JESUS IS TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL(4:1-11)

By Randy Hill

JESUS IS TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL(4:1-11)
THE SPIRIT LED JESUS INTO THE WILDERNESS TO BE TEMPTED(4:1) JESUS FASTS FOR FORTY DAYS AND NIGHTS(4:2-11)
THE DEVIL LEFT JESUS AND ANGELS MINISTERED TO HIM(4:11)




Matthew 4:1-11 Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matt 4:2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. Matt 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." Matt 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" Matt 4:5 ¶ Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, Matt 4:6 and *said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON {their} HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" Matt 4:7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" Matt 4:8 ¶ Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; Matt 4:9 and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Matt 4:10 Then Jesus *said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" Matt 4:11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and {began} to minister to Him.










1st Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:1):


James 1:13 tells us:
‘God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.’


God tempts no one, but it was the Spirit of God who led Jesus into the wilderness in order to be tempted by the devil. Although God tempts no one, He did lead Jesus to a place where He would experience a microcosm of what makes up all the temptations experienced by mankind; and because of this, Jesus experienced the very same trials that all men and women have gone through since the temptations given to Adam and Eve. But He experienced these temptations like no other man before Him, for He did it without ever making a mistake or committing a sin. Hebrews 4:15 says of Jesus:
‘We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.’


The Holy Spirit put Jesus in the wilderness where the devil was going to test him. As a matter of fact in Mark 1:12-13, right after receiving the anointing to be our High Priest, it says:
‘Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts.’


The Spirit literally drove Jesus out into that wilderness where He lived with wild beasts and the devil. Not exactly a pleasant place of worship for the newly anointed High Priest. But the Spirit did this knowing that the Lord had the knowledge and authority to overcome the evil that was coming to Him. And yet in saying this, it needs to be noted that this is a basic truth for everyone who puts their trust in God and is led by the Spirit in the way that they should go, for Scripture is very clear, saying in 1 Corinthians 10:13:
‘God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.’


It was in part because of our Lord being driven into this wilderness experience and then having to go through these trials, using His knowledge and authority victoriously, that made Him to be perfect for our Redeemer, thus able to be our Mediator as our High Priest before the Father, because it could never be said now He had no knowledge of what we are personally going through. He had first hand experience and can relate to us completely.


Being our High Priest He made Himself to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins; for in doing so, Jesus proved Himself as having overcome all temptation to all sin for our sake in order to represent us as both High Priest and sin offering of that High Priest. He now represents us before God, His Father as our Mediator because of the cross, and also because before going to the cross He willingly endured these various trials without sinning. Hebrews 5:8-10 says this very thing; stating:
‘Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.’


These victories of Jesus over those same temptations that we go through were won in order for Him to then be able to become the propitiation for our sins which we have committed. As Jesus told us in John 16:33:
“In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”


Now through Christ we too can begin to overcome the world and its lusts as He did because of His multiple victories.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘1st Facts - with Opinion’):


Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are, yet without sin. [Heb 4:15] Through His victory over sin and later the judgment put upon Him in His dying, He became the propitiation for our sins. [1 John 2:2] Thus Jesus gave His victory over sin to us as we live in Him. [Rom 6:17-23]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘1st Facts - with Opinion’):


Although God tempts no one, by His Spirit He will at times lead us into diverse trials (as He did Jesus). He will only lead us into those trials that we have both the power and knowledge to overcome. It is in the overcoming of these trials through Christ’s victories that we inherit Christ’s promises. [2 Pet 1:4] We will, however, not be tempted above that which we are able to handle. [1 Cor 10:13]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘1st Facts - with Opinion’):


It is in our enduring and overcoming within these trials and temptations that we become perfect in God. [James 1:2-4]














2nd Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:2); (comparing this text with other texts within the Bible having the number – Forty):


Jesus fasted for forty days in order to go through these temptations of the devil. The number forty is used in Scripture to demonstrate a period of judgment, grace, testing, and preparation for a greater work. Here are some examples where FORTY is shown to be a significant number in Scripture:


Forty can speak of death:


• In Genesis 50:3 it shows that within the days of the patriarchs forty days were required for embalming the dead.


Forty can represent a judgment bringing about a process into dying to all unbelief and/or rebellion in order to receive a new calling, new hope or enter into the promise of a new land:


• In Genesis 6:5 through Genesis 9:9 the Scriptures tell the story of how it rained forty days and nights to bring judgment and death to all people on the planet, except for the believing Noah with his family. Through grace they were given a rainbow, a promise, and a new start for all mankind.


• Acts 7:29-30 speaks of the fact that after forty years, God called Moses out of a wilderness experience into becoming the deliverer of the Israelites; in which he then was ordained of God to lead these people out of Egypt and into the promise land.


• Genesis 15:13 informs us that the Israelites left the promised land, only to become enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years (forty times ten) before leaving, taking with them much of the Egyptian wealth to begin their journey back to the promised land of Canaan.


• Because of the great folly of Israel in the forty-day period when Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments written on tablets from the finger of God, Exodus 32:1-35 tells of Moses, offering himself for his people so that all would not be judged by the law of God. Although not taking him up on his offer, God heard him and redeemed these people. Moses thus became the redeemer of his people, (being in type a shadow of what Jesus did for us), and because of this he was able to give his people, through their next generation yet to be born, the promise of Canaan land, (even as Jesus gave us His kingdom through being born again). Although Moses did not do it, (nor was he qualified), Moses was nevertheless willing to offer himself as the propitiation for their sins during this forty-day fast. Because of this gracious act God gave the people under Moses grace and hope.


• Within the texts of Joshua 1:10-18, Joshua 4:1-14, and Hebrews 3:9 comes a clear understanding of how these Israelites entered the promised land. Because of their unbelief, the Israelites were told that they would be in the wilderness for forty years and that this whole generation of unbelievers would die in the wilderness; but the next generation would be believers who would then enter into the Promised Land. The Israelites were thus tested for their faith, and began dying in all their unbelief and rebellion within that wilderness until there were none within their numbers, [Heb 3:9], except obedient and faithful servants. [Josh 1:10-18] After forty years in the wilderness, the people were of one accord, walking in obedience and faith as they crossed the Jordan River into this new Promised Land. [Josh 4:1-14]


• Ezekiel 29:8-16 speaks of Egypt becoming desolate for forty years because of the sin of pride. After Egypt’s judgment of forty years, the Lord would return them back to the land as a witness that He was the Lord.


Forty also can demonstrate a trial period wherein a people are tested for whether they believe; the outcome of which determines whether they receive the blessing or judgment of God:


• When Moses was gone from the sight of the Israelites for forty days, Exodus 32:1-35 shares that the Israelites were tested and found wanting and many paid with their lives.


• In Deuteronomy 1:22-40 and Numbers 26:65 the Bible speaks of twelve men, one from each tribe of Israel, who went into the Promised Land in order to spy out the land for forty days before Israel was to enter into this land as a united people. Ten of these spies returned with a bad report based upon their own fears and feelings of inadequacies. They therefore did not want to go into the Promised Land afterwards because of these fears and unbelief. Only two of the spies, after returning, wanted the people of Israel to continue and go into Canaan by faith, and thus willing to take the land in obedience to God. The people of Israel, however, chose to listen to and follow the advice and fears of the ten spies who spread their unbelief to these others. Because of this, God cut this generation of unbelievers out of acquiring the promise of this new land. The two men however who chose to believe God and spoke faith would later enter into these promises with the next generation of believers. [Deut 1:22-40] God had the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years until all that generation of unbelievers died because of their choice; leaving only faithful Caleb and Joshua, because of their choice, to enter into the promises of God attained in the Promised Land. They entered in with a new generation of believers who would believe with them. [Num 26:65]


• In 1 Samuel 17:1-54 the giant Goliath tested with his words the Israelite’s faith for forty days until young David slew him with one stone and sent the Philistines running for their lives.


• Jonah 3:4-10 says that the city of Nineveh was given forty days warning of pending doom. They then took this time to repent; therefore avoided this judgment.




Forty is used as a period of time to reflect, being separated for a time, in order to prepare for greater works or greater battles:


• Moses spent the forty days of fasting before the Lord before battling a rebellious people forty years in the wilderness.


• Israel spent forty years separated from everything while living in the wilderness in order to be built up in faith and understanding by the teachings of Moses and living under the total protection of the Lord before they went into Canaan land, taking the land, and battling the people there.


• In 1 Kings 19:7-18 it shows that the Lord set aside Elijah from ministering for forty days while He him fed by birds so as to be refreshed and built up; as a result he then could continue the work that God had called him to do.


Returning to Our Text:
Again, Matthew 4:1-2 reads:
‘Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.’


Although this text does not say it, we know what then followed - that the devil waited until Jesus was weakened to the state of having need and desire; and then the devil came with his bag of tricks in order to persuade Jesus through temptations to meet both needs and desires by sinning. Our text however clearly showed that it was God who led Jesus to this place. He did so for clear godly purposes:


• Jesus experienced fasting for forty days, doing without in order to overcome temptation for all mankind, thus bringing His grace, His kingdom and His blessings to us. In this time He showed Himself to be dead to sin and alive for God. He later took our sins upon Himself so that the judgment upon us was ended and His blessings and kingdom would be made available to us.


• Jesus used this time to overcome the enemy in a private place before facing the enemy in the public place. He would leave this wilderness and then go into public ministry, teaching the truths of the kingdom of God and battling for the souls of men. In doing so, He later led many to be willing to follow Him, giving the example, and understanding of how to overcome sin and enter into His kingdom, as well as in the end giving the totality of victory over sin through His dying on the cross, and thus giving access into that kingdom. This time of temptation therefore was a part of the process that He needed to go through to be our Redeemer, Shepherd, Lord, and King; and ultimately our example to follow. As stated best by Peter in 1 Peter 2:21-24:
‘Christ .. suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.’




1st Implication (based upon this ‘2nd Facts - with Opinion’):


We may go through great temptations but in Christ we have overcome the world. [John 16:33] His victories can bring us into all His blessings and His kingdom. He overcame the power of the devil for us. [Heb 2:18] He overcame the judgment of sin upon us. [Rom 5:16]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘2nd Facts - with Opinion’):


There will be times when the Lord will set us aside to prepare us for greater more public work, ministries or battles by a testing before the Lord and temptations by the devil that are private. It is in these private times that give us the victories and understandings to be able to do and be the things that God is truly calling us publicly to do and be. It also can be a time of personal revelation from the Lord, for it is He who is leading this time. [Rom 5:1-5]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘2nd Facts - with Opinion’):


We are called to die to sin and live for God through Christ. [Rom 6:11]














3rd Facts - with Opinions (based upon Matthew 4:2-10, and as a prelude to understanding the following ‘4th Facts - with Opinion’ through the ‘11th Facts - with Opinion’):


What is a TEMPTATION?
A temptation is simply an opportunity made available through circumstances to do, say, know, feel, or have something that is not within God’s will or purpose within your life; but because of false reasonings, uncontrolled emotions, and/or godless imaginations this opportunity is made to seem desirable for the moment within the circumstances it is offered. Temptation is not in itself sin. It is the opportunity to sin with a godless rationality based upon these reasonings, emotions, and/or imaginations that somehow there is a good benefit that will or can be acquired for the body, soul, or spirit of that individual being tempted by entering into this present opportunity to sin.


We are in a spiritual warfare, and temptation is a tool of destruction used by Satan to enlist men into his army who are revolting against God. If we do not enlist into his army, but resist temptation, then Satan is being defeated because we have by choice become part of the army of God overcoming this satanic revolution.


It is also a tool and a means used by Satan to attain supremacy and control over men on this earth. To yield to temptation is to sin against God, and within that area, give yourself over to Satan’s control, which inevitably leads to eternal death if not dealt with in Christ.




What is to be done when being TEMTED?
It needs to be recognized, confronted and dealt with by using godly reasonings, emotions, faith, and obedience to God acquired by having a knowledge of God’s will and purpose, which are attained through putting on the mind of Christ, knowing the Word of God, and actively following the leading of the Spirit of God. Temptation of itself will not disappear unless it is confronted and dealt with, as Jesus did in His forty days.




What then brings about a TEMPTATION?
There are only three things involved which in collaboration with one another will bring about a temptation. In the Bible these three things are the world, the flesh, and the devil. So, let us define these three terms:




1. THE WORLD –
The World can be defined in Scripture as - The system that offers things that are outside the will of God but are promoted to bring pleasure and fulfillment to one’s life. Some Scriptures speaking of the world in this manner are: Matthew 4:8, Mark 8:36, John 8:23, John 16:33, Galatians 4:3, Galatians 6:14, Titus 2:12, James 4:4, 2 Peter 1:4, 1 John 2:15, and many others.




2. THE FLESH –
The Flesh can be defined in Scripture as - Ungodly reasoning, feeling, or desire within any person that brings motivation for wanting things that are not the will of God. This is a nature within men that is not submitted to God or His Word, and that yields to incentives, attitudes or fears that attracts them to those things which in time prove to be self-destructive, but are purely motivated by the momentarily pleasures that sinning may or may not bring. Some Scriptures speaking of the flesh in this manner can be found in: John 8:15, Romans 7:25, Romans 8:4, 1 Corinthians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 10:3, Galatians 3:3, Galatians 5:16, Galatians 6:8, Ephesians 2:3, Colossians 2:18, and many others.




3. THE DEVIL; (Satan); (ruler of this world); (the evil one) –
The Devil can be defined in Scripture as - Any demonic or spiritual force that introduces or points out the things offered that are not of God’s will. These dark forces will give lying incentives or fears that convince many to sin. These spiritual forces can and do use human agents to achieve this, but it is the devil and His fallen angels that in the end are spiritually enticing men to sin against God. Once they succeed in their deceptions, they will often enter into the individual, using them as their host to possess or generate obsessions within the mind and body of the host. Some Scriptures speaking of the devil in this manner can be found in: Matthew 4:10, Luke 11:18, Luke 22:3, John 17:15, 1 Corinthians 2:12, 1 Corinthians 7:5, 2 Corinthians 2:11, Ephesians 2:2, Ephesians 4:27, Ephesians 6:12, and many others.




Another way of saying the same thing in today’s vernacular would be:
1. The temptation
2. The tempted
3. The tempter




James, the brother of Jesus, had another way to express this:
1. Earthy
2. Natural
3. Demonic
James speaks of this when he says in James 3:14-16:
‘If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.’


Now, as we already stated, to be tempted does not necessarily mean to sin. Whenever tempted, however, one of two results will take place:


a. If one accepts and enters into the temptation, as Eve did, it means falling into sin and in time, suffering the consequences; one of which is separation from God. Even if the sinner receives forgiveness from God; consequences are often experienced.


b. If one resists the temptation, as Jesus did, it means to overcome the desire to sin and enter into God’s blessing, often bringing healing to the soul; and in some cases – healing to the body.




Referring to the Serpent and the Temptations of Eve:
During Eve’s temptations, Eve seemed oblivious to the serpent’s motivations and his devices. She neither questioned what he had to say nor what his motivations might be for asking and answering her the way he did. She simply believed the premise of his words without question or challenge. [Gen 3:1-7]


Genesis 3:1 says:
‘The serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.’


Satan is crafty. The believer needs to always be alert to Satan’s ways, and his intentions; having understanding that Satan’s desires are always to devour all who are naive. 1 Peter 5:8-9 tells us:
‘Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.’


The natural man in Scripture is generally a man not subject to Christ, not born of the Spirit; but it can also be that this nature is to one degree or another still dwelling within the Christian who has determined not to submit to the Lord on certain things. This natural man within the Christian is not able to do battle against the enemy because he does not see his enemy at work, just as Eve did not. Satan can deceive the Christian at will who allows himself or herself to be led by the feelings and thoughts of his unsanctified nature. The natural man often does not even comprehend the devastation that any particular sin evokes, for he feels justified, believing the lie, rather than the truth. The natural man opposes the logic of God that would prevent him from an act he wants to do. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 it states pertaining to the natural man:
‘A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.’


In order to overcome sin, Jesus understood that His battle was against spiritual wickedness (the devil and demons who are attempting to affect this world, its thinking and its actions). Paul spoke of this within the church, when he said in Ephesians 6:12:
‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.’


He was speaking of the devil and demons. Being at war with God, the devil and demons use the world as a playground for temptations based upon generating imaginations within the tempted individual that is not subject to the laws of God. Paul describes this process of overcoming the devil by walking in Christ. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 he writes:
‘Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.’


Our battle is against godless imaginations that give us incentives to do wrong. But when the tempted person accepts these imaginations, it is accepted as fleshly desires and becomes natural to the sinner in behavior, actions, and/or thinking. It then becomes a part of who this person is. Romans 8:5-8 says:
‘Those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.’


Because of its origin, that which is a natural fleshly desire is being motivated by the demonic, and thereby yielded to Satan and his kingdom of darkness. In 2 Peter 2:17-19 these people are described by Peter in this eloquent manner:
‘These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.’


Those who yield to these vain imaginations are then bound to the devil, his horde and his ways in order for them then to acquire these earthly pleasures. In Philippians 3:18-19 Paul describes them who are thus bond in this way:
‘For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.’


These earthly things become demonically addictive bonds to this natural man; the outcome being, (except by the grace of our Lord and Savior through His redeeming blood), inevitably death and damnation. James, the brother of Jesus, describes this process of temptation that leads to death in James 1:13-15. It says:
‘Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.’


Christ has set mankind free from sin and death. The Father for this reason sent Jesus into this world. Colossians 1:13-14 says of this fact:
‘He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’


In setting us free through Christ, He also gave man the tools to overcome the evil one, as well as the understanding of the devises of this devil; and thereby, through Christ, the Christian has the power in order to overcome all temptations and trials. The Christians win these victories over this diabolical enemy:
1. Through the victory of Christ’s atonement.
2. By the leading and power of the Holy Spirit.
3. With the understanding of God’s Word.
4. Through willingly giving one’s live to God, even as Jesus laid down His life for us all.*
*[These 15 ‘Facts - with Opinions’ demonstrates this all]




1st Implication (based upon this ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’):


We need to:
1. Recognize that there is a devil who would destroy us if he could.
2. Not be ignorant concerning the devils schemes. [2 Cor 2:11]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’):


Satan will use our natural, carnal, fleshly desires against us to entrap us to sin if we allow him. He will use our ability to imagine vain things and he will set before us earthly pleasures. [1 Pet 2:11] If any yield to these things, they have yielded to the devil and are thereby bound to him by their fleshly nature. [2 Tim 2:26]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’):


Sin leads to death and damnation, [James 1:15] but Christ has the keys to eternal life. [John 6:68] In Christ we have the ability to both break the bonds of sin, and overcome the devil. [Heb 2:14-18 & Eph 2:1-10]




4th Implication (based upon this ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’):


Christ has set us free from sin, and given His understanding of the devises of the devil. Through this, He has given us the power to overcome all temptations by:
1. Christ’s atonement. [1 Pet 3:18]
2. The leading of the Spirit. [Gal 5:16]
3. Understanding God’s Word. [2 Tim 3:16-17]
4. Laying down our lives for God and others. [Rev 12:11]














4th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:2-3, and the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’); (pertaining to THE DEVIL attempting to expose an area of THE FLESH):


Note the second and third line of Matthew 4 where it says (in short):
‘He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came.’


Jesus had been fasting for forty days and then He began to hunger. This would imply that Jesus was totally human and that His body did not at this time receive its life just from the Spirit of life. His body was indeed totally human, experiencing what other bodies experience when people go without food. His body needed a basic subsistence to survive on earth without a miraculous God intervention. This hungering that Jesus was experiencing was the beginning of the body experiencing starvation. Jesus was out in the wilderness amongst wild beasts expending energy, but not replenishing it.


Note that it was then that the devil chose to approach the Lord and attempt to defile Him through Satan’s various means of bringing temptations. The tempter came when he saw that Jesus was in a state of hunger. He approached Jesus when this evil one thought Jesus was most vulnerable, tempting Him where it was perceived by Satan He was most vulnerable.




Referring to the Serpent and the Temptations of Eve:
In the Garden of Eden it was Adam who originally received the Word of God pertaining to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; not Eve. In Genesis 2:16-25, it shows clearly that the woman was not yet even created when God spoke to Adam.


But in Genesis 3:1-7, it was Eve that the serpent approached, even though Adam was with her. This is because Satan and his horde go after those who they perceive to be weaker or vulnerable in any area so as to attempt to get the advantage. The serpent did not go after Adam right away because Adam was strong in the knowledge of the Word of God given to Him by personal revelation. He went after Eve, who did not have this personal revelation, except through her husband.


The devil did not go after Jesus about hunger until after he knew the Lord’s body was starving and His mind was weak in nutrients; so now the devil perceived that the door was open to offer a real temptation to Him, and maybe Jesus would succumb to desire.


This hits two areas the devil is looking for within us in order to bring forth his temptations. The evil one is into looking to find any area within a person where the flesh might be vulnerable to either:
1. Believing in the lies of the devil, thereby falling into sin by desiring the temptations the devil offers. (This is what he did with Eve, who believed his lies.) Temptations are perceived needs. In this scenario, the sinner falls into sin because of the lies saying that the thing offered will satisfy the perceived need of the tempted.


2. Desiring the temptation to such a degree as to have the one tempted no longer care about the consequences at that moment because of the feeling for that perceived need in order to attain this immediate gratification. (This is what he attempted to do with Jesus.) Often within a sinner immediate gratification will overturn good sense or reason; thus the sinner sets aside his knowledge and enters into sin anyway in order to satisfy his immediate perceived need.


The devil has not changed. He still goes after us in the same ways as he did Eve and Jesus, to either convince us to believing in his lies; or to convince us that our desire is so great that we do no longer care about the truth, wanting only to satisfy our appetites now; or it could be a combination of the two. When he tempts, he will always come at us where he perceives us to be weak; either in knowledge, in our willpower, or both.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘4th Facts - with Opinion’):


Jesus was in all ways human when He walked this earth, just as we are. He was in everyway like us. [Phil 2:8]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘4th Facts - with Opinion’):


We need to understand when we are perceived to be weak physically or emotionally, or find ourselves in a position where we lack knowledge, or experience, then this is when or where we are most susceptible to the attacks of the devil through circumstances and temptations. [1 Pet 5:8] The devil will hit us where or when we are weakest in order to find out if there be anything in us which would be open to turning from God. It is at these times we need to turn to God and His Word. Where we are weak, God can and will demonstrate His strength in us as we put our trust in Him. [2 Cor 12:10]














5th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:3-10, and prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’); (pertaining to THE DEVIL and his three lies to Jesus):


Everything the devil said to Jesus during this temptation was either a lie or based upon a lie. These are the lies he stated in order to attempt the destruction of our Lord:




THE FIRST LIE OF THE DEVIL:


The devil suggested to Jesus that He should show He was the Son of God by using His power that was given to Him by His Father in order to feed Himself. The devil challenged Jesus with these words in Matthew 4:3:
“If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”


The Bible, however, teaches differently. It says that the one who is to stand in the presence of God, God will provide for Him. In Isaiah 33:15-16 these are the words of God:
‘He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.’


This Word therefore states clearly that God would supply bread and water for Jesus, if Jesus was walking righteously in God. In other words, if Jesus needed to use His power to feed Himself, He would have been proving that He really was not the Chosen One, according to Scripture.


Furthermore, the Holy Spirit was the one who gave Him this power. So, if Jesus used His power because He did not trust His Father, feeling He needed to go outside the will of the Father, there is a good chance that the Spirit, who is one with the Father, would have had to withdrawn from Jesus rather than to fulfill His bidding; and instead of bread, Jesus would have had rocks for breakfast.


To use the power of God for self-interests and self-profit is called ‘the sin of Balaam’ in the Bible; named after a prophet who was willing to sell his ability to see for his own profit. This sin is strictly forbidden in Scripture. [2 Pet 2:15]


Jesus overcame this lie that the devil spoke by knowing and speaking the truth, when He said, as recorded in Matthew 4:4:
“MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.”


By this confession, Jesus demonstrated His total faith and trust in God and His Word for all of His provisions for life. The Lord would later teach this very principle in the Sermon on the Mount, when He said in Matthew 6:31-33:
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”




THE SECOND LIE OF THE DEVIL:


While quoting from Psalms 91:11-12, the devil challenged Jesus again, by stating in Matthew 4:6:
“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”


The devil was making reference to a verse; but it was out of its biblical context. In the full context of where this verse is found, there is no evidence that God would have had angels catch Jesus if He had jumped by His own initiative and for His own glory. In the first line of Palms 91 it defines to whom this promise was written:
‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.’


It is written to the person ‘who dwells in the shelter of the Most High’ and thereby would ‘abide in the shadow of the Almighty’; meaning this is talking to the person who dwells in God under His protection. Based upon this criteria it seems probable that had Jesus jumped, instead of finding angels there to catch Him, He would have found no one to catch Him and He could have dearly hurt Himself hitting a very hard ground. For Jesus to jump would have meant He stepped out of His Father’s shelter by going on His own will, and thereby not keeping Himself under God’s covering, having not sought the will of His Father in what He was doing. There was therefore no assurance that God’s angels would have caught Him, as Satan had attempted to suppose, based upon a verse spoken out of context.


Jesus overcame this lie by knowing and speaking the truth. As recorded in Matthew 4:7, Jesus said:
“YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.”(4:7)


By this confession, Jesus demonstrated His total faith and trust in God and His Word for His covering. Christ wanted only to dwell in God, and not step out on His own will to get things done. Later, Jesus would confess this very fact to His disciples, saying in John 5:30:
“I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”




THE THIRD LIE OF THE DEVIL:


This tempter took Jesus ‘to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory’. He then proceeded to tell the Lord, in Matthew 4:9:
“All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”


The devil, however, has no legal claim on these things. The Bible teaches in Psalm 24:1:
‘The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.’


It also says that God had originally delegated the authority and control of this earth to man. Genesis 1:28 states that after God made man in His image, He said to Him:
“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”


God owns the earth, and He gave stewardship of His earth to the man and the woman. Even though the serpent had gotten Adam and Eve (and therefore all men prior to Christ) to submit to him, [Gen 3:1-7], and thereby bringing judgment to the earth and mankind by this, [Gen 3:17-19], there is no evidence that God relinquished this stewardship from man, or ever delegated the earth to anyone other than man. Therefore since Jesus was a man, this meant He had greater rights to claim this earth as under His domain than Satan had.


There is another fact in play here that Jesus was privy to. The Father had just previously spoken to Jesus at His baptism, saying in Matthew 3:17:
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”


These words directly from God were in fact partially a quote from Psalm 2:7-8 in which God the Father is saying to His Son:
“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.”


According to this, all Jesus had to do was ask His Father, not the devil, if He desired to receive all the possessions of the earth.


If Jesus had worshipped the devil, then there would have been no redemption, the world would have had to be destroyed and Jesus would have ended up with nothing except eternal hell. [Rev 19:20] The devil never had the rightful authority to offer anything to Jesus except for the Lake of Eternal Fire, for this is all that the devil owns. It was created especially for him and his followers, for Jesus said in Matthew 25:41:
“The lake of fire.. has been prepared for the devil and his angels’


So that is all that the devil really has to offer; and anyone who follows him – that is all that they in the end will receive.


Jesus overcame this lie by knowing and speaking the truth, saying, as recorded in Matthew 4:10:
“YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.”


By this confession, Jesus demonstrated His total faith and trust in God and His Word. He knew that God had made Him a steward of this earth; and therefore it was God the Father He was accountable to, and no one else. Jesus furthermore knew the promise of the Father, that all this was already His for the asking. Later, in Mathew 11:27, Jesus would tell His disciples:
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father.”


To the Point:
Satan is a habitual liar. If He speaks the truth, he will do so only to pervert it; not to establish it. He will use truth, but only to propagate his own lies. Jesus spoke of this nature of the devil in John 8:44 by saying of him:
“He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”




1st Implication (based upon this ‘5th Facts - with Opinion’):


Satan is a liar and there is no truth in him. [John 8:44]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘5th Facts - with Opinion’):


The Evil One has nothing to offer us except hell and damnation. [Rev 21:8]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘5th Facts - with Opinion’):


By both knowing the truth and proclaiming it, the truth will set us free from being deceived and controlled by lies and liars. [John 8:32]




4th Implication (based upon this ‘5th Facts - with Opinion’):


The authority to oversee and possess the things of this earth was given to man under God; and therefore this world does not rightfully belong to Satan or his followers. It belongs to God and whom God has designated it to through His authority. [John 16:23-24]




5th Implication (based upon this ‘5th Facts - with Opinion’):


We need to seek always the will of our Creator and stay under His covering. In doing so, we will be protected by the angels of God and the presence of God. [1 John 2:17]














6th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:3-10, and the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’ pertaining to THE DEVIL attempting to expose an area of THE FLESH); (with the understanding of the ‘5th Facts - with Opinion’); (comparing text to Genesis 3:4-5 with Zechariah 3:1 and Revelations 12:9-10); (showing Satan’s use of Accusations and Deceptions):


Please note that the tempter made a subtle accusation in two of his temptations. In both Matthew 4:3 and Matthew 4:6 he started out His temptations with these words:
“If You are the Son of God…”


The wording of these directives from Satan implied that maybe Jesus was not the Son of God. He was therefore subtly making an accusation that maybe Jesus was not the Son of God, as if there was some doubt. The devil was trying to bate the Lord into feeling Jesus had to prove who He was by doing something.


The tempter also tried to deceive our Lord, quoting Scripture totally out of context; convincingly saying with a straight face in Matthew 4:4:
“…, for it is written…”


Here, even though he quotes the Word right; he was quoting it completely out of context in order to give it a different meaning than it was intended when written. He thus was trying to get Jesus to do something wrong while attempting to deceive the Lord that in doing so, He would be obeying God’s written Word.


These maneuvers of the devil demonstrate the only two powers of persuasion that He has. These therefore are the only two powers he could use in his attempt to convince Jesus to sin. The powers of the devil to persuade can simply be defined as being the powers of:
1. Accusation.
2. Deception.




Referring to the Serpent and the Temptations of Eve:
In the Garden of Eden, the serpent used these two same techniques against Eve. He first said to her in Genesis 3:4:
“You surely will not die!”


The word given to Adam, however, in Genesis 2:17 was:
“In the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”


The serpent was lying so as to deceive Eve, for he deliberately perverted God’s Word, knowing that God stated if she ate of that fruit she would ‘surely die’.


The serpent also made an accusation against God, implying that God was holding back ‘good’ from her; for he continued in Genesis 3:5 to say:
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”


The serpent was thus saying that it was good to have this fruit because the knowledge she would acquire would make her equal with God. The devil was inferring that even though God knew this, the Lord God did not want her to have this knowledge, not wanting her to be equal to Him; and therefore Satan was accusing God of evil; having evil intent toward her for holding back this information.


The serpent’s proclamation to Eve was therefore both:
• An accusation against God
• A deception used against Eve.




Looking at Another Text:
Satan also followed this same pattern on Joshua the high priest, according to a vision of Zechariah. In Zechariah 3:1 he shared:
‘Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.’


By stating that Satan was ‘standing at his right hand’, Zechariah’s vision was showing that Satan had positioned himself with Joshua the high priest as pretending to be his closest advisor and friend. This was however a deception. Satan had no intention of advising him as a friend. Satan’s true purpose was not to be a friend or advisor to Joshua in order to help him; but his real purpose was to be there so as ‘to accuse him’. Satan did not want Joshua to be able to become the man of God that the Lord was calling him to be. He was there to deceive and control Joshua the high priest so that he would not become the man of God he was called to be while he made accusations against Joshua. This again was Satan in positioning himself to persuade and dissuade Joshua through:
• Accusation.
• Deception.




In Yet Another Text:
The Apostle John also showed this same pattern pertaining to the devil. In Revelations 12:9-10, he said of the devil:
‘The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”’


He thus said that Satan:
• ‘deceives the whole world’; and is:
• ‘the accuser of our brethren … who accuses them before our God day and night.’


Satan never was given authority over this earth. Adam and Eve from the beginning were the ones who were given all authority over this earth from God, not Satan. Genesis 1:28 quotes God as telling Adam and Eve:
“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”


This authority was not just given to the man, but to both the man and woman. Both of them therefore were the last word, other than God, as to what was to take place on the earth. They were not to be subject to anything or anyone on this earth when it came to accountability as to what they did on the earth. They were only accountable to God, and God gave them a broad girth as to what that meant. God only told them one thing that they were not to do - eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They, however, were neither subject to the serpent at this time in any way, nor needed to subrogate their authority to him in any way, because God had commissioned this authority that they had over the earth to them alone.


The only way that Satan could attain this authority from man in the beginning was through stealing it by using deceptions and accusations; and thereby getting Adam and Eve literally to give up their authority to him of their own free will. Satan had to become like the used car salesman who has to lie in order to show he has something of value to sell. Satan attained this by getting them, of their own volition, to submit to him and his lies; and he was so good at it, that it became exactly what Adam and Eve did – they submitted to him by buying his lies. In Eve’s case, she completely believed in his lies; seeing him as the good guy and God as the one holding back this good from her of knowing good and evil.


Satan got control by using deceptions and accusations as his tools of power to convince mankind to believe his lies, and join his rebellion against God on the earth. He is a thief, stealing the rights over this earth with these deceptions and accusations by convincing men to follow him as their god, rather than follow God who actually owns the earth and gave stewardship of it to man. The devil, however, truly has no godly claim over the earth, or right to that claim or that control. That makes him the thief, and Jesus said in John 10:10:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”


Seeing Jesus as the Second Adam:
All this will backfire in time on Satan, for the actual ownership of this earth is still God’s, and it is His to do with as He pleases. And furthermore God sent Jesus as like unto being the second Adam in which to restore God’s kingdom on earth. Jesus in the likeness of Adam; becoming a second Adam in the sense that He was made in the image of the original man before sin with the same authority and rights God had originally given to man before Adam had sinned and submitted to the devil.


Jesus the man is also fulfilling the great commission that was given to Adam and Eve before they sinned, wherein God told them:
“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”


Jesus was, and of course still is bearing the fruit of righteousness, multiplying His righteousness through others who, because of Him, have come into repentance and become born again. He is bringing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, so in this way He is replenishing the earth, and will fully replenish this earth at the time of His millennial kingdom reign. As far as the fish, birds, and everything that moves; Romans 8:19-22 tells us:
‘The anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.’


This suffering of the earth will finally come to an end when the saints of God return in their manifested glory with Jesus to the earth. The whole earth will be at peace for a thousand year reign of Christ. It is this time that is spoken of in Isaiah 11:6, where it says:
‘The wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.’


The earth will then no longer be under the curse put on it because of the sin of Adam for having followed after the lying deceptions of Satan, for the second Adam will have removed the curse through the full redemption of the children of Adam.


The whole earth is therefore looking forward to this time finally coming when the Sons of God are fully manifested on this earth with Christ and we can rule the earth in the Lord as we were called to do from the time of the original creation of man and woman. During this time Satan will be bound and will have no influence over the affairs of this earth, and then cannot enter into the hearts of men through his deceptions and accusations. [Rev 20:2-3] People who have not yet been glorified who have survived the earth’s original curse before the return of Christ and His glorified saints will again multiply in this peaceful environment while Christ and His saints rule. [Is 65:18-25]


After the thousand years has ended, Satan will one more time be released, and he will do as he did with the first Adam, and many of the earth’s population will believe his lying deceptions and accusations and will rebel with him against the Lord. It will only be then that the Lord will cast Satan into the lake of fire, along with all who chose then to follow him; and from that time on the accusations and deceptions will finally cease, and all will be right with God. [Rev 20:7-10]


Returning Again to Our Text:
Satan knew that Jesus was there to bring everything to being again right with God; and that to do this, the devil would lose his power eventually over this earth and he would have lost his war against God. Satan also knew he had absolutely no control over Jesus on this earth, for he knew Christ had all the legal authority to do His Father’s bidding. The only way Satan could see keeping his control that he then possessed over men and this earth was to also get control over Jesus (as he did with Adam) by subtly getting Jesus to somehow join his rebellion against the Father and the Word of God. And the only way to do this was if he could convince our Lord to give in to these temptations through the devil subtly convincing Him using again deceptions and accusation. Satan tried to do this within these temptations through the only two means that he has; but the deceptions and accusation did not work because Jesus could see through them. Through Christ Satan’s deceptions and accusations have been revealed. Their powers over mankind have now been diminished; and will soon come to an end.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘6th Facts - with Opinion’):


Satan has only two spiritual powers to use in order to tempt us away from God and His will, and thereby into sin. They are:
1. Deception.
2. Accusation. [Rev 12:9-10]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘6th Facts - with Opinion’):


People who are being led by Satan have only two ways of discrediting the teachings of Christ, or a sinless blood washed Christian, or the church as a whole. The do so by promoting:
1. DECEPTIONS based upon having been deceived within themselves, or else by their willingness lie in order to deceive others.
2. ACCUSATIONS based upon lies they themselves believed, or else the willingness to speak lies even though they know the truth, or else by finding a truth and misusing it as a means to discredit truth so as to lead people deeper into error and bondage. [Psm 109 (all)]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘6th Facts - with Opinion’):


Satan is a thief who has stolen from mankind the authority and blessing of God given in order to rule over us on this earth. [John 10:1] Through Jesus Christ we have now authority to take back what was ours to begin with, and therefore on earth we now have in the Name of Jesus authority over Satan and his horde in our lives. He now has no authority over us, but we have authority over him. [Luke 10:19]




4th Implication (based upon this ‘6th Facts - with Opinion’):


Through the authority given to us in Christ, Satan can no longer control us. [James 4:7] He, however, knows the only way his kingdom on earth will not be destroyed is if he can prevent people from knowing the truth in Christ. This in the end will be a losing effort on the devil’s part, for the earth is the Lord’s, [1 Cor 10:26]; and furthermore all its creation is now waiting in hope for the soon manifestation of God’s children who are going to set it all free from the power of sin. [Rom 8:19-21] All Satan’s deceptions and accusations will in the end lead him to his own destruction, [Is 14:12-20]; for the people he once enslaved will be the ones that reveal him for who he really is by the authority of Christ who has set them free. [Rev 12:9-11; Ezek 28:18]














7th Facts - with Opinions (based upon Matthew 4:6, and the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’ pertaining to THE DEVIL attempting to expose an area of THE FLESH); (comparing text to the temptations of Eve in Genesis 3:1-3); (showing within this text and the temptation of Eve how Satan looks to take advantage of those knowing and not knowing the Word of God):


Satan Knows the Word of God.
He has no qualms in using this Word to get his way. Because the devil knew that Jesus also knew the Word, the tempter would quote Scripture, only taking verses completely out of context as a means of stating something the Bible did not really say by using the Bible’s own words. It was in this way that the devil was attempting to deceive the Christ. Jesus did not, however, accept the premise given by the tempter based upon just one Scripture verse, but He put it into the light of the volume of God’s Word. Jesus rebuffed Satan because what the devil had suggested Jesus should do ‘according to the Word’ was shown to be in actuality contrary to God’s will and His Word within the full text of the Bible. Satan’s deception was thus revealed, and Satan’s words had no power, even when quoting Bible Scripture.




Looking at the Temptation of Eve:
Recorded in Genesis 2:16-17, before Eve’s creation, it was Adam who was originally told:
“From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”


Maybe it was because Eve had not directly heard this Word from God, but understood it only from the mouth of her husband that Eve tried to quote the Word, but instead misquoted it. During her temptation it was clearly revealed to the serpent that she did not know the Word of God well. This was obvious because of her misquoting the words given by God. She had inadvertently added and subtracted certain words within God’s Word to fit her perception of what she thought the truth should sound like. Within her quote to the serpent, she shared what she believed was the truth; but she was in error. Compare Genesis 2:16-17 to her reply to the Serpent in Genesis 3:2-3. In Genesis 3:2-3 she says:
“From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”


Comparing this to what God had actually told Adam, she was saying things that God had not said and leaving out things that God had said. She was:
• SAYING THE WORDS: “or touch it”, thus adding to the Word.
• LEAVING OUT THE WORD: “surely” when supposedly quoting God.


Eve was adding and subtracting from the Word of God in a way that seemed right to her. In her mind she did not vary far from the Word. But these supposed small variations of the truth by her were all that the devil needed from her in order to distort the Word of God completely from its original meaning while tempting her. The serpent knew he could deliberately misquote God’s Word while deceiving this naive girl because she was not grounded in truth.


Now compare what God told Adam in Genesis 2:17 to that which was said by the serpent to Eve in Genesis 3:4 when he stated:
“You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”


Comparing this to what God had told Adam, we see that the serpent only added one word, ‘not’, when he said, “You surely will not die”; and then he based everything else he said upon this fabricated distortion of the truth.


Even then Eve could have gotten this misrepresentation of the truth corrected, and could have therefore easily rebuked the tempter for his lies had she simply gotten guidance from her husband who was right beside her. [Gen 3:6] If she had talked to her husband next to her, she could have clarified what she had heard from the serpent against the true Word in which her husband had heard from God. [Gen 2:16-17] But she did not. She instead relied upon her feelings, a distorted human logic with eschewed facts, and a vain imagination. Because of this, the serpent was able to deceive her and thereby opened her heart to be willing to sin with misquoted words of God.


In Conclusion:
In both cases, with Jesus and with Eve, the devil used the Word of God, showing us that he will both deliberately distort its meaning by taking its words out of context to prove a lie; and distort its words and make them a lie; all in order to distort our understanding of truth and bring us into his lying power.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘7th Facts - with Opinion’):


We need to understand the Scripture in context and with other Scripture. Because the Word of God is truth, Scripture will teach us Scripture. Our understanding needs to be based upon basic precepts found in the whole Word of God. [Is 28:9-13] To attain this we need to be well studied in the Bible as a whole. When someone comes to us with an understanding of Scripture that is new, we should examine this potential truth against the rest of the Word of God in order to see if it be true. [Acts 17:10-12]


If we do have questions or are not sure of what we are being presented as being true, then we should seek God for understanding and allow Him to direct us to other sources of knowledge in order to confirm His Word to us by His Spirit. [James 1:5]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘7th Facts - with Opinion’):


Satan and his followers will:
1. Use the Word of God to deceive many who believe the Word is true and yet are ignorant of its basic truths.
2. Distort passages in the Bible, making lies to validate lies in order to convince many who would be vulnerable to their deceptions and accusations.




3rd Implication having Strong Commentary Opinions (based upon this ‘7th Facts - with Opinion’):


The church is to Jesus as what Eve was to Adam. Jesus is the Word and we are His bride. Now Satan is attempting to deceive those within the church as he did with Eve (and failed to do with Jesus). For this reason there are doctrines within certain denominations of the Christian church today that are contrary to the Word of God. And because of these doctrines, some churches claim to have some exclusive understandings or knowledge that has elevated them above the rest of the churches, and in essence, separated them from the Body of Christ and in part, the truth within God’s Word which they have not understood correctly. In doing so, Satan can often lead many away from the work of the cross and away from a true relationship with the Almighty, and then into the pathways of vain works or even hell itself. The church denominations who have fallen into this trap therefore have believed Satan’s deceptions on certain facts and thereby often use these distorted truths to then work in part as Satan’s agent and too become the accusers of the brethren because the rest of the church does not follow these misrepresented or distorted facts as they know them. Satan is crafty. Here are some examples of how Satan has used the systems themselves to at times distort the truths within the body of Christ, and therefore bring divisions amongst us:




Some Church Denominations Will:


o Add a canon and/or follow traditions that they consider equal to or more important than the Bible itself (even as Eve added words with God’s Word while being tempted, that then Satan used to build her understanding to what was to her the perceived truth). Satan then can bring in idol worship, false doctrines and unnecessary activities to make one feel religious while really taking the church further away from the faith.


An example of this would be that of any of the early churches which were founded after the resurrection of Christ that now use a second canon full of traditions and teachings from pat leaders, believed by that denomination as now being sacred. Many of these denominations will use these understandings or writings within this canon as becoming equal with or more important than the actual Bible teachings, and therefore override or undermine much of the Bible and its truths. Because they alone hold this canon which they have come to believe is holy; this type of church denomination will often feel that the rest of the church left the truth when they left them.




Some Church Denominations Will:


o Use a verse or a few verses to determine a spiritual meaning, yet not examining it or them against the volume of Bible or its precepts (even as the devil attempted to do with Jesus). The church then (taking this perceived ‘spiritual truth’ out of the Bible) will build dogma around all its perceived meaning (outside true spiritual understanding of what this or these Scriptures really mean or imply) in order for their people to be able to attain ‘salvation’, ‘perfection’, or some other spiritual goal in a manner different that the rest of the body of believers, and contrary to the true teachings of the Word of God.


An example of this within the church today would be that of any particular church body which uses the interpretation of ‘baptism in water’ for the need to acquire ‘the salvation of your soul’; teaching that you are not saved until you have ‘their’ idea of how to be ‘baptized for salvation’, thus nullifying the true work of the cross. Again another instance common to some church denominations is their believing that you have to worship only on Saturday or only on Sunday, some form of ‘Sabbath worship’ of a particular day in order to be saved, and all other Christians are not saved if they worship on another day. These are only two examples of many that the devil tries to incorporate within the church to deceive. Sadly, any denomination who follows this form of distortion of truth also separates themselves from the rest of the body of Christ and accuses the brethren of being deceived and lost when it is they who are deceived, and many of them can become lost because of this deception.




Some Church Denominations Will:


o Accept additions of other words to true Scripture in order to bring forth a perceived greater truth (even as Satan added the word ‘not’ to God’s Words in order to establish a lie as being true). The church then (taking this perceived ‘spiritual truth’) will build dogma around all its perceived meanings (outside true spiritual understanding of what this or these Scriptures really mean or imply) in order for their people to be able to attain ‘salvation’, ‘perfection’, or some other spiritual goal.


An example of this would be that some churches teaching ‘you must speak in tongues’ to be saved. Because there is no Scripture that directly states or even implies this, there has to be added a discourse of ‘assumptions’ taught as ‘truths’ in order to attain this conclusion.


Another example of this is the teaching that you have to submit to the church leadership or a certain church leadership to be saved. If you do not do what your elders tell you, you will perish, according to some. The only way that they can justify this is to take Scripture out of context and add greater meaning to certain verses than is stated.


These denominations will exalt themselves and demean other churches for not following their form of dogma.




Some Church Denominations Will:


o Not recognize certain Scripture, passages, books, or words in Scripture as valid within the Bible; or might just soften the words meanings because these words seem too strong or too graphic, or does not fit into what is believed God would say today, (even as Eve softened the words of God from ‘you shall surly die’ to that of ‘lest you die’ as a way of making the Word for her to being more palatable for acceptance). This therefore changes the meanings of Bible passages because these particular words added to Scripture’s for understanding changes the meaning of the Scripture; which then become no longer properly applicable to understanding the volume of the Book. With these Scriptures or words being ignored, left out, or redefined as to what God really wanted to say, Satan is then able to bring in false doctrines or understanding of the application of doctrines, using the rest of the Scriptures with no interference within the church. [2 Cor 4:1-6]


This could apply to probably most of the church in one way or another, for there is a tendency, in one way or another, to promote one part of Scripture over another. There can be within any denomination a willingness to ignore truths that seem too hard to follow or accept in today’s world. This can be indicative of those who say that they believe the Bible, but would ignore passages of the Bible in order to believe for some reason that God no longer:
• Heals
• Gives the church any of the gifts of the Spirit
• Gives power to cast out demons
• Etc.


Often these church bodies justify their beliefs by saying things like, “these truths are not applicable because those things ended at the time of the original Apostles and first church”; or, “when the Bible was completed these sort of things ended”. But this type of error in the church is most significantly off when the interpretation and application of liberal denominations will revise the truth based only upon social norms of the day. An example of this can be found in the recent acceptance of professing homosexuals into ministry within some denominations. These and other denominations and pastors within denominations will get around the truths of Scripture by proclaiming that they believe the essence of the teachings in Scripture, while they take very liberal interpretations to Scripture, believing that they do not need to take any part of the Scripture as absolutely literal, thus nullifying the Bible all together as being an indisputable standard of truth.




4th Implication having Strong Commentary Opinions (based upon this ‘7th Facts - with Opinion’):


There are religious organizations that are absolutely not Christians, but often say they are, or are a variation of the same. Their total purpose is to distort the Word of God. Their teachers claim to teach the Bible in order to give understanding to supposed whole ‘truths’; and therefore claim that the ‘church’ is deceived or not following the Bible. They will tell their people that the only way to salvation or truth is through their particular organization by reading their books and/or going to their meetings. These teachers and teachings have the last word as to what is supposedly really the truth, not the Bible; though they claim that they teach from the Bible. They will teach that their organization or teachers cannot be questioned. Those that question are considered apostate.


It is the serpent himself directing these organizations. His true purpose is to deceive those who are open to the Bible but are also gullible. His goal is to take people away from salvation and the truths of the most important precepts of Scriptures by:


1. Taking particular verses out of contexts in order to establish lies as Biblical doctrine. (i.e. the ‘Jehovah Witnesses’)


2. Bring other canons and writings into supposed equal status as the Bible so that they can build their doctrines that are contrary to the volume of the Word and its teachings. (i.e. the ‘Mormons’)


3. Re-writing the words of the Bible, so as to create an appearance of the Holy Book with its holy truths, but distorted into complete fabrications with Satanic intent. (i.e. the Koran followed by the Muslim faith)




5th Implications (based upon this ‘7th Facts with Opinion’):


Disciples of the devil will deliberately misquote the Scriptures or take verses out of context in order to exalt themselves, their message or prove a lie to be true.














8th Facts - with Opinions (based upon Matthew 4:3-10, the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’ pertaining to THE DEVIL attempting to expose an area of THE FLESH by using the things in THE WORLD); (comparing text and Genesis 3:6 with 1 John 2:15-17):


Comparing this Text of Matthew 4:3-10 to the Text of 1 John 2:15-17:
The Apostle John stated in 1 John 2:15-17:
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”


This word ‘world’ used in this passage is the Greek word ‘kosmos’, which has (among other meanings) the meaning of: ‘primary order’ and can be used to denote the ‘observable order of things’.* In other words, this statement of John’s means to, (paraphrased), ‘not love this world’s order nor the things in this order.’


Satan knows how to use this world system to his advantage because he (in this unredeemed world) is the ‘god of this world order’, and with it he has manipulated, and thereby ruled mankind. 2 Corinthians 4:4 describes the devil in this manner:
‘The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.’


Returning to 1 John 2:15-16:
According to 1 John 2:15-16 there are three categories that make up ‘all that is in the world’:


1. ‘The lust of the flesh.’ -


This speaks of being led by a desire to satisfy any body appetites, such as food, drugs, sex, etc. over any desire of the Spirit and things of the Spirit. This is the most base and addictive lust that men experience.


For drugs and alcohol it is obvious to see this addiction take over. This is true for sexual appetites causing needs for pornography, or other sexual addictions that may escalate from simply whoring, to rape, child molestation, and even murder in order to receive a quick emotional, hormonal, physical pleasure. It cannot be satisfied because a body will continue to have needs; everything done for it will only be a temporary relief; and then increasingly greater desire begins.


But this ‘lust of the flesh’ does not need to be classified as things as horrible as rape and drug abuse. This form of lust can be as mundane as eating a sandwich when God would have us doing something else, and therefore not looking at the consequences for having missed what God would have you to do. When Esau became hungry, he sold his birthright to his brother for a bowl of lintel-soup, and even after much weeping he still could not get back what he lost. Hebrews 12:15-17 speaks of this, saying:
‘See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; … that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.’


There is another story. It was of a young prophet of God in 1 Kings 13 who God told to do a certain thing and not to stop on the way to eat or drink. But He was deceived by an older man of God to eat with him. Because the young man of God stopped to eat and drink before going on his way, the word of the Lord came upon the older prophet to tell this young man in I Kings 13:21-22:
“Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have disobeyed the command of the LORD, and have not observed the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.’”


The young man shortly thereafter was eaten by a lion because he followed his appetite rather than following a higher calling.


In the gospels it becomes apparent that Jesus many times turned down eating for a higher purpose in God. When His disciples brought Him food on one occasion to eat, written in John 4:31-34, and He knew He was to minister to the elders of Samaria, Jesus said to them:
“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”


Jesus said in Matthew 6:25 pertaining to this:
“Do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”




2. ‘The lust of the eyes.’ -


This speaks of being led by having bigger things, better things, more elegant things, faster things, etc., based on what things that have been seen or known of, but not yet attained by the one who has the desires. This lust says that happiness depends on receiving something not yet possessed. It cannot be satisfied because it always has need of something new to be happy that has not been yet acquired, therefore one is always unhappy with what one has. It can become how we think, see and make our choices in this evil world, always wanting to be happy by what we see, but never satisfied by what we have.


Lot was give a choice to go anywhere in Canaan because of fighting between his men and Abraham’s men, and he did not seek the Lord, but instead, being led by what his eyes told him was the best choice, chose what looked like the best land. He chose Sodom. In Genesis 13:10 it says:
‘Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere--this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah--like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.’


Lot chose a city destined to be destroyed because only his eyes guided him. His eyes fooled him. He was led by his desires for what he thought was the biggest and best.


In Philippians 4:11-13, however, Paul gives testimony to what it means to walk in the Spirit of contentment with the Lord, when he wrote:
‘I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.’




3. ‘The boastful pride of life.’ -


This pertains to attempting the exaltation of self above all others. This is the most dangerous lust to others. Lustful desire for power, glory, adoration, etc. can be at the cost of anything, anyone and everyone, destroying anything or anyone on the way to establishing achievements based upon this self-exaltation. (A backside of this is that of feeling inferior, therefore letting others walk over oneself for the desire to be accepted or adored by people or a person when a person feels unworthy unless others say different.) This lust can never be satisfied because no one can achieve being God, the Superior Being. And yet despite this, we all can fool ourselves into believing for a time that we are better than others, exalting ourselves beyond measure. Of all the sins of this world, pride is the worst. God absolutely hates pride. In Proverbs 8:13 God says:
“Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.”


The first things God mentioned in this statement were that God hates pride and arrogance. Pride can come in all types of forms. For example, there is always a reason to feel inferior to someone else, and this is also pride.


Cain killed Abel because he was jealous of his brother. Joseph was almost killed and left for dead by his ten brothers also because of jealousy. This form of jealousy affects one’s ego and therefore is a form of pride.


Pride inevitably comes before destruction. Proverbs 16:18-19 warns of this when it says:
‘Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.’




Comparing the Temptations of Adam and Eve with 1 John 3:15-17:
These three categories of ‘all that is in the world’ can also be seen in the temptation of Eve when it says in Genesis 3:6:
‘When the woman saw that the tree was’:….


1. ‘Good for food’, - ‘The lust of the flesh’
‘and that it was’…..


2. ‘A delight to the eyes’, - ‘The lust of the eyes’
‘and that the tree was’…..


3. ‘Desirable to make one wise’, - ‘The boastful pride of life’
‘she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.’


1 Timothy 2:13-14 gives a little bit of insight to what happened during this temptation:
‘It was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.’


After Eve did eat, Adam, who was with her, and not deceived, nevertheless chose to have what his wife had acquired. This meant that although Eve was deceived by the serpent, Adam chose to sin, knowing perfectly well what he was doing. When he saw her eat, his mouth and imagination wanted to taste this also, no matter what the cost; He wanted what she had, no matter what the cost; and he arrogantly went against God’s Word in order to participate in this activity with his wife, no matter what the cost.


The ‘lust of the flesh’, ‘lust of the eyes’, and ‘pride of life’ were brought about in Adam by his desire to participate with his wife. But in doing so, Adam also, of his own free will, submitted to the devil’s desires, and the serpent had his way with them both. Maybe there was a fear of loosing her unless he did. Again, this is pride. This therefore says that we do not necessarily need the devil to deceive us in order to sin if we carry the sin nature of Adam. It is in us, that is, in the natural man, to sin by entering into one or all of these forms of lust, even when we know that to do so is worthy of death.


Adam and Eve sinned; and in doing so they both received a wisdom that was earthly, sensual, and demonic because they both followed after these lustful desires, as described in James 3:15:
‘This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.’




Returning to Our Text:
The tempter desired to bring Jesus into this same world system - world order - as he had done with Adam and Eve. He therefore brought three temptations that were also based upon ‘all that is in the world’. These were real temptations, each chosen by the devil based upon his idea of our Lord’s perceived needs. Note I did not say needs, but perceived needs. Jesus did not need what the devil offered. But Satan felt once revealed, Jesus might desire them so much so that the Lord might feel He needed them, and then would choose them over the will of His Father. The devil is a sales person, attempting to close a hard sale, so He comes off strong and matter of fact, as if it is obvious choice to make that he is offering.
_____________________


In Matthew 4:3 the devil said:
“If You are the Son of God, command that these stones to become bread.”


This was clearly the ‘lust of the flesh’; appealing to our Lord’s appetite. Satan knew Jesus was hungry. The tempter therefore tried to get Jesus to use His power that was given to Him by His Father, to fill His own belly instead of the purpose it was intended for, ministering to mankind deliverance, understanding, compassion, and salvation.
_____________________


In Matthew 4:6 the devil told the Lord:
“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”


The devil was attempting to appeal within Jesus to the ‘boastful pride of life’. Satan knew Jesus wanted to have His people recognize Him for who He was: “the Son of God”. The Devil took Jesus to a spiritual location in order for Jesus to demonstrate that He was ‘the Son of God’; within ‘the holy city’, standing ‘on the pinnacle of the temple’. The devil further attempted to deceive Jesus with a verse out of Psalm 91 and showing that He would not be hurt because ‘angels’ would bear Him in their hands and thereby protect Him from all harm. This could have been perceived as a perfect place and an easy way to bring about understanding for all to see that Jesus truly was ‘the Son of God’. But for Jesus to do this would have been a demonstration of His own pride, wanting people to know His great importance, and would have nothing to do with God’s love and care for these people.
_____________________


In Matthew 4:9:
“All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”


The devil was offering his best offer to convince Jesus to yield to the ‘lust of the eyes’. To do this, Satan took Jesus upon a very high mountain and showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and then told Him He could have anything he saw if Jesus would but bow down to the devil. This was clearly an appeal to lust with His eyes, based upon selfish drives for Him to have everything He knew about when He wanted it for Himself. After all, following the Spirit led Jesus into a wilderness where He had nothing at all. Satan was telling Him, “I can treat you better than that”. The devil was trying hard to close his sale.
*Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, by W. E. Vine




1st Implication (based upon this ‘8th Facts - with Opinions’):


We are not to love the world, or the things of the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. [James 4:4]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘8th Facts - with Opinions’):


Satan will attempt to use the love of the world, or the things of the world as his means of taking us out of the love and obedience we have for the Lord. [2 Cor 4:4]














9th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:3-7, with the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’ through the ‘8th Facts - with Opinions’ pertaining to overcoming THE FLESH and THE DEVIL):


The devil had tried to get Jesus to sin by implying that He needed to prove who He was. The devil attempted to do this by subtle accusation in Matthew 4:3; saying:
“If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”


And again, in Matthew 4:6:
“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.”


But Jesus knew the Word, and because of that, He knew who He was according to that Word. Furthermore He had this Word confirmed by the very presence of God and the voice of God. Just before this temptation period in the wilderness, recorded in Matthew 3:16-17, the Father bore witness to all as to who Jesus was when the Spirit of God came upon Him like a dove and then the Father God said publicly for all to hear:
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”


Jesus did not have to prove anything to Himself or anyone else as to who He was because he knew who He was by the confirmation of the Word, the Spirit, and the voice of the Father. He knew that all He was required to do was to be the person He was; and He was and is the ‘Son of God’.


This is like a woman having to prove she is a loving mother to her child when all she is required to do is to love her child by doing what is right, despite what her child or anyone thinks, because she is the mother who loves her child. If she is always trying to prove to her child that she is a loving mother, she is failing at being loving; and she is failing to be a mother. Mothers do not need to prove who they are; all they have to do is be who they are because they are ordained to be mothers of their children.


The act of Jesus proving who He was would have been either an act of pride because He needed to prove it others, or an act of doubt because He needed to prove it to Himself. Jesus would not fall into that trap. Jesus would later say of this in John 5:31-32:
“If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.”


The devil failed in his effort to bring doubt to Jesus, or to convince Him of the need to have to prove who He was in God by doing anything.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘9th Facts - with Opinion’):


We need to know who we are in God by knowing His Word, being attentive to His voice and living by faith in Him. In God’s Word we can see ourselves through God’s eyes. He sees us by His promises; and He has given us His Spirit to confirm His promises in us. [Eph 1:13]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘9th Facts - with Opinion’):


We never have to prove who we are in God. We are called to serve others, not exalt ourselves. [Matt 23:11-12]














10th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:5-7, with the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’ through the ‘9th Facts - with Opinions’ pertaining to overcoming THE FLESH and THE DEVIL); (pertaining to Religious Pride):


The devil had tailored his temptation for Jesus to that of using religious pride. In Matthew 4:5-6 it states:
‘Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”’


Jesus knew He was the Son of God, one with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was superior to all His creation, but Jesus did not choose to demonstrate it for any reason. Instead, He chose to be humble, no matter what the circumstances He found himself in.


The circumstances that the devil put Jesus into were that of being on the pinnacle of the temple in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the devil is provoking Him; saying, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down”. Imagine the High Priest of God standing on the pinnacle of His temple in His holy city while an insignificant little demon that He had once created is provoking him and you have a clear picture of the position our Lord was in.


Even though He was equal with God, Jesus would not be provoked into doing anything other than what His Father had sent Him to do. He stayed on focus and humble so as to serve both His Father and His people, and therefore did not choose to exalt Himself, even before this pompous devil provoking Him spiritually to do so. Philippians 2:6-8 states of Jesus:
‘Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.’


Jesus is against spiritual pride of those who think that they are close to God. Speaking of this pride, Jesus told this parable in Luke 18:10- 14:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”


God gives grace only to the humble. Jesus obviously knew this and stayed in His Father’s favor through staying humble to His God. Philippians 2:5 tells us that we too need to follow His example of always staying humble, no matter how much in the past we have experienced God’s favor and power. No matter how spiritual one thinks he is, without humility we will find no favor with God. This humility also is a great part our victory over Satan and His various attacks, as it was for Jesus. James 4:6-7 states:
‘“GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’




Implication (based upon this ‘10th Facts - with Opinion’):


In being spiritual, we need also to stay humble. The victory over Satan is for the humble, and not the proud. [James 4:6-7]














11th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:3-10, with the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’ through the ‘10th Facts - with Opinions’ pertaining to overcoming THE FLESH and THE DEVIL); (showing that text indicated the loving relationship of the Son for the Father):


Jesus overcame His trials, even though He was experiencing weakness in His body from not eating for forty days and was therefore very susceptible (in a human sense) to suggestions, and delusions by the devil. One of the main reasons He was able to see through the lies of the devil, and overcome the enemy was because Jesus had a personal and intimate relationship with God, His Father. This was clearly demonstrated in our Lord’s answers to the tempter. In each answer He gave to the devil, it can be seen how He related His life to obedience to, and love for His Father. Here are three ways these answers related to His love for His Father in heaven:




1. Jesus sought His Father God’s voice and words to sustain His life. –


This is why Jesus stated to the devil in Matthew 4:4:
“MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.”


Jesus did nothing and said nothing without seeking first His Father. Everything He did was a collaborative work of Himself and His Father. He lived to do His Father’s will because of this relationship. It was His purpose for living and doing anything and everything. It is also for this reason that when His disciples one time brought Jesus some food and were insisting that He eat, Jesus replied to them in John 4:32-34:
“I have food to eat that you do not know about. My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”


The Lord would later say in John 5:19:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”


Then again in John 12:49-50 He would state:
“I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”


Jesus truly lived on the words of His Father in heaven while He walked on this earth, because within those words was and is eternal life.




2. Jesus would not do anything to offend His Father; seeking only to please and obey Him. –


It is for these reasons Jesus rejected the devil’s suggestions and stated to him in Matthew 4:7:
“YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.”


Jesus loves His Father and those whom He considered related to His Father as obedient children. He would not do anything that would jeopardize this relationship or be involved with anyone, such as the devil, who would desire to do so.


Jesus said in John 5:30:
“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”


Not only did Jesus seek to be obedient, and please His Father in all He said and did, but also He did not desire to be related to anyone who had a different mindset - even family. When challenged by certain family members to stop doing the will of God because of its dangers, Jesus not only continued in doing God’s will, but also, in Matthew 12:50, said:
“Whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”


Seeking the will of His Father and uniting Himself in fellowship with those who also seek God’s will was a priority to our Master; therefore He would not have anything to do with anyone seeking otherwise, and of course this included the devil.




3. Jesus chose to live for worship and service unto God in all He said and did. –


Jesus was able to state unequivocally to the devil in Matthew 4:10:
“YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.”


His whole purpose at this time was to serve His Father fully in everything He did, even if it cost Him His life in doing so in that service. He would later give His life as a sacrifice of worship to His Father and for us. He knew and believed and trusted His Father. This was pleasing to God the Father that the Son was willing to do this in worship and service to Him, and the Father even said so in Scripture. One of the most popular prophesies in the Old Testament concerning the coming Messiah is found in Isaiah 49:2 in which the Father says of Jesus:
“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”


In part, how Jesus brought forth this justice was to take our sins upon Himself as an act of worship and obedience to the Father, according to Philippians 2:5-8. It says of Jesus:
‘He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.’


And then in Philippians 2:9-11 it concludes with this understanding:
“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”


In Conclusion:
For Jesus, this all can be summed up with three words – ‘a loving relationship’. Jesus loved the Father with His whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. He therefore clung to God’s every word, would not offend Him, and thus gave Him obedience, adoration and service.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘11th Facts - with Opinion’):


We should dedicate our lives to knowing and loving our Lord God by:
1. Being attentive to His voice and His Word. [Prov 4:20-22]
2. Seeking to obey His will while doing those things that are pleasing to Him. [Heb 13:20-21]
3. Spending intimate time in worship, prayer and service to the Lord. [1 Sam 12:24]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘11th Facts - with Opinion’):


We are to follow the example of our Lord by presenting ourselves in like manner as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God. In this should be our reasonable and spiritual service of worship to our God. In this way, even as Jesus, we also will not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that the will of God is perfected in us. [Rom 12:1-2]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘11th Facts - with Opinion’):


We need to come into a loving relationship with our Lord - loving Him with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength. [Mark 12:30]














12th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:3-10, the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’ through the ‘11th Facts - with Opinion’ pertaining to overcoming THE FLESH and THE DEVIL); (comparing text to the silent knowledge of Adam and proclamation of knowledge by Eve):


Our text clearly shows that Jesus overcame the devil because He both knew the Word of God and would proclaim its truths. Let us look now at the fact that:




Jesus Knew the Word of God. –


Where did He get this knowledge? We know that from before birth He was and is the Word of God. But as a man He learned the Word the same way we have learned - through diligent study. Even as a child He took time to study and discuss this Word. The Scriptures do not tell much of His childhood growth; but there is one small glimpse of it in the book of Luke. In Luke 2:41-52 it tells of Jesus as a child seeking wisdom and knowledge from those in the know, even going on His own to the temple. In short, this passage says of Jesus:
‘His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He became twelve, … the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem … three days … sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers…. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.’


As He grew, it was evident that Jesus was in part acquiring wisdom and knowledge through asking others in the know, and also studying the Scriptures on His own.


Returning to Our Present Text:
Now, in this text, it is clearly evident that Jesus as an adult was able to recall and quote the Word quickly, easily, and verbatim. That therefore leads to the next fact to look at; and that is that:




Jesus Proclaimed the Literal Word as being the Will of God. –


Jesus not only knew the Word, He lived by it. He proclaimed the Word of God by both His words and His actions. Our text shows that He first sought the will of God by the guidance of God’s Word. But Jesus also was quick to proclaim this Word when temptation came His way. He did not let any desires of the flesh get in the way of following His Father’s will. He both knew God’s Word and proclaimed its truth; stating emphatically with every trial what the Word said, and then living by what it said. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said:
“It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”


This was a direct quote from Deuteronomy 8:3. And then in Matthew 4:7 He said:
“It is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”


This again was a direct quote from the Old Testament writings within Deuteronomy 6:16. And finally, in this last temptation, Jesus tells the devil in Matthew 4:10:
“Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’”


In this case He was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13. Jesus quoted the Word of God literally, not figuratively. In freely quoting the Word, the Lord was able in each temptation to reveal the fallacy of any lie stated to Him; and thereby the Lord defeated the devil in all his deceptions, and accusations.




Looking Afresh at the Temptation of ADAM and EVE:


What Jesus did that was right can also be compared to what both Adam and Eve did that was wrong. Genesis 3:1-6 tells the story of Adam and Eve’s time of temptation. It simply says:
‘Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.’


Like Jesus:
Adam and Eve knew God personally and intimately. This is obvious because they both would at times walk with the Lord in the cool of the day. This was shown between the lines of Genesis 3:8, where it says they both hid when He came by to spend time with them. They would not be hiding from the Lord if this was not a regular occurrence and therefore they had not expected Him to come. But rather, they were hiding in shame from someone they knew intimately.




Looking at just EVE and the Temptation:
Despite the fact that Eve had a personal relationship with the Lord, Eve did not properly know the Word of God. It could be argued that Eve was at a disadvantage in this temptation, because Eve was not directly given the Word of God. The Word she was quoting in Genesis 3:2-3 was actually given to Adam, before the creation of Eve, in Genesis 2:16-17. It was before Eve’s existence that Adam had heard God say:
“From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”


Like Jesus:
Eve was willing to share her understandings of what she thought the Word said. This could be compared to being like Jesus who willingly and quickly quoted the Word.


But unlike Jesus:
It is clear that Eve could not quote the Word literally. As a matter of fact, what it appears in this text that she was doing is proclaiming her idea of what the Word said in its essence, because she really did not either know or comprehend its literal meaning.


The devil would use this lack of Eve’s literal knowledge and understanding to take her further and further from the truth and into darkness by His deceitful lies and accusations, while also by exposing the potential fulfillment of lustful desires within her. [Gen 3:4]


But the argument that Eve was at a disadvantage in this temptation falls short when it becomes evident that:


Like Jesus, who sought Knowledge from Others:
Eve could have chosen to seek counsel from Adam who knew the Word first hand. Genesis 3:6 shows that Adam was with her during her time of temptation. She could have also personally sought out God for the truth.


Unlike Jesus:
Eve chose not seek the truth from her husband or God; but instead she followed her instincts, feelings, imaginations, and logic into lustful desires and self-destruction. Although Eve had the truth available to her, she neither fully knew the truth, nor did she choose to use resources available to her to research the truth. God made provisions for her, but she, of her own choice, did not use them.




Looking at just ADAM and the Temptation:
Adam knew God and heard God in his life. By all appearances, because he was giving names the animals, he apparently spent time in the Garden of Eden before Eve was created. God had also already told him about the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.


Like Jesus:
Adam knew the Word. This could be compared to Jesus knowing the Word.


But unlike Jesus:
Adam did not proclaim the Word when opportunity availed itself, or when challenged to sin. He could have spoken up to inform his wife when he saw her being tempted; but he chose to hold his tongue. And then, after watching his wife succumb to the temptation, he simply yielded to her and to the temptation; not once speaking out what he knew was true.


Like Jesus:
He intimately knew both God and he had a first hand knowledge of God’s Word,


But unlike Jesus:
He fell into sin because he did not exercise this knowledge, and would not proclaim the Word of God in order to warn his wife. In Galatians 6:1-2, Paul warns us pertaining to this when he said:
‘Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.’


In Ezekiel 33:1-6, God both commissions and warns the prophet with these words:
“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand.’”


By Adam not warning of the pending danger to Eve eating this fruit, the blood of Eve was required at the hand of Adam. It is in part for this reason that in Scripture the guilt of the sin nature within mankind fell, not on Eve, but on Adam. Although Adam knew the Word, it did him no good because he did not apply it when temptation came into his wife’s life and his own. He was silent with his knowledge and it cost him and all mankind a great amount of suffering - and for many, eternal damnation.




Returning to Our Text:
Christ alone stood His ground, not forsaking His relationship with His Father. He did so by studying and proclaiming His knowledge of the Word. In doing so, He was able to remove the guilty stain of Adam and Eve, becoming the propitiation for mankind and setting men free of the power of sin.


In Conclusion:
• Adam, Eve and Jesus all went into the time of temptation with no sin.
• Adam and Eve and Jesus had a personal relationship with God.
• Adam, Eve, and Jesus had access to God’s Word in order to have a way of escaping from their temptations as trials of faith.
• Both Eve and Jesus were willing to proclaim the Word. But Eve only proclaimed the essence of the Word, and therefore she left room for reasonable doubt based on faulty knowledge; whereas Jesus studied the Word and knew the Word literally. Because of this, when the time of testing came to Him, Jesus both believed and proclaimed it literally, giving no room for doubt and no place for the devil’s lies.
• Both Adam and Jesus knew and believed the Word literally. But when temptation came, Jesus proclaimed the truth of the Word in defiance to the lies of the devil; whereas Adam did not. Adam also did not cover his wife before she sinned by sharing his knowledge with her or rebuking the serpent by exposing his lies. Adam therefore had the blood of her sin upon his hands. Jesus, however, covered the sins of both Adam and Eve by overcoming sin and then taking the blood guilt that was upon them both.
• In order to continue in Christ’s victory that the Lord gave to man through His death, man is called, through Christ, to:
o Come into a personal and intimate knowledge of, and relationship with God.
o Learn and know God’s Word, believing it to be literally true.
o Stand on the truth of the Word of God for God’s purposes and against the wiles of the Evil One through proclamation and admonition.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘12th Facts - with Opinion’):


There can be those within the body of Christ having had a personal relationship with the Lord and yet are in bondage to Satan because they either do not know the Word of God or do not act on His Word in their lives, allowing themselves to be led by the devil’s accusations and deceptions as a means to partake of the things of this world. [1 Cor 5:1] [compare Col 4:14 & Philem 1:24 with 2 Tim 4:10] It is not good enough to know and have fellowship with God. We need to both know the Word of God and proclaim it in our daily life if we desire to overcome the Evil One in times of testing. [2 Cor 10:3-6]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘12th Facts - with Opinion’):


If we who are spiritual see someone falling into temptation and give no warning, then we open ourselves up to also doing the same things. [Gal. 6:1] If we are not willing to warn others, then we will have to answer to our Lord for their sins. [1 Tim 5:20]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘12th Facts - with Opinion’):


Jesus overcame sin and proclaimed the truth, and then resisted sin all the way to the cross in order set us free from the curse of Adam. [1 Cor 15:22]




4th Implication (based upon this ‘12th Facts - with Opinion’):


There are no temptations that God will allow us to go through that He also does not give us a way of escaping the act to sinning. [1 Cor 10:13]














13th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:3-7,and the prior ‘3rd Facts - with Opinions’, with the previous ‘12th Facts - with Opinion’ pertaining to Jesus overcoming THE FLESH and THE DEVIL); (comparing text with Genesis 3:4-5); (demonstrating how THE TEMPTER attempted to bring THE TEMPTED into being self-centered):
Reading only the devil’s words to Jesus, in Matthew 4:3 the tempter said to our Lord:
“If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
And again in Matthew 4:6 he said to the Lord:
“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”
And then on the third temptation, after showing Him the ‘kingdoms of this world’, he told the Lord in Matthew 4:9:
“All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”


Now, let us simplify this text even more as to what the tempter said. It can all be simplified to one word, ‘YOU’. The devil started his discourse with Jesus by starting his statement in Matthew 4:3 with:
“If You..”…


And then again in Matthew 4:6, before quoting Him an Old Testament Scripture, he started with:
“If You..”…


And the Scripture from the Old Testament that he quotes out of context is one that had several references in one sentence to the words ‘you’ and ‘your, stating:
“concerning You”
And:
“ bear You up”
And:
“so that You”
And again:
“Your foot”


And then again, in his last temptation, in Matthew 4:9, after he shows Jesus all that is in the ‘kingdoms of the world’, he states:
“All these things I will give You, if You..”…


The devil spoke to the Lord in the first person, ‘You’, ‘You’, ‘You’, because he wanted Jesus to be thinking of only Jesus, and thereby to be totally self-centered, self-involved, and self-absorbed. The devil, however, failed because Jesus was subject to God and into others and not just into Himself.




Comparing this Text with the Temptation in the Garden:


The serpent in the Garden of Eden used this same tactic with Eve; bringing Eve into thinking of just herself - a self-centeredness of having Eve dwelling on Eve, what Eve would receive and nothing else. He told her in Genesis 3:4-5:
“You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”


Four times in one sentence the Serpent used the word, ‘you’ or ‘your’; doing the same thing as he did with Jesus. In this case, the devil’s approach was successful. He got Eve to being willing to sin by getting her to look only at her own self-interests. She fell into his unseen trap therefore without any concerns or thoughts of others. She was so self-absorbed that she did not even turn to her husband next to her. By all evidence in Scripture, she never had a thought on how her decisions might eventually affect her relationship with God, her husband, or children, or their children’s children. The devil got Eve to see in her mind’s eye only how it would bless her to have this fruit because of all the benefits that she would get from it. In Genesis 3:6 it shows her mindset, saying:
‘When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate.’


Eve saw no further than her immediate gratification of good food, having something wonderfully different that shoe then did not have, and having a new and unique experience in her life that would make her somehow wiser, and therefore better off. It for the moment seemed so logical and exciting; but what she did not see because she did not look beyond herself is that for this immediate, momentary pleasure of satisfying herself, she sold her soul and lost her relationship with God, of which has affected all generations who have come from her seed. We have all suffered since that one selfish act.


Returning to Our Text:
Like some used car salesman trying to sell a clunker by not showing how the car ran – only showing that the car looked good by its outer appearance; the devil tried to also put Jesus into understanding why He should do the thing the devil suggests. He showed only what looked good, while not giving the whole picture. The devil wanted the Lord to see things within only a narrow perspective of His own ‘self-interests’ based on the very narrow view of only what the devil wanted Jesus to both see and understand.


As some powerful salesmen attempt to do, the devil strove to guide our Lord’s thinking in order to have Jesus not to look past the devil’s words or past where the devil was pointing; not to look past the desiring of one of these lusts of this world. He wanted Jesus to naively accept what he was saying at face value, without further evaluation as to its full ramifications to others, to the Lord’s relationship with His Father, or even to the ramifications on the Lord Himself. The devil had a lemon to sell, and he wanted it sold without examination; but only for Jesus to desire the immediate, though temporary, fleshly gratification of these worldly lusts for Himself. But like a wise car buyer who does not just take the salesman’s word, but has the car examined by his own sources before purchasing it; our Lord sought always the will of His Father, and in doing so, it gave Him a larger perspective. This further examination against the Word of God, the peace of God, and the approval of His Father then gave no room for the devil to propagate his lies. As Jesus said in John 5:30:
“I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”


Because Jesus was able to see through the eyes of His Father (being one in the Spirit with Him), and not just through His own self-absorbed desires (as what is good just for ME, ME, ME), He could see the ‘big picture’; and by this could see the problems with the devil’s statements. It is sort of like for a car buyer, having the mechanic look under the hood and then being able to see the problems of this car by means of the mechanic’s eyes, understandings, and manual.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘13th Facts - with Opinion’):


We need to die to self-will and seek always God’s will. [Rom 12:1-2] In doing so, God will give us His understanding and insights; and will avail us with wisdom and leading to avoid falling into the devil’s traps. [Prov 2:6]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘13th Facts - with Opinion’):


Narrow sighted vision based on self-interests leads to destruction. [Phil 3:18-19]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘13th Facts - with Opinion’):


We need to seek the interests of others over our own self-gratifications. [Phil 2:4]




4th Implication (based upon this ‘13th Facts - with Opinion’):


Momentary pleasures cannot be compared to the greater glory that is found in God. [2 Cor 4:17-18]














14th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:1-11):


In Matthew 4:10-11, the Bible tells us of the authority of Jesus over the devil. In short it says:
‘Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, …” Then the devil left Him.’


After the devil had presented his temptations, all with his accusations and deceptions, and having offered Jesus all that is of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, it was obvious that the devil had utterly failed; for Jesus simply told Satan to leave. The devil had nothing on or in Jesus; but Jesus had something over the devil. He had proven convincingly that He had command over His life and complete authority over Satan by using God’s Word, being led by the Spirit into truth, and seeking His Fathers will, even in the greatest times of temptation. Therefore Jesus could tell Satan to go, not just based upon His own authority, but also the authority of Father and the Word of Truth, and the power of the Spirit.


Christ had exposed the devil for the lies he uses to control the world; and convincingly overcame them. Satan left because he had no choice. He could not refute the Lord’s command when Jesus in unity with the Father and the Spirit told the devil:
“Go, Satan!”


Christ had proven through these trials that He truly was One with the Father and the Spirit, and not subject to this world’s temptations. He however did not need to do this. He did this for only one reason; He went through all of this in order to give us His victory over Satan.


Our victory over Satan’s powers over us came first because Jesus overcame the enemy on our behalf; and then He took that victory to the grave when He died for us. He arose from the grave because Satan had not power over Him, (which is what he demonstrated in this wilderness experience). Jesus then could set us free of Satan’s grip by His victory.


But also it needs to be seen that Jesus went through this trial of His faith in part to show us personally the way for us also in Him to overcome the enemy in His name. He showed us His weapons, power, and understanding over the devil and all the devil’s scheming lies. We now have, through Him, complete power over the devil. The devil is subject to us in the name of Jesus by using the Word and power of the Spirit as He did. It is in the prelude of this victory that the seventy were able to rejoice when they discovered then shared with the Lord in Luke 10:17:
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!”


It is in His name because it is He who overcame the world, the flesh, and the devil for us in order to give us His authority and Word to also overcome him. Through His atonement for our sins, He then was able to give us His victories. So now we speak, not with our authority, but in the authority of Jesus whose victories are ours through our faith in the Word of God. As Jesus said in John 16:33:
“In Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”


The Apostle John would later write in 1 John 4:4:
‘You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.’


And also in 1 John 5:4:
‘For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.’




1st Implication (based upon this ‘14th Facts - with Opinion’):


We have been given authority over the devil and his ways in Jesus name. [Mark 16:17]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘14th Facts - with Opinion’):


Temptations that we have overcome are temporary trials to bring us into more awareness of what God has given us and also to show us how little power the devil has over us in Christ’s name. [1 Pet 5:8-11]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘14th Facts - with Opinion’):


As we resist temptation and humble ourselves to God and His Word, the devil will in time flee from us. [James 4:7]














15th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:11):


Matthew 4:11 reads:
“Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”


After the devil leaves Him, the angels of God come to minister to Jesus. But this was not the only circumstance that brought the angels to his care. When Herod ruled, remember it was an angel who warned Joseph of his evil plot to kill the Christ Child, [Matt 2:13], and an angel who told Joseph again it was safe to return to Israel after Herod’s death. [Matt 2:19-20] There was also a circumstance in which an angel ministered to the Lord in comfort when He was in the midst of His greatest trial before committing to the cross for our salvation. In the Olive Garden while Jesus was in prayer pertaining to this crucifixion, Luke 22:43-44 states:
“Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.”


The angels too have a stake in this salvation work because they are themselves at war with the devil and his angels. [Rev 12:7] The angels of the Lord were never far from Jesus and would minister wherever and whenever they could. Psalm 91:11-12 simply says of what God will do for the person who will trust completely in the Lord:
‘He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.’


These angels of God know what the Christians are going through. Not only do they comfort and strengthen us, but they also will rejoice with us in our victories over sin. In Luke 15:10, Jesus said:
“I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”


God has sent His angels to be involved in the salvation of men. They will at times even visit those that walk with God. In Hebrews 13:2 it gives this indication when the author wrote:
‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.’


They were there at the birth of Christ singing and proclaiming the Lord [Luke 2:9-14]; and there at His resurrection to do the same thing. [Luke 24:23] They told Mary [Luke 1:30-38] and Joseph [Matt 1:20] of her immaculate conception. They told Cornelius of the ministry of Peter so that he and his family could receive salvation and the baptism of the Spirit [Acts 10:3-6]; and rescued Peter from prison and eminent death. [Acts 12:6-9] There are too many instances of angels appearing and assisting within the affairs of men to mention at this time, but suffice it to say, ministering angels are all around us, watching, rejoicing and ministering to the saints.




Implication (based upon this ‘15th Facts - with Opinion’):


God has angels watching over us, [Matt 18:10] and are there to minister to us. [Heb 1:7]














16th Facts - with Opinion (based upon this Matthew 4:1-11); (an overview of the first 30 years of the life of Jesus in preparation for His ministry, showing three stages - this text being the third stage):


Besides His conception and birth from a virgin, which in itself is a whole topic unique to Jesus alone, there were actually three separate and distinct stages of life necessary for Jesus to go through that uniquely qualified Him as a man for His ministry and calling. If He did not go through these stages on His way to ministry, He would not have been qualified to later become the propitiation for our sins, or to be the teacher of His gospel. Let us now go through these three stages with the Lord and you will see what I mean:




The First Stage:
This stage is the least written about by the Apostles, but took the longest time for Jesus to go through. This is because in the eyes of men it seemed so uneventful. Jesus spent 30 years being the dutiful son of a carpenter, not seeking to exalt Himself or magnify His position. It was in this time He established His character, caring for His mother as she cared for Him; learning from His father Joseph; living amongst His peers and siblings. This stage of Christ’s life, though uneventful pertaining to His influence in the broad scope of human drama, most likely was the most important part of the development of Christ as a man, for it had to be at this time that He learned to serve instead of being served, and He did it all without fanfare, without adulation or adoration. He looked through the eyes of a man, and felt the feelings of a man while in Spirit being the Son of God. Because He did not exalt Himself among men it was almost as if among men He was invisible to their sight. This was simply because He was humble; and being humble, He chose to serve rather than to be served. The Old Testament spoke of this. In Isaiah 53:2 it tells us a little of Jesus growing up before God; saying:
‘He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.’


Jesus would later say, in Matthew 23:12:
“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”


Philippians 2:8-11 tells us of the outcome of this humble Spirit that Jesus walked in during these thirty years, when saying:
‘Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’


Jesus would not have been the Exalted One without having gone through those thirty years of humbly making Himself of no reputation other that of loving God and His fellow man.


At twelve it is recorded in Luke 2:46 that His parents were one time looking for Him, thinking Him to be lost, and then tells us where they eventually found Him:
‘They found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.’


This was just before His bar mitzvah, when He would be recognized as being a man. Jesus learned the Scriptures well in preparation for His manhood. Later in His ministry He would quote them by memory.


Even though He was not a public figure at this time, Jesus used His time being devoted to His Father in heaven in learning godly knowledge and wisdom as He mentally and physically matured. The thirty years can be summed up with a quote from Luke 2:52 pertaining to what He did during this time period:
‘Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.’




The Second Stage:
At thirty years old priests were ordained into office. Jesus was now to officially receive His ordination.


The Lord went to the baptism of John to publicly proclaim His will in serving His Father and His fellow man in righteousness. The baptism of John was a public display to announce the will of the participant to be committed to giving oneself to the purposes of God. In this public format He was able to proclaim to those around Him His intention to serve God, and to be committed to walking righteously before His God.


For Jesus to not make this public proclamation at the time of the ministry of John the Baptist could have been interpreted as possibly:
• An act of pride, saying that He did not need to do anything to show His faith;
• Showing a willingness within Jesus to keep His love for God a secret in fear that others might comment or criticize;
• Publicly saying by His actions that John the Baptists ministry was not of God and there was no need to repent.


Jesus chose instead to give testimony to His faith, and by this, let His light shine for all to see and judge. Jesus later told His disciples to do the same thing, when in the Sermon on the Mount He would say:
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”


It was at this public baptism of Jesus that God the Father announces publicly that this was truly His Son, and the Spirit confirmed it by publicly coming upon Him so that Jesus would be anointed for service as God’s High Priest to do great works representing the will of the Father. This second stage He needed to go through was recorded in the small passage of Matthew 3:13-17. It says:
‘Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”


Jesus confessed His faith in God before men and the Father in turn confessed Him as being His Son before all. This principle was later shared by Jesus when He would teach His disciples in Matthew 10:32:
“Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.”


But this was more than just that. Jesus had humbled Himself before witnesses in order to say He was putting God first, and then the Holy Spirit put His anointing on Jesus before all witnesses in order that all would know that, not by any institution of man - but by God He was chosen and anointed for service. And then when the Father proclaimed before all that Jesus was His ‘Son’, and indicated that Jesus had not sinned by stating He was ‘well-pleased’ in Jesus, was in fact the commissioning of Jesus before all as being the Messiah; the anointed Melchizedek Priest of God, the one ordained to be King of Israel.


But even after this, there was yet one more stage Jesus needed to go through before He could walk in this great commission from His Father and anointing from the Spirit.




The Third Stage and also Returning to Our text:
In the last stage of preparing Christ for ministry, the Spirit then immediately led Him into the wilderness to be tempted and tested alone. It was essential that Jesus go through this alone so that there was no question that it was not just a show before a crowd to please people, like some Politian might do, but a righteous commitment to love and serve His God without sinning with no one but Him, the devil, and His God to see. He thus showed that whether others could or could not see, it would make no difference. He had proven through testing that He would not sin and that He had all the tools to defeat the devil in all his lies.


After Jesus had gone through these forty days of fasting, and diverse temptations, He showed that He had fulfilled the Father’s purpose by convincingly overcoming the devil in all that the devil could offer Him.(4:1-10) In every way that the serpent had at one time tempted Eve, Satan had now tempted Jesus; but to no avail. He was offered everything that the world could offer, and to no avail. The devil used his greatest skills in deceptions and accusations, but to no avail. The devil had nothing on Him or in Him and thereby left Him for a season.(4:11)


These three stages of Jesus’ life uniquely qualified Jesus as the true Messiah:


1st As a man He walked humbly before His God in righteousness and without fanfare. [Phil 2:8]
2nd He was then exalted by His Father and empowered by the Spirit. [Phil 2:9]
3rd He then overcame the devil and all temptations to sin. [Heb 4:15]


Jesus is now ready to enter His ministry and calling as the High Priest of God of the Melchizedek Order; a priesthood that was ordained by God and higher than the practicing Levitical Priesthood. David speaks of this Priesthood ministry as being so high as to call the Priest, “Lord”; a title designated for God in the Hebrew faith. David wrote that the Lord God had sworn an oath to David’s Lord that He would never take back; saying in Psalm 110:4:
‘The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”’


For Jesus to enter into this ministry as the Melchizedek Priest and mediator between God and man, Jesus, who was and is God, He as a man needed to have experienced everything that men go through, and needed to be empowered with the Spirit as a man to do the works of God. This is exactly what Jesus did by experiencing these three stages described above. Hebrews 5:8-10 says of Jesus:
‘Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.’


This is when His public ministry begins as the High Priest, the Anointed One. But this is only His beginning. From then on began the teachings, preaching, healings, and eventually the sacrificial death of our Lord; all of which He has to do in order perform the duties of God’s High Priest. But everything that Jesus did prior to that was done in order to qualify and prepare Him for His ministry as the Melchizedek Priest. He was later able then to give the offering for our sins. Hebrews 8:3 it says:
‘For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.’


And then in Hebrews 7:26-27 it says of Jesus:
‘For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.’


Returning Now to Our Text:
God the Father and the Holy Spirit had sent Jesus into the wilderness as the last stage of His preparation period for His true calling as a minister before giving His final sacrifice; and now it is time to go public with the Word and power as God’s High Priest until the day of that sacrifice. Luke describes this moment when leaving the wilderness victorious. Luke 4:14 says then:
‘Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.’


Jesus was now ready to battle for the souls of men, for He came out of this period with the power of God to set men completely free of the demons of hell, for as the High Priest of God He was ready to give the offering for their sins. With this power, the news of Him spread like fire - the Messiah’s ministry had begun.




1st Implication (based upon this ‘16th Facts - with Opinion’):


We are to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and in time God will lift us up. [James 4:10]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘15th Facts - with Opinion’):


Everything Jesus did and suffered made Him to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He did this by humbling Himself, exalting His Father, and overcoming sin. [Phil 2:5-11]




3rd Implication (based upon this ‘15th Facts - with Opinion’):


Everything we go through within our personal trials while walking in God, and then are able to overcome through our faith in the Lord, delivers us from the power of the evil one and prepares us for the purposes and calling of God in our lives. [James 1:2-4]




4th Implication (based upon this ‘15th Facts - with Opinion’):


Jesus is our Melchizedek High Priest, [Matt 7], the mediator between God and man. [1 Tim 2:5] That also means the anointing and callings that are given to us also come from the Melchizedek Priesthood order; ordination coming from Jesus Christ, our High Priest. [Heb 3:1, 1 Pet 2:9]














16th Facts - with Opinion (based upon Matthew 4:11, with the prior ‘15th Facts - with Opinion’); (showing that this was not the end of Christ’s trials):


The Lord had been tempted by the devil for forty days; and then having experienced all that the devil could offer, Jesus told the devil in Matthew 4:10:
“Go, Satan!”


Satan was then compelled to obey the commandment from the Lord, and Matthew 4:11 says:
‘Then the devil left Him.’


The devil having failed to cause Him to sin, and then left the Lord. But there is no indication that this was the last temptation of the Lord. On the contrary, the Scripture speaks of this same occasion in another of the gospels, in Luke 4:13, where the author of that gospel said:
‘When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.’


Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the devil continued to harass Him, looking for any ‘opportune time’ in order to attempt again to bring Jesus into sin. An example of this was the occasion where Satan possessed for a time Peter’s thoughts and tongue in order to tempt Jesus personally into forsaking His mission, and thereby disobeying His Father, the Word, and possibly forsaking His love for His people. At the time, Jesus was telling His disciple how He was to suffer and die in Jerusalem, when in Matthew 16:22 Peter blurts out:
“God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”


When Jesus heard the words of Satan coming out of the mouth of Peter, He did not speak to Peter at first, but rather He spoke directly to the demonic spirit within Peter that was in actuality attempting to tempt the Lord. It was this reason the Lord said at this time:
“Get behind Me, Satan!”


Although failing at every turn, the devil continued his endeavor at ‘opportune’ times to attempt in bringing Jesus into his power by getting Jesus to sin. But before going to the cross, Jesus made this declaration of freedom in John 14:30:
“The ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”


Because of these testings and Christ’s obedience, it was absolutely proven that Satan was incapable of having the ability to put anything in Jesus, for our Lord was filled solely with God. After the Lord finished His time of ministry, He then could and did offer Himself to be the propitiation for our sins; something He could have not done if He had sinned secretly or publicly, -- but till the day He died He was sinless. Satan had nothing in Him – and that also is why He was able to rise, even after death, eternally victorious!




1st Implication (based upon this ‘16th Facts - with Opinion’):


The devil wants to tempt us to sin. He will use any means. If one of his means fails, he will attempt another, including at times even using men of God to convey his messages. [1 Kin 13:6-25] We need to adhere to the Word of God and the Spirit of God in order to always be seeking God’s interests and not fall prey to the enemy. [James 4:7]




2nd Implication (based upon this ‘16th Facts - with Opinion’):


There are times when we need to recognize the enemy for what he is trying to do; then do battle with him outright in order to expose him and diminish his powers of influence. [Eph 6:11]