Matthew 3-4
[After Jesus was baptized...] He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,”
he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All
this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
So, there it it. Everything that we need to know in order to get the devil to leave you alone. Let's take a look at how Jesus resisted Satan, making him run away in terror. The better understanding we have of this process the more easily and effectively we triumph! And really, who doesn't want a new triumph every day?
First of all, nowhere in the Bible does it say that this is some special power that only the Son of God has. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the ONLY special power that Jesus had compared to other humans is 'understanding.' Jesus was able to do many things on Earth that most humans will simply never do because He understood the Law of God, the Will of God and the Power of God. That doesn't mean that others can't, but just that they won't. Remember that while He is fully God He is also fully man. That means that everything that that man did, I can do also. You can do also. In fact, Jesus tells us that not only can we do things that He did, but that He only showed a fraction of the power that is available to us and we will be able to do even greater things than He did.
Next, look at the words used by Satan when talking to Jesus. There are three things that the devil says to Christ. All of them are attempts to make Him question His identity as the Son of God and who in the universe deserves our praise and worship. Notice those are all versions of the 5 lies. There is one enormous point that needs to be made about the way that the devil talks to Jesus. Because there is nothing saying that he talks only to Jesus this way, we must assume that the devil can and will talk to us this way as well. That point is this; THE DEVIL KNOWS WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS!! We cannot assume that every instance we see or read or hear a Bible verse that it is with good intentions. After all, our adversary has been twisting God's words for 6 millennia or so now.
If you want your words to carry power there is only one way to do it. You have to use the right words. Duh, right? But which words are the right words? Jesus shows us how to talk to the devil with authority. Christ was the first to use the Word as the weapon it is. So, with that knowledge, why is the devil still pestering us? Well, the Word, your sword, is only effective when we wield it to arrive at the will of God. Anybody can use scripture and believe that it will work. But only when you are aligning within His will is it actually effective.
We'll keep digging in, day by day, passage by passage to uncover what is the Will of God for us and how to be as effective as possible in this ongoing spiritual war.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,”
he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All
this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
So, there it it. Everything that we need to know in order to get the devil to leave you alone. Let's take a look at how Jesus resisted Satan, making him run away in terror. The better understanding we have of this process the more easily and effectively we triumph! And really, who doesn't want a new triumph every day?
First of all, nowhere in the Bible does it say that this is some special power that only the Son of God has. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the ONLY special power that Jesus had compared to other humans is 'understanding.' Jesus was able to do many things on Earth that most humans will simply never do because He understood the Law of God, the Will of God and the Power of God. That doesn't mean that others can't, but just that they won't. Remember that while He is fully God He is also fully man. That means that everything that that man did, I can do also. You can do also. In fact, Jesus tells us that not only can we do things that He did, but that He only showed a fraction of the power that is available to us and we will be able to do even greater things than He did.
Next, look at the words used by Satan when talking to Jesus. There are three things that the devil says to Christ. All of them are attempts to make Him question His identity as the Son of God and who in the universe deserves our praise and worship. Notice those are all versions of the 5 lies. There is one enormous point that needs to be made about the way that the devil talks to Jesus. Because there is nothing saying that he talks only to Jesus this way, we must assume that the devil can and will talk to us this way as well. That point is this; THE DEVIL KNOWS WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS!! We cannot assume that every instance we see or read or hear a Bible verse that it is with good intentions. After all, our adversary has been twisting God's words for 6 millennia or so now.
If you want your words to carry power there is only one way to do it. You have to use the right words. Duh, right? But which words are the right words? Jesus shows us how to talk to the devil with authority. Christ was the first to use the Word as the weapon it is. So, with that knowledge, why is the devil still pestering us? Well, the Word, your sword, is only effective when we wield it to arrive at the will of God. Anybody can use scripture and believe that it will work. But only when you are aligning within His will is it actually effective.
We'll keep digging in, day by day, passage by passage to uncover what is the Will of God for us and how to be as effective as possible in this ongoing spiritual war.