But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
In our opening verse, the Word tells us how that the Lord Jesus Christ, in the temptation in the wilderness, responded to the devil when he tempted Him to command stones to become bread. The Word tells us that the Lord answered and said to the devil: It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. What the Lord was saying in essence was that man lives by the spoken Word of God. The Lord had the authority to command stones to become bread, but He wasn’t going to do that because just because He had the power to do so, but because the Lord commanded Him to do so, though He was hungry and needed to eat. This account in the Word reveals a couple of lessons that God wants us to learn. First, we must know what is written in the Word. The Lord Jesus had read the Word before he was tempted of the devil. He was ready for that moment of trial. He was living ready before the temptation came. You ought to live ready for whatever may come your way, instead of trying to get ready every now and then. Feed on the Word and know for yourself the things which the Lord has written concerning you. Secondly, the Lord knew quite clearly and unambiguously what the life of man is about. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. We are not only here to have our needs met. We are primarily here to fulfil the will of God; we are here to do the Word. That’s how we live! We live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
The expression of our faith is not just to meet our needs, but primarily to fulfill God’s will for us. Jesus was hungry, He could turn stones to bread; but He chose not to do it, not because He couldn’t do it but because He was not commanded to it. The devil suggested that He did it, but He refused, not because he couldn’t do it; but because the Father didn’t command it. We are not ruled by hunger, we are not ruled by circumstance; we are not ruled by demonic suggestions. We are only ruled by what the Lord commands. The expression of our faith is towards what God commands not what the situation demands. Did you get that? Our faith is towards God, not towards things. The doctrine of faith is faith towards God. Our faith is expressed towards God in line with His will and purpose commanded by His Word, what He says. Hallelujah!
MY SOLID FRONT (YOUR CONFESSION):
Father, I thank You for opening my eyes to see that faith is expressed towards you according to Your will and purpose for me. Therefore, I declare that I do not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from Your mouth in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Further Meditation:
Proverbs 18:20-21; Psalms 91:16.