Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13
And Jesus answered him, saying, „It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word of God.” (Luke 4:4)
When the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, it was so He could be tempted by the devil. How did Jesus respond? He answered every temptation with, “It is written.” The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit [simple_tooltip content=’And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;’](Eph. 6:17)[/simple_tooltip], and it is the only offensive spiritual weapon we have. Jesus showed us how to use it.
Since Jesus is the Word of God [simple_tooltip content=’In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’](John 1:1)[/simple_tooltip], anything He would have spoken would have been the Word. When He was tempted, He could have said, “Scat!” and the devil would have had to go. Nevertheless, He quoted the written Word of God each time, the same Word you and I have today.
This gives us great assurance that the written Word of God is sufficient for us. Jesus, in the face of the greatest temptations Satan could offer, did not need to say anything that was not already recorded in Scripture. The Word sustained Him and enabled Him to overcome all temptation to sin. It is likely that when He returns to this earth, He will just speak the written Word to destroy His enemies. No wonder Satan tries to keep us from studying and knowing God’s Word!
God has given you the mighty weapon of His Word. When you speak the Word in faith, hell shakes. Satan and his minions have already experienced what the Word can do. They know its power. Now you need to know it and be persuaded of it too.
