Matt 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, speak that these stones may become loaves of bread. (4) But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God."
The tempter tempted the new King to take His position as the Son of God. But He answered with the Word of the Scriptures, "Man," indicating that He stood in the position of man to deal with the enemy. The demons addressed Jesus as the Son of God (8:29), but the evil spirits did not confess that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:3), because by confessing Jesus as a man, they would be defeated. Although the demons confess Jesus as the Son of God, the devil does not want people to believe that He is the Son of God, because in so doing they will be saved (John 20:31). The Lord seemed to be saying, "Satan, don't tempt me to assume My position as the Son of God. I am here as a man. If I were only the Son of God, I could never be here, and I could never be tempted by you. But because I am a man, I am being tempted. Satan, I know that you are not afraid of the Son of God, but you are afraid of man. The first man, the man whom God created to defeat you and to fulfill His purpose, was defeated by you. Thus, God sent Me as the second man to defeat you. Now you are tempting Me to leave My position as a man to assume My position as the Son of God. But I tell you, Satan, I am standing here as a man." The Lord Jesus took a strong standing as a man to defeat Satan. In this first test Satan was defeated because Jesus took the position of a man.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Matthew, 1986, pp. 139-140. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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