And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. (Luk 4:1-13 KJV)
Parallel Passage is Mat 4:1-11
Once you begin to strive more in the discipline of reading Scripture, be warned that the Enemy will seek to sway your trust in it. Satan knows the Word of God and its power quite well. He’s so aware of it that many of his attacks are directed against it. Think of how the very first sin came about. Eve was asked the question, “Did God actually say thus and so?” When we begin to question and doubt God’s Word we begin to doubt the veracity of God Himself. His character is so intertwined with His Word that our perception of the one gives us our perception of the other.
Christ isn’t tempted in the same way that Eve was. He’s not asked, “Did God really say…” Christ had complete and full knowledge of the Scriptures and the Enemy knew that. So instead of getting Christ to doubt God’s Word he tried to get Him to obey it…but obey it out of context.
Today, we are faced with similar attacks. On the one side we’re being attacked with the question, “Did God really say…?” from those who put no confidence in the preservation of God’s Word. On the other hand we’re being attacked by those who twist God’s Word to suit their own purposes rather than preaching it rightly. If we only know the little catch-phrases of Christianity…if we know verses, but only out of context…if we don’t understand the Bible as the unified and complete Word of God…then we will fall under these attacks.
We must not only have faith that God made the Bible, but also that He has providentially preserved it; and that the Bible we have now is the Word of God for us. Furthermore, we must not listen to preachers without comparing what they say to the Scriptures as a whole. If we get caught up in the out-of-context quoting of Scripture, and don’t take the responsibility of searching the Scriptures as the Bereans did, then our faith will be weakened by the very thing that’s meant to strengthen it.
Like Jesus, we can be victorious when the Enemy attacks us by using the Scriptures against him. When we’re devoted to reading and meditating upon Scripture, as we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us illumination and understanding of the things of God, then we can take that Word and use it in the battle. The Word of God is so important in overcoming the enemy because it’s the only offensive weapon that we have in our artillery….it’s the Sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17). We can certainly defend ourselves with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the breastplate of righteousness….but we can’t overcome the enemy without the Sword! And an enemy that’s not overcome is an enemy that’s not defeated…it’s an enemy that will raise his claws towards our soul again, if we leave him without injury from God’s Word.
We see Christ using Scripture as His sword, and He’s victorious. He doesn’t enter into long debates with the Enemy…He doesn’t try to argue with him regarding the truth of Scripture…He simply wields the Sword of the Spirit like a master swordsman and fells the enemy one blow at a time.
So what’s important for us to take away from this as we face our own spiritual battles? How can we wield the Sword of the Spirit to gain victory over the Enemy? I would suggest a few things:
- Pray that the Holy Spirit would give you understanding in the Scriptures
- Read the Scriptures Daily
- Read them with the intent of being obedient to them
- Meditate on them
- As conflicts come up in your life, think of what the Scripture has to say to you
And as we use the Scriptures, not just as a religious text-book, but as a means of shaping our lives, we will overcome the challenges that we face by the grace of God.
So while on many levels the temptation of Christ is very unique to Him because He’s the Son of God, we also see that we share in the same types of temptations. There are, in fact, no temptations that you will ever face that are so unique that only you have faced it. And we’re promised in Scripture that God Himself will give us the strength to overcome our temptations.
When we’re tempted to sin we have this wonderful promise in Scripture…
… we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:15-16)
So we’re confident, not in our own power to overcome sin, but in the power of Christ, who has mercy on us in our time of need. It’s Christ who sustains us in the midst of temptation, and it’s in Christ’s image that we’re conformed to as we overcome sin and temptation by His Spirit.
Though the Devil tempts us with our destruction in mind, God allows the temptations to come our way with the purification of our faith in mind. As we’re tempted to sin and overcome it by Christ, our faith in Christ is shored up and purified. It’s only an exercised faith that grows stronger, and God will stop at nothing to ensure that we’re growing in His grace if we’re truly His children.
Take courage in the fact that even the Devil is God’s creature and under His complete control. And though he is at times given permission to buffet us, the goal that God has in mind is our purification, and this is the end that He will accomplish in those who have Christ as their Lord and Savior.
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