Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
The Power of God’s Truth
Do you know how to make a dead man talk? You probably do, and most of us have done such a thing. Most of us have quoted people who said something brilliant, but are now long gone. It is interesting to hear two people on opposite sides of an argument both quoting the same person that they both revere. Of course, the person they are quoting is not alive to clarify exactly what he meant. There is no doubt, though, that there is power in words, and there is power in words when they are true. No words are more powerful than the ones that God has given us in the Scripture.
Matthew 4 emphasizes this in an unusual way because here we find the temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ by the devil himself. The Bible tells us that the tempter came to Jesus and said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Now much could be said about this temptation and the devil’s ploy. What I want to emphasize is how Christ answered. He said, “It is written….” Again in verse 7 Jesus answered a temptation by saying, “It is written….” Again in verse 10, Jesus answered the devil by saying, “It is written….” It is remarkable to me that even Christ used Scripture in response to temptation.
Now, if the Lord Jesus put that kind of high regard on the Word of God, surely you and I can’t afford to think that we’re empowered and enabled to stand up to the devil without submitting to, understanding, and being saturated by the Word of God.
What is even more fascinating is that the devil quoted Scripture. In verse 6 he quotes, “As it is written….” Now when Christ uses Scripture, that is power. But when the devil uses Scripture, it is a fraud. The devil is never submissive to the Word of God, and he twisted it for his own purposes.
The point is that the Word of God is powerful for those who live in submission to it. God’s Word is not a magic charm that has some power other than its meaning. What makes God’s Word powerful is that it is true, and it has power in my life when I submit to it. That means I need to do more than just read it or quote it. I need to apply integrity in connecting God’s Word to my life.
God’s Word is powerful, but it is powerful to people who live it honestly and read it submissively. Even the Lord Jesus used the Scripture. He used it powerfully because He used it accurately. Even the devil can quote Scripture, but the power of Scripture is unleashed in my life when I read it honestly and submit to it in my life.