Continuing with this series, we mentioned that spiritual leprosy produced by the influence of the spirit of this world is contagious and its fruit is self-focus for the wrong reasons. The fear of going without that grips these people causes them to become driven by selfish ambitions with little to no concern for how others may be affected by their words or actions.
This is what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Bible says that the serpent used subtle, skilled deceit and with it, he lured Eve to question what God had said. The confusion of the enemy also caused Eve to not be sure about what God had said, so, she ate and also gave to her husband to eat. Her disobedience to the command of the Lord to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought death to their dreams and derailment from their purpose.
The contamination with the spirit of this world made them think that they could be like God knowing good and evil. This came from discovering the dark things of the world that give a false sense of power and strength to achieve, but by means that are far from the will of God and His relationship with humankind. Thus, the enemy appealed to her hunger for things instead of a hunger for righteousness (being in right standing with God). (See Matthew 5:6).
Then, the serpent lured her through the sight of her eyes. He showed her a vision of all the possible things she could have or own by the work of her hands and also by applying corrupt wisdom that makes us appear successful. However, this success is not lasting nor is it complete because it comes from fear and inner turmoil which can turn into pride and idolatry that turn us away from a solid and deep relationship with the Living God.
When both Adam and Eve took a bite of the fruit of the tree their eyes were open and now they could see their nakedness. This nakedness came from their realization that they had walked away from God and His sovereign covering under His wings. (Read Genesis 3:1-7). But in Matters 4:3-10 Jesus shows us how the enemy came to Him with the exact type of luring that he comes to all of us with to get us contaminated with his wickedness. However, Jesus resisted him.
Verses 3-4 say, “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’” AMP
Proverbs 2:6
For the Lord gives [skillful and godly] wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” AMP
Just like it happened to Adam and Eve, and to Jesus, this luring of the enemy appealing to their hunger was an attack against their bodies. Not only does the Word says that our priority should be to respond with obedience to every word that comes from God’s mouth concerning our provision and how we satisfy our needs. We should do that following His will so that we don’t bring the contamination of the world and its spirit of Mammon which is a spirit of greed and false power.
John 4:34
Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work.” AMP
What’s more, the Bible tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not our property. We’re the property of God and His Kingdom, and Jesus our King bought us with the high price of His Blood shed for us. As we come to this realization, we must learn to honor God by doing His will for our bodies and not feed ourselves polluted or contaminated things that don’t glorify Him (Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Verses 5-7 continue,
“Then the devil took Him into the holy city [Jerusalem] and placed Him on the pinnacle (highest point) of the temple. And he said [mockingly] to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You [to serve, care for, protect and watch over You]’; and ‘They will lift you up on their hands, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone .’’ Jesus said to him, ‘On the other hand, it is written and forever remains written, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’” AMP
This was an attack against the soul of man. By suggesting that Jesus throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple, the enemy was telling Him to take the risk and give his soul to the devil. He was promising a false sense of protection in exchange for his soul. But the Bible says in Mark 8:35-38,
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’” NLT
Matthew 4:8-10 continues,
“Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory [splendor, magnificence, and excellence] of them; and he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go away, Satan! For it is written and forever remains written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”” AMP
The most important thing to note in the passage of Matthew 4:3-10 is that Jesus understood His Sonship and position as heir of the Kingdom. From this stance, He could counteract the seduction of the enemy with the truth of the Word. In the same way, we must come against the luring lies of the enemy by understanding our identity as sons and daughters of God and by speaking the truth of His Word over our lives and apply it in our daily living. In this final attack, the enemy came against the spirit of man. In other words, he wanted Jesus to worship him.
Romans 6:16
“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”
The weakness of our human nature leads us to impure living and lawlessness which drive us deeper into sin. This sinful nature also gives us a false grace that makes us think there will be no consequences from choosing to walk on the wrong path. This causes us to live in shame and even eternal doom if there is no repentance. But when we become slaves of righteous living, we learn to live as holy people, set apart to fulfill God’s purpose for our life. Hence, through Jesus, we can be free from the power of sin and become slaves of God which leads to eternal life.
Romans 6:23 says,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” NLT
More on the next post. And as always, to God alone be all the glory. *
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