Matthew 4:1-4. "Then (following his baptism) was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 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."

Luke 4:1-4. "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

The Greek of Romans chapter eight verse fourteen states that those who are forcibly led by the Spirit of God, are the mature sons of God, and it is most certainly true in this case. Jesus started his ministry when he began to be about thirty years of age, the age required for serving God in any capacity according to Jewish standards; and he was most certainly the Son of God. The Spirit led Jesus Christ into the wilderness to fast and pray concerning the onset of his ministry, and, according to Matthew, to be tempted by the devil who sought opportunity neutralize him. He comes at you when you are led by the Spirit in doing God's will, to twist, and to distort God's purpose, and derail the intended results. The devil will tempt you when you are under extreme duress, because you are in a weakened state, and therefore more vulnerable to his attacks. There is nothing wrong with eating bread. There is nothing wrong with changing stones to bread. The justification was there: He was hungry. He was also the Son of God: He could do it; He had the power and authority. The problem was that it was a matter of who made the suggestion and wanted him to do it. Who do we obey when a solicitation to do evil comes along? Jesus could not do it, even though there was inherently nothing wrong with it, solely because it was a suggestion of the devil. Jesus came to do the will of the Father, not Satan. The challenge seems to be: "Prove yourself," or at least: "Prove it to me - or prove it to yourself," or even: "You've suffered long enough, now indulge yourself, there's nothing wrong with using your power." It becomes a matter of motivation - why we do what we do. Is it right or wrong to do this? Why am I doing this, to show off, test God, serve self? The devil says, "Since" - not "if" - you are the Son of God; for even the demons Jesus rebuked said "We know who you are! You are the Holy One of God." So that reduces the challenge to a temptation. Satan knew full well who Jesus was. He said "speak in order that these stones may become loaves." Satan knew full well the powers the Son of God had, and what he was capable of. Now if we carefully study the life of Jesus, we find that he never does anything for himself, and especially reserves the use if his anointing for service to others. If Christ were to utilize his anointing for self, such as turning stones into loaves, or even coming down from the cross, his motivation would be no higher than that of an ordinary human being; and for him to serve self would be disobedience to God the Father. Jesus said that his bread was to do the will of his Father who sent him. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. The Nature of God is love. Love is seeking the highest good of others without any expectation of return. By contrast, the devil is deceptive, exploitive, self-serving, and manipulates others in order to achieve his own ends. Jesus countered with the sword of the Spirit - the Word of God. We are to follow his example. James says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. Ephesians six says to put on the whole armor of God in order to withstand all the wiles of the devil. Peter says to be sober and vigilant for our adversary, the devil, goes about as a roaring lion, seeking to devour whosoever he may, whom resist, being steadfast in the faith. Jesus shows us here how to resist. He was steadfast in that he is The Faith, and he wielded the Word of God as a sword against the enemy of the truth. He was not overly concerned with his mortality at this juncture - he wasn't about to starve to death while in the will of God. It is God's responsibility to care for him and meet his needs, as with us, and in due time provision would come. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God, meaning that if a man wills to live, e.g. have capacity for life, then he is to obey God rather than any other. Let God be true and every devil a liar! Satan always seeks to take the advantage when the child of God is weakened and suffering. He tempts with whatever the need or perceived desire may be at the moment. Look at your Lord: being hungry, "Turn these stones into loaves;" being crucified, "If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." He was in every way tempted as we are, yet he was without sin.

Luke 4:5-8. "And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

Matthew 4:8-11. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

The lust of the flesh - the same temptation plied against Adam and Eve. It worked before, why not try it again! It is the work of the devil to cast doubt on the word of God: "Hath God said.......?" In heaven it was ordained that Christ would be Lord over all the earth and receive the kingdom without end from God the Father. Jesus would receive this kingdom in due time from God the Father, but he had a job to do first that would make this possible: be the sacrifice which would reconcile the world to God and bring deliverance for his people from their sins; for God could not compromise his essence in saving them any other way. Without the vicarious shedding of innocent blood, there is no remission of sin. It is true that the whole world lies in the lap of the wicked one, but only by divine permission. It is probably the same here as with Job. Satan said to God, "Does Job fear God for nothing? You have protected and blessed him. Remove all that and he will curse you to your face." So God granted Satan's challenge, letting Satan remove all that Job had; but Job remained faithful. Satan again said to God, "A man will give all that he has for his life. Afflict him and he will curse you to your face." So God granted Satan to afflict Job, but not to take his life, and Job yet remained faithful. Satan had been given temporary dominion over Job. Read the account in detail in Job chapters one and two. So God for reasons unknown to us has permitted Satan to have dominion over the earth, and in the book of Daniel we get a slight glimpse into the hierarchy he has at his command. We must assume it is for the purpose of trying those who dwell upon the earth. God's eyes go to and fro throughout the earth searching for those whose hearts are right towards him. God heard one talking with another concerning the Lord: They shall be mine, saith the Lord. Since Satan managed to take one third of the angels with him in his rebellion, he is allowed free roam on the earth to test the hearts of men for worthiness for the kingdom of God. Jesus knew it was God his Father who by permissive will allowed all the kingdoms of the world to be under Satan's dominion, so when Satan offered to him all of the kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus subordinated himself to the devil, it was ineffective, and fell on deaf ears. The Devil tempted Christ in presenting an opportunity to be Lord over all the earth now, and circumvent or by-pass the despised shame and suffering of the cross. He presumed that Lordship was the motivating factor for Christ's enlistment, but we have already seen how his motivation was not for self, but towards us. We know how much Christ preferred not to drink the cup of bearing the worlds sin in his body, as he became sin for us while on the cross. While sweating great drops of blood he prayed, "Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but thy will be done." Obedient even to the cross. He would only have to comply with Satan's request of the simple expression of falling down and paying obeisance to him and the world would be ostensibly his; which of course would put Jesus in the same category as Satan himself as being a rebel against God, and demonstrating the same kind of presumptuous pride which led to his downfall. It would be the easy way out - a short-cut, or end run around death, hell, and the grave if you will. One of the things wrong with this picture is that if God gave the kingdoms of the world to Satan, and by conveyance to whosoever he wills, then God could as easily take it away, leaving Satan, and whosoever he gave it, bankrupt and without recourse. Satan was attempting here to short-circuit the prophecy of Genesis 3:15. This particular temptation was not by happenstance, but carefully crafted upon a complete knowledge and understanding by the devil of God's plans, purposes, and modus-operandii. All attempts against Jesus, the Christ of God, must be viewed in this lig ht of Satan's urgent passion to short circuit God's plan of redemption. The devil presumed that the Son of God had become weak and vulnerable, having laid aside all of his heavenly attributes and taken on flesh, but as demonstrated by Jesus himself, one only needs an act of will and the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, to resist the solicitations to do evil which are always constant. Jesus again countered with the sword of the Spirit - the Word of truth which quenches every fiery dart of the wicked one, and rebuffs the onslaught of the enemy. Just look at the audaciousness of the devil - asking the Son of God to bow down and worship the enemy of his Father. The name Satan means "adversary." Jesus said, "Get out of my face, adversary!" Jesus said the same thing to Peter when the devil remonstrated through him, though humanly he meant well, but sought to turn him aside from the path that his Father had put him in. It is written of Jesus that he set his face as a flint to go in the path the Father had prescribed for him. Even so, we must set our faces as flints and have great determination of purpose, in order not to be turned away by the devil from the path God would have us to walk in. The devils strategic logistical modus-operandii is to preemptively intercept and neutralize through intrigue and machination, and thereby gain tactical victory over his victims. He does this in order to turn us from the path our God would have us take. To fall down and worship Satan would disqualify Christ from fulfilling God's will and purposes, and would put him in the same adversarial category as the devil: both would be fellow adversaries in complicity against God, deserving of his judgement, especially deserving as they had already both seen and known the glory of God first-hand. That is why devils cannot be saved. They are totally without excuse.

Luke 4:9-13. "And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

Matthew 4:5-7. "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

Unfortunately, the devil knows the Bible better than most of us. How else can he come as an angel of light, or a minister of righteousness, and deceive the people. Since Jesus resorted twice to utilizing what is written to ward off temptation, in his persistence, the devil himself resorts to using scripture. The scripture is true, and it is quoted well, however, its application would be false, given the circumstances. The devil in essence said, "You believe in the Word of God, and you believe in the resurrection. Attempt suicide to prove to me your worth. Prove to yourself now whether or not this scripture will work. Since you are the Son of God it should be brought to pass. Don't you have faith? Do you doubt the Word of God? This scripture indicates complete protection until your intended purpose is fulfilled. Do you doubt? Doubting is not of faith." Jesus countered again with the Word of God properly applied, comparing scripture with scripture: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test!" It is written, counters "It is written" misapplied. No matter how well the devil knew scripture, he could not effectively wield it against its author, the Word of God himself. Satan sought to get rid of the Messiah through trickery. He knew full well that God would not come through if Jesus lowered his standards in order to put God to the test at the bidding of a tempter. If he threw himself down, it would be at the tempter's behest, and in one's disobedience, God is not obligated to perform his Word on that one's behalf. Christ would not only have fallen from the temple, but from grace as well. He would have died unto himself, rather than for the sins of all mankind, and Satan would have come out victorious. It is interesting the duality of this scripture's application that Jesus quoted. The devil shall not put to the test the Lord Jesus Christ as God; And the Lord Jesus Christ shall not put to the test God the Father. This question bears in on us: Why tempt Jesus at all? God knows all things and the end result of the temptations in advance, and man was nowhere around to witness the event. It could possibly be a qualifying event, even as his baptism was done in order to fulfil all righteousness. It could also be that Christ, designated by some as the "Second Adam," was to successfully rebuff the tempter, even as the first Adam had failed. Also, as Job was a witness to principalities and powers, Satan, and the angels as he endured all manner of suffering for his faith in God, so also, here Christ was a witness to the same in his displayed resistance to the destructive influences of our adversary. If Satan could manage to coerce Jesus into doing even one thing, Christ would no longer be the sinless perfect sacrifice needed to redeem and reconcile the world to God, and the whole plan of redemption would have come unravelled, with the Messiah effectively neutralized, and the devil a victorious foe. Don't you think Satan knows about the seed of the woman of Genesis 3:15? The destruction of the babies to destroy the Christ by Herod in Bethlehem tells us that! Don't you think he knew Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22? After all, he quotes scripture when needed. Thank God that Jesus was victorious!

Matthew 4:11. "Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

Luke 4:13. "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."

James says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. Jesus, as our example, has effectively resisted the devil, and he left him until a more opportune time. Angels did come and attend to the needs of Jesus following his trial. Think not that one victory over the tempter will be complete. This guy has a lot of time on his hands, and plenty of minions working for him. Besides possessing individuals, he also oppresses individuals. He will be back! He will set you up for a fall. He will wait for the circumstances to change, and for alternate states of vulnerability to ensue, and he will come at you undauntedly and with a vengeance. He knows your weaknesses. He knows what will turn your head. He knows your particular vulnerabilities, and he will set you up for a fall once he rethinks his strategy. The most important thing to him is his malignant agenda. We now know his agenda and his subtle mode of operation. Don't think that once is enough. Throughout Christ's life on earth he was offered great advantages, and reviled with unbelief. They wanted to make him king on earth, and later tempted him to prove himself by coming down off of the cross. Think not that there will be a time of no temptation, for it will continue until you have drawn your last breath. We must all run the race, but we don't need to come in first - just finish. Your job is to be able to walk in the light by faith, remain vigilant, steadfast, feast on the Word of God regularly, and fellowship among God's people - safety in numbers. Once aware of the enemy and his tactics, you will be able to effectively rebuff his attacks on your vulnerabilities and weaknesses after you have learned to recognize how and where he operates. "Know your enemy" is a good saying to remember. "Know yourself" is another good saying. If you know your vulnerabilities and weaknesses, you will be better able to guard yourself against particular temptations aimed at those specific targets. Be constantly controlled by the Spirit by habitually walking in the light. Avoid carnality, for this is how the enemy gets in and gains legal rights over you. Resist the temptation to sin, but if and when you do sin, confess daily. Keep your accounts short with God in order to avoid chain-sinning which will get you so knotted up that the only thing left to do is to cut the knots and start over again. That is where one really loses ground! Guard against temptations toward unbelief and falling away from the faith, for this is Satan's ultimate purpose against God's people. He knows he is a defeated foe, and wants to take as many down with him as he can. This is his malignancy. You too will be the object of demonic attack solely for remaining in the will of God, merely to turn you from that perfect will of God for your life. Satan has limited resources and won’t waste his minions on those already in his camp: He uses them against you and me - Christians - to beset us with various temptations on every hand. Be crucified with Christ - dead to the carnal nature, worldly lusts, and the promptings of the devil. When you make a daily decision to live your live on the cross, dead to self daily, and remain seated with Christ under the power of his Spirit, then the powers of darkness will be rendered ineffective in your life, and you will remain free to serve God unencumbered by the messes that have beset so many other believers who neglect their spiritual lives and walk with their guards down all the time.