Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus Christ is Our Word
Trying to answer the question, "How is Jesus Christ our All-in-all?
The Text
Matthew 4:1–11 (CSB)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.
The Devotion
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Christ is Our Word: We Hear God Speak
If an unbeliever picked up this Bible, will they hear God speak?
1 Corinthians 2:12-16 (CSB) Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually. The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. For
who has known the Lord’s mind,
that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.
The answer is: unless the Triune God regenerates that unbeliever, exchanges their heart, the Holy Spirit dwells in them, Christ is with them and the Father has made his home in them, then the answer is no. The Spirit certainly moves and does as he pleases--he will work on all people in various ways. John 3 does not let us discount that.
But to you and I, believers in God, we have the perfect words of God because we have the perfect Son of God.
I know I am mixing Greek here but bear with me.
John 1:1–5 (CSB) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
John 1:14 (CSB) The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Romans 10:14-17 (CSB) How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.
Let me stress this: stop straining to hear the audible voice of God. Christ himself called the Scriptures 'the mouth of God'. This is why we extol the ordinary means of grace--the preaching of the word with the administration of the sacraments. We sit under the preached word of God because Christ himself called the word of God the mouth of God. Let the weight of that sink in.
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”
Christ is Our Word: God Belongs to Us
2 Corinthians 1:20 (CSB) For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.
We have the Christ. We have the Triune God because the Father gave us his only begotten son. Why are we even to test God when we already have the Christ? Before you could even turn to God and ask for God to get God, you had God in order to ask God for God.
There is no testing. And if Romans 8:17 and Hebrews 1:1-2 are true:
Romans 8:17 (CSB) and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Hebrews 1:1–2 (CSB) Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.
In other words, if Christ is the heir of everything and we are co-heirs with Christ, that literally means we are co-heirs of everything. We have the Christ! That means we have it all. What can the devil tempt us with with? Something not everything? We have the Christ! He is our All-in-all. How can one be tempted with something not everything when Christ has given us everything!
In Christ, you have given me so much that heaven and earth could give me no more.
The Valley of Vision.
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.
Christ is Our Word: We Belong To God
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (CSB) Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.
The Son of God was ransomed for us and we were bought with a price--the only begotten Son of God.
Romans 1:20-23 (CSB) For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
We have all exchanged the glory of God for something not God. This is the great exchange for sin.
How did God respond?
Matthew 1:21 (CSB) She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
1 John 4:9–10 (CSB) God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:19 (CSB) We love because he first loved us.
Christ came down took our sin and exchanged back for his righteousness, holiness, and glory.
We wanted more sin not God. But God will receive the reward for his suffering. That is us! We are his reward. Christ great exchanged our sin for himself.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (CSB) He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We shall not worship any other gods because we belong to God. Can you and I ever do this perfectly? No. We were born sons of Adam and we will always struggled mightily with idolatry until we see his face.
God knew that. God knew us. That is why he sent his Son to live the perfect life of worship to the Father so that we can be counted as righteous in him.
Praise his holy name forever.