The Teachings of Jesus Christ. Pt. 5 Christ Speaks the Word and the Devil is Dismissed
Oh, it is wonderful to be a Christian. Being born again is the greatest thing that we can experience in this life. I hope that each one of you have turned to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentant faith and know Him as your God and Savior.
Matthew 4:8-11 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
The text above is the last of Satan's attempts to persuade Jesus Christ to sin by acting independently of His Father. Mark's account of the temptation of Christ by Satan is only two lines of text and John records only the baptism of Christ. Matthew and Luke recorded the fullest accounts of Jesus' temptation.
The 3rd Temptation of Christ took place on a very high mountain.
At this point the devil is still undeterred by his failure to tempt Jesus to sin. The text says Satan took Jesus up into an exceeding high mountain. It was probably a mountain outside of Israel because Israel's mountains are not all that tall.
9 out of the 10 highest mountains in the world are in the Himalayas in Asia. Any one of those mountains would have been considered exceeding high.
From that lofty vantage point, Satan showed the Lord Jesus Christ all the kingdoms of the world. Luke's gospel adds an intriguing detail that this all happened in a "moment" of time.
Luke 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
The devil showed Christ the glory of these kingdoms in an effort to tempt Jesus to accept an alternate path to kingship. This was not the Father's will for His Son. Jesus Christ will ultimately rule and reign over all the earth but His death on the cross to bring salvation had to come first.
Satan sought to have Christ bypass Calvary and take the throne.
If Jesus had taken the devil's bait and bypassed Calvary then there would be no hope of salvation for mankind. If the devil knew the glorious plan of God, then he would have fought against Christ going to the cross. Instead, Satan thought he had won the victory when Christ died until His resurrection, at which time his hopes were shattered permanently.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
All of these things were fully known unto God. The crucifixion of Christ was a great mystery that was hidden from the enemies of the Godhead. The princes of this world refers to principalities in Paul's letters to the Ephesians and Colossians.
The word translated "princes" is almost the identical word translated "principalities" in Colossians and Ephesians.
Colossians 2:14-15 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
The true motivation of the devil was exposed.
Satan wanted Jesus Christ to fall down and worship him and he would gladly give Jesus all the kingdoms of this earth. The devil has always sought to usurp worship that rightly belongs to Jehovah.
Matthew 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Remember that the Old Testament text tells us Satan used to be called Lucifer and he functioned as the "covering cherub." Many have said he was the worship leader in heaven based upon his description. The prophet Isaiah tells us about this.
If you read the context you will see that Lucifer made 5 presumptuous "I Will" statements that amounted to rebellion against the Godhead. He wanted to be like the most high and receive worship.
Ezekiel 28:11-19 contains the sister passage to Isaiah's and it tells us God's own 5 "I Will" statements that perfectly void out the devil's schemes.
Isaiah 14:12-14 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
These texts show us the true aim of Satan is destroying God's Son so that he can rule on the earth. The devil craves to be worshiped like Jehovah is worshiped.
The Spoken Word from Christ dismisses the devil.
Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
The phrase "get thee hence" is an authoritative command from the Son of God to an inferior created being and Satan had no other recourse but to obey. He was dismissed from Christ's presence.
Jesus pulled out the sword of the Spirit for one final stroke against His enemy. "It is written" leaves no wiggle room to get out from under the authority of the eternal Word of God.
Jesus quoted a third time from the book of Deuteronomy and these words lowered the boom on Satan's line of temptation.
Deuteronomy 6:13-14 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
The table below from my Logos software shows the similarity of Satan's attacks on Eve in the garden and Christ in the wilderness. His tactics are not new. In fact Paul tells us we are not ignorant of the devil's devices.
Three times in three different methods Satan tried to tempt Jesus Christ to sin. Three times Jesus Christ used the Sword of the Spirit to defeat His foe. Satan was defeated and dismissed by our Lord.
In Martin Luther's powerful hymn "Almighty Fortress is our God" he addressed the devil with these words. "For, lo his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him" speaking of the powerful Word of God.
Is it any wonder that the devil has relentlessly attacked the authority and necessity of scripture? He does not care if we are engaged in "religious activities" that take up our time and do nothing to advance God's kingdom. The devil does care if you determine in your heart to search the scriptures daily like the Bereans did.
This means that you and I have a 50/50 chance of being shepherded by a Pastor who does not believe the Word of God. It is no wonder that much of what passes for Christianity today is powerless and accomplishes little for eternity.
We must pick up our Bible and read it, believe it, practice is and memorize it. Our spiritual well being depends upon it.
Points to Ponder...
Matthew 4:8-11 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
The text above is the last of Satan's attempts to persuade Jesus Christ to sin by acting independently of His Father. Mark's account of the temptation of Christ by Satan is only two lines of text and John records only the baptism of Christ. Matthew and Luke recorded the fullest accounts of Jesus' temptation.
The 3rd Temptation of Christ took place on a very high mountain.
At this point the devil is still undeterred by his failure to tempt Jesus to sin. The text says Satan took Jesus up into an exceeding high mountain. It was probably a mountain outside of Israel because Israel's mountains are not all that tall.
9 out of the 10 highest mountains in the world are in the Himalayas in Asia. Any one of those mountains would have been considered exceeding high.
From that lofty vantage point, Satan showed the Lord Jesus Christ all the kingdoms of the world. Luke's gospel adds an intriguing detail that this all happened in a "moment" of time.
Luke 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
The devil showed Christ the glory of these kingdoms in an effort to tempt Jesus to accept an alternate path to kingship. This was not the Father's will for His Son. Jesus Christ will ultimately rule and reign over all the earth but His death on the cross to bring salvation had to come first.
Satan sought to have Christ bypass Calvary and take the throne.
If Jesus had taken the devil's bait and bypassed Calvary then there would be no hope of salvation for mankind. If the devil knew the glorious plan of God, then he would have fought against Christ going to the cross. Instead, Satan thought he had won the victory when Christ died until His resurrection, at which time his hopes were shattered permanently.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
All of these things were fully known unto God. The crucifixion of Christ was a great mystery that was hidden from the enemies of the Godhead. The princes of this world refers to principalities in Paul's letters to the Ephesians and Colossians.
The word translated "princes" is almost the identical word translated "principalities" in Colossians and Ephesians.
Colossians 2:14-15 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
The true motivation of the devil was exposed.
Satan wanted Jesus Christ to fall down and worship him and he would gladly give Jesus all the kingdoms of this earth. The devil has always sought to usurp worship that rightly belongs to Jehovah.
Matthew 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Remember that the Old Testament text tells us Satan used to be called Lucifer and he functioned as the "covering cherub." Many have said he was the worship leader in heaven based upon his description. The prophet Isaiah tells us about this.
If you read the context you will see that Lucifer made 5 presumptuous "I Will" statements that amounted to rebellion against the Godhead. He wanted to be like the most high and receive worship.
Ezekiel 28:11-19 contains the sister passage to Isaiah's and it tells us God's own 5 "I Will" statements that perfectly void out the devil's schemes.
Isaiah 14:12-14 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
These texts show us the true aim of Satan is destroying God's Son so that he can rule on the earth. The devil craves to be worshiped like Jehovah is worshiped.
The Spoken Word from Christ dismisses the devil.
Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
The phrase "get thee hence" is an authoritative command from the Son of God to an inferior created being and Satan had no other recourse but to obey. He was dismissed from Christ's presence.
Jesus pulled out the sword of the Spirit for one final stroke against His enemy. "It is written" leaves no wiggle room to get out from under the authority of the eternal Word of God.
Jesus quoted a third time from the book of Deuteronomy and these words lowered the boom on Satan's line of temptation.
Deuteronomy 6:13-14 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
The table below from my Logos software shows the similarity of Satan's attacks on Eve in the garden and Christ in the wilderness. His tactics are not new. In fact Paul tells us we are not ignorant of the devil's devices.
TYPE OF TEMPTATION
|
EVE IN THE GARDEN
|
CHRIST IN THE WILDERNESS
|
Appeal to physical appetite
|
You may eat of any tree Genesis 3:1
|
You may eat by turning stones into bread Matthew 4:3
|
Appeal to personal gain
|
You will not die by taking this fruit Genesis 3:4
|
You will not die by jumping Matthew 4:6
|
Appeal to power and glory
|
You will be like God Genesis 3:5
|
You will have all the world’s kingdoms Matthew 4:8-9
|
Three times in three different methods Satan tried to tempt Jesus Christ to sin. Three times Jesus Christ used the Sword of the Spirit to defeat His foe. Satan was defeated and dismissed by our Lord.
In Martin Luther's powerful hymn "Almighty Fortress is our God" he addressed the devil with these words. "For, lo his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him" speaking of the powerful Word of God.
Is it any wonder that the devil has relentlessly attacked the authority and necessity of scripture? He does not care if we are engaged in "religious activities" that take up our time and do nothing to advance God's kingdom. The devil does care if you determine in your heart to search the scriptures daily like the Bereans did.
In 2004 Barna Research Group polled American Pastors from
many denominations and found that only 51% of them held a Biblical worldview on
six core beliefs (the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of
Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God,
salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to evangelize.)
This means that you and I have a 50/50 chance of being shepherded by a Pastor who does not believe the Word of God. It is no wonder that much of what passes for Christianity today is powerless and accomplishes little for eternity.
We must pick up our Bible and read it, believe it, practice is and memorize it. Our spiritual well being depends upon it.
Points to Ponder...
- The Devil will try to appeal to our fleshly lusts.
- The Devil will try to appeal to selfish desires for personal advancement.
- The Devil will try to appeal to a desire for power and glory.
- The Word of God which is the Sword of the Spirit is what we must use to defeat our enemy and overcome the temptation that comes our way.
- Hold fast to what you have been taught and stay true to the scriptures.
Jesus has shown us how vital it is to know God's word. We must make studying the scriptures a priority for our lives.
Bob
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