper and will
lift up for us a standard against him. 5T425-7

Jesus, the Christian's example of right living, found that "way
out" in the written Word of God (see Luke 4:4, 8, 12). So we, His
followers, may find the "way out" in Jesus, the living Word (see John
1:1-3, 14). He is ever ready and willing to deliver those who call upon
Him and to keep them from falling into sin [SDA Commentary]

There is no security in depending on self, but if the believer
relies entirely on the promises of our covenant-keeping God, he will be
safe. However, he should remember that God will not deliver him if he
deliberately places himself on the enemy's ground by going where he is likely
to meet temptation [SDA Commentary]

ESCAPE WITH JESUS IN SERVICE FOR HIM

One of the best ways to overcome temptation is to keep busy for
the Lord.  Find something to do for Him.  Seek to serve Him. [Billy
Graham]

In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our
Heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know
nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and
honor of God supreme, will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path
before their feet.  DA330

ESCAPE WITH JESUS BY FLEEING

In affirming the faithfulness of God, Paul makes it clear that
no one has to sin when testing comes. But note that Paul says God
will "provide a way out." What is the "way out"? The next verse,
10:14, says it succinctly: "Flee from idolatry." Don't stay in a
situation where you experience temptation to sin. This is an important
principle for us to remember. God's "way out" is often quite simple. We
are to "get out!" [Victor Bible Background Commentary mod]

God does make us a promise. We are able to successfully overcome
every temptation - if we take God's way out of it. Don't think that
God's way out is all that hard to find, either. Paul summed it up in
the next verse when he said, "Flee from idolatry." That word "flee"
occurs several times in Paul's writings. The Greek word, pheugo, is
found here, in 6:18; 1 Timothy 6:11; and in 2 Timothy 2:22. We're not
only told to flee idolatry, but to flee fornication, flee love of
money, and to flee youthful lusts. We may have to stand and fight Satan
(James 4:7), but when it comes to temptation, Scripture's "way to
escape" is just that: escape! [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]

It is wonderful that the Lord has clearly stated that
temptations will come to us and that others before and beside us have
suffered with them, too.  We are not alone in our struggle to live
victoriously! It is also wonderful that the Lord has provided a way to walk
through the temptation without committing sin. Our problem, then, is to
be discerning and obedient: discerning enough to see the way of
escape; obedient enough to take it! Do you look for a way to escape when
tempted to sin?  Do you run to it when you see it?  Fleeing may be the
escape, but if it isn't, God will show you the escape, as you run. Think
about it.  [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom]

SUMMARY STATEMENTS

In a culture filled with moral depravity and sin-inducing
pressures, Paul gave strong encouragement to the Corinthians about
temptation. He said: (1) wrong desires and temptations happen to everyone,
so don't feel you've been singled out; (2) others have resisted
temptation, and so can you; (3) any temptation can be resisted because God
will help you resist it. God helps you resist temptation by helping
you (1) recognize those people and situations that give you trouble,
(2) run from anything you know is wrong, (3) choose to do only what
is right, (4) pray for God's help, and (5) seek friends who love
God and can offer help when you are tempted. Running from a tempting
situation is your first step on the way to victory (see 2 Tim. 2:22).
[Life Application SB]

Paul's warning to "take heed lest [you] fall" (v. 12) is as
necessary today as it has ever been. For we, like all who have gone before
us, are fallen, temptable, and subject to thinking and doing what is
wrong. Few teachings of Scripture have more practical implications for
day-to-day living.
Opportunities for temptation are almost endless. And since human
nature is not getting any better, nor is any of us immune to the
corrupted appetites of the flesh, we need to take Paul's warning seriously
and watch out for temptation, or we will surely fall. Yet Scripture
offers several alternatives for dealing with temptation as we find it:
(1) We should avoid temptation whenever possible. Proverbs
4:14-15 urges us, "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk
in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it." Often we know
beforehand whether a certain set of circumstances is likely to lead to sin.
Therefore, the obvious way to avoid sin is to avoid those circumstances.
Paul described a "way of escape" from temptation (l Cor. 10:13).
Often the escape is to stay away from the place or the people where
temptation lurks.
As believers, we can help others in this regard. We can avoid
setting up situations that encourage people to do wrong. Teachers, for
example, can help students avoid cheating by making assignments, giving
tests, and communicating expectations in ways that reduce the need or
incentive to cheat. Likewise, business owners and managers can devise
procedures that don't needlessly place employees in a position where they
might be tempted to steal cash, inventory, or equipment. It's not that
a teacher or employer can't trust students or employees, but that
no one can trust human nature to be immune from temptation.
(2) We should flee from powerful temptations. Earlier in this
letter, Paul warned the Corinthians to flee sexual immorality (6:18).
Here he warned them to flee idolatry (v. 14). Elsewhere he warned
Timothy to flee the lust for material possessions and wealth (1 Tim.
6:9-11), as well as youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22). The message is clear:
don't toy with temptation. Flee from it!
(3) Chronic temptation is something we need to confess and offer
to Christ and ask for His cleansing work. Some temptations are
powerful inner struggles, with thoughts and attitudes that graphically
remind us of how fallen we really are. What should we do with that kind
of temptation? Rather than deny it or try to repress it, we should
bring it to Christ. He alone is capable of cleaning up the insides of
our minds.
(4) Finally, we must resist temptation until it leaves us. When
Christ was tempted by the devil, He resisted until the devil went away
(Matt. 4:1-11). James encouraged us to do the same James 4:7).
Resistance begins by bathing our minds with the Word of God and standing
our ground. We have the promise, after all, that the temptations we
experience will never go beyond the common experiences of others, or beyond
our ability to deal with them ( 1 Cor. 10:13). That is great news!
[Word In Life SB]

The bathysphere is an amazing invention. Operating like a
miniature submarine, bathyspheres have been used to explore the ocean in
places so deep the water pressure would crush a conventional submarine
as easily as if it were an aluminum can. Bathyspheres compensate
for the intense water pressure with plates of steel several inches
thick. The steel withstands the water pressure, but it also makes a
bathysphere very heavy and hard to maneuver. The inside is tiny and cramped,
allowing for only one or two people to survey the ocean floor through a
tiny plate-glass window.
Amazingly, divers find fish and other sea creatures at every
depth of the ocean! Some of these creatures are quite small and have
normal-looking skin. No heavy metal for them! They swim freely, remaining
flexible and supple in the inky waters.
How is it that fish can live at these depths without being
crushed? They compensate for the outside pressure with equal and opposite
pressure from inside.
Spiritual fortitude works in the same way. The more negative the
circumstances around us, the greater the need for us to allow God's power to
work within us to exert an equal and opposite pressure. [God's Little
Devotional Bible]

MISCELLANEOUS

Carnal desires gain strength by indulgence, therefore should be
checked in their first rise. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

Some in the face of temptation are not looking for a way out by
endurance, but a way in for indulgence. [Bible Knowledge Commentary]

When temptations come we are to look for the "way out" God
provides, not expose ourselves to them [Victor Bible Reader's Companion]

The way out is for those who seek it, not for those who are
looking for the way in. [College Press NIV Commentary]

Only a passionate love of purity can save one from impurity.
[Barclay Commentary]

Those who are partakers of the divine nature will not give way
to temptation. MYP81,2