One of the famous chapters of the bible is Matthew chapter four. It narrates the temptation of Jesus by the devil. The devil came to Jesus with all sort of strategies but one thing that was constant was the Word chosen as a counter measure against every strategy the devil came up with. The word has always been the weapon to counter the devil anytime, any day because it is the Word of God and the devil has to obey the Word of God too, don’t be trapped in the web of thought that the devil so powerful, he was an angel once and every angel must harken to the Word of God (Psalm 103:20). He’s been stripped off his “angelhood”, he is just a deceiving spirit now, trying to get people to be scared of him, well that’s all he has left now and that is why you should not be afraid of him, rather overcome him by the Word. “so mightily grew the word and it prevailed(Acts 19:20)” (I’ve digressed a little, let go back to my main point)
When reading the bible, it easier to read through the obvious stories and think “Oh! That’s pretty cool. Jesus is one powerful, amazing god-man”. The truth behind every story comes by revelation through the Holy Spirit. They are often the portions you cannot read, they are there but you cannot see them. One of these truths as revealed I’m about to share with you.
Jesus’ first response to the temptations got interesting to me as the truth behind it was revealed and I’m sure it will bless you. Jesus told the devil “…man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). Before you think that’s a cool response for the devil, ask yourself what does it really mean?
Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3, he had a good understanding of this scripture that was why he was able to take advantage of the power it contained in putting his flesh under. This was a man coming out of a forty day fast. I’m sure he was starving big time, think of yourself coming out 40 days without food and you have the power to literally turn anything to food. But he put that appetite under because he would be doing it for the wrong reasons, but instead quoted Deuteronomy 8:3.
Man is a trilateral being. Man is a spirit, has a soul and lives in a body. That is a whole teaching on its own but I will not digress too much. Man is a spirit-being because God is a spirit and we were created in the image and likeness of God (John 4:24, Genesis 1:26-27). We have a soul, which is in charge of our thoughts, feelings, emotion, and reasoning, and we have a body, which many considers the real man. The body of a man, made by God from the dust of the earth is just like a suit he has to wear to be functional on this earth. The body needs to be taken good care of and fed. The body is not the real man; the body is alive as long as the spirit and soul are inside it. The real man is his spirit that is within him. That is why man continues to live after he dies. Death is man leaving the body and continues existence in the spiritual realm. Your spirit is exactly like your body. If you still doubt life after death, well I will tell you this: it is real. Heaven and hell are real too, so is God. I can begin to prove it from the scriptures but this is not the purpose of this post.
Many continue to focus too much on the body, they feed it constantly (some even overfeed it), some hit the gym to keep it fit and look good, some have series of surgeries to look forever young (we all know that’s never going to happen) amongst all other things we do for our body. While some of these have their own advantages (1Timothy 4:8), our main focus should be on our spirit, which is the real man.
If many were to be shown how their spirit-man looks like, they would be appalled and that is the part of them that will live forever, which makes it the most important part of man, deserving of utmost attention and care. Your spirit needs to be fed, exercised, and generally taken care of too, even more than your body. Jesus was establishing this point when he made that statement. He was saying that man is not just his body alone but there is the part of a man that is more important. Sure, the body should be fed but the desire to feed the body should not overcome what’s most important, the spirit. So how do you feed and exercise your spirit? (Keep reading)
Physical food satisfies the body but not the spirit. The spirit needs to be fed with something of the spirit. Consider what Jesus said in these scriptures:
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63
“For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” John 12:49
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” John 14:10
“Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.” John 7:16
Jesus made us realize a fact here that the words he speaks are not his but his Father’s and they are spirit and life-giving. Jeremiah said “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16). This makes the word of God a spiritual food, no wonder Jesus completed his response by saying “…but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. This means that this other part of a man can only be fed and live by the word of God.
You are not truly living till you are filled by the word of God because the real you depends on it to live. Jesus could do all he did because he knew and operated on this truth. So can you.
Storms of life, circumstances and situations always comes to test what you are made of and victory is guaranteed when your content is 100 percent word of God, being rooted and grounded in it.
Leave a Reply