The devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, 'Man does not live by bread alone.'” (Luke 4:3-4)
In reflecting on the Genesis 3 passage (noted in yesterday's blog), we see a key error in Eve's conversation with the devil: she engaged the conversation.
Rather than seeking to justify our status, our response to the enemy must be with swift, sure reference to the word of God. Jesus teaches us how to do this:
A rebuke of the enemy. As Pastor Sam has noted over the past few weeks, we must appeal to the sovreignty and greatness of God, invoking His authority over our enemy: “The LORD rebuke you!” (see Zechariah 3:1-5)
A reminder of the Word. As we see in the Luke passage above, Jesus's reply to the devil is grounded in the word of God. The Word is a living, inerrant, and eternal truth. The truth is the weapon we wield when faced with temptations from Satan, who is the father of lies.
Lord, thank You for Your word which is truth. Thank You for Your name, all-powerful and able to subdue the enemy of our souls. Give us Your grace, Lord, so that we might stand against the enemy and withstand his attempts to delude us. Help us to always, with immediacy, rebuke the devil in the name of the LORD.
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