Matthew 4:1-22
Monday, 3 May 2021
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” -Matthew 4:10
The authority of the Word of God is of prime importance in the life of a Christian. The Bible, God’s Word makes us understand that God created the entire universe and all that is in it, by calling the things that are not, as though they were (Romans 4:17).
At the beginning itself, in Genesis 3:1, we see how the most cunning creature tried to undermine the authority of God’s Word in the life of Eve with just a simple question. "Did God really tell you…?" God indeed spoke to Adam concerning eating of the fruit in the garden (Genesis 2:16-17) but we don’t see if He said say anything directly to Eve. The devil knowing well what the authority of God’s word meant, did everything possible to undermine it by ignoring Adam who was given the mandate and engaging Eve who didn’t receive it directly. The devil wanting to challenge God’s supreme authority, will always try to reach out to people whose knowledge in the Word of God is minimal. Whenever we try to speak a word from the Lord that is not given or known well to us, there is always the temptation of putting in our own words just like Eve did (Gen.3:3).
When God Himself decided to be made man and be given birth by a woman, we see how the Word became flesh and dwell amongst men (John 1:14). This was God’s plan to deliver the fallen man— to save him from his sins. The devil who wanted to thwart the plan of God stopped at nothing- he tried to tempt the Lord in the wilderness after He fasted for forty days and nights and was hungry.
He tries to undermine the authority of God’s Word again this time by questioning the authority of Christ the Son of God: "If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread." The devil knows that Christ is the only Son of the living God and He is God himself on earth. He knew he has no other option than to honor and respect his supreme authority; but instead tried to undermine it. Jesus resisted the temptation by quoting the authority of His Word from Deut.8:3.
The devil took the Lord Jesus to the Jerusalem temple where he tries again to undermine the authority of God’s word by saying "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down,” –with deceptive assurance of protection, quoting Psalm 91:11 & 12. We see how the devil can use the Word to his advantage if he wants to. But the Lord again responded standing in the authority of his word from Deuteronomy 6:16. We need to take heed that the devil who is aware of God’s Word tries to deceive and to mislead God’s people by twisting it.
Jesus made it clear to the devil, letting him know that He is the Lord and Master, after he (the devil) asks the Lord to bow down and worship him. "Go away, Satan! The scripture says, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!'" We see here how the supreme authority of our LORD and His Word worked for Him- the devil left Him! The devil cannot stop the Lord or a child of God from exercising his authority at any time.
James 4:7 reiterates to us that the only way we can resist the devil is to first submit ourselves to God. By submitting to the Lord our God, we have placed a premium in HIS WORD and respect for His supreme authority! So whenever we speak with the authority of His Word, the devil is bound to flee!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the grace and strength to submit to Your Word, the spirit to hear and obey Your voice, when You are speaking to me and to depend in the power of the authority of Your Word. Amen.
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