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The Tempter…

   No study of the schemes of Satan would be complete without a look at the temptations of Christ in the wilderness.  Imagine the boldness of Satan to come and tempt the Christ, God Himself clothed in flesh.  I think this tells us something about the frailty of the flesh when it comes to righteousness.  (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; Mark 14:32-42; I Corinthians 1:25; II Corinthians 13:4; II Corinthians 12:10; II Corinthians 13:9; Philippians 2:6-8)  Man is unable to withstand the schemes of Satan without the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. 
   Before we get into the actual temptations notice that this is the second time in this study that we see that God Himself gave Satan permission.  In this case, God led Jesus to the wilderness so that He could be tempted.  This temptation was important to His ministry to us in that it shows us both His God nature and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that every believer is given at the point of belief unto salvation.  God does many things we can’t understand.  The first things we have to understand is that God is sovereign even over where we go and what we endure.  (Psalms 115:3; Proverbs 16:9; Psalms 37:23; Proverbs 19:21; Proverbs 20:24; Jeremiah 10:23; Psalms 18:19; Psalms 25:12; Psalms 37:31; Psalms 40:2; Psalms 33:10)  The difficult part is trusting God (Proverbs 3:5-6) The things that God leads us to or gives permission to happen to us are not intended to bring you harm but rather to bring about good. (Genesis 45:5-7; Genesis 50:19-20; Romans 8:28; Romans 11:29; II Corinthians 4:15) What God allows into your life He also gives you the power to overcome.
   The first challenge Satan put before Christ was that that dealt with his hunger.  He had fasted for forty days and nights.  Jesus the Christ was hungry like few of us will ever truly know and understand.  He was starving.  So Satan, knowing the weakness of the flesh told Jesus that all He had to do to end the hunger was to turn the stones into bread and eat.  He issued the challenge through claiming a form of doubt of who Christ is.  Notice what he says, “IF you are the Son of God then…”  He wanted Christ to prove who He is, to defend His identity.  The counter to doubts is faith not miracles. (Matthew 14:31; Matthew 21:21; Mark 11:23)  When we doubt whether it is God’s existence or our salvation or any number of other things the solution is not some miracle that we are tempted to claim will change our doubt to trust but rather it is to have faith that God is who He claims and that He is all that we need.  Jesus Himself answered Satan’s temptation to defend who He is by quoting scripture, “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  First Christ answered the temptation of Satan by quoting scripture.  We cannot use scripture against the schemes of Satan unless we first know scripture intimately.  This knowing of scripture in a way that allows us to own it and use it comes in three main forms.  We need to study it so that we understand it and it cannot be twisted into things it does not say.  Second we need to meditate on it.  This meditation is to always be thinking about it.  Third we need to memorize the word of God, hide it in our hearts so that when temptations come we have ammunition to use.  (II Timothy 2:16-17; Ezra 7:10; Psalms 119: 11-12; Psalms 119:15-16; Psalms 119:47-48; Psalms 119:96-98; Psalms 37:31; Romans 15:4; Hebrews 4:12; Joshua 1:8; Ephesians 6:17; Proverbs 4:10-13; Acts 17:11) 
Christ then tells Satan that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  He understood that real life is found in the spirit not in the flesh.  His perspective was one of the eternal nature of man not the temporal.  Kind of like the idea that if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day but if you teach him to fish he will eat for a lifetime.  Likewise Christ understood that if He turned the stones into bread He could eat for the moment but if He set His focus on God He could eat for eternity.  Scripture talks a lot about food, we are to feed and clothe others, we are not to worry about where our next meal is coming from, but also, we are blessed when we imitate Christ and focus on the eternal not the temporal. Matthew 25:35-40; Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalms 34:10; Matthew 15; Luke 1:53; Luke 6:21-25; John 6:35; John 6:48; John 6:50-53; Matthew 5:6)
The second temptation Satan put before Christ was one that used Scripture.  He told Jesus that if He was truly God’s Son than He should prove it by throwing Himself down for Scripture says that the angels would keep Him safe.  This again makes knowing scripture, meditating on it and memorizing it important but equally important is the need to know what it is saying in both context and intent.  When we add to scripture what is not there or take from it what is there we are partaking in one of the schemes Satan uses to mislead people into death.  (Revelations 22:18-19; Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:5-6; Deuteronomy 12:32; Mark 7:13) Twisting God’s words is not a new scheme of Satan though we might like to think it is a modern day problem.  He did the same thing all the way back in Genesis 3:1-4 when he tempted Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  So Jesus, being wise in scripture and their meaning reminded Satan that it is not for us to test or some translations say tempt God.  God can be trusted and what He says He will do.  The goal is not to test God to see if He is true but to trust God that He is in fact faithful to all that He says He is.  Notice in the following verses that others have tried to test God by questioning the ease of the yoke He asks us to bear, His presence in our lives, by asking for desires over needs, asking Him to prove who He is, and disobedience.  (Exodus 17:2; Deuteronomy 6:16; Luke 4:12; Acts 15:10; Exodus 17:7; Psalms 78:18; I Corinthians 10:9; Psalms 78:41; Psalms 78:56; Psalms 95:9; Psalms 106:14)  Often we go through life and expect everything to be butterflies and roses when in fact, that attitude is a test of God’s goodness and is sinful.  We are to be watchful and on guard and aware that we will be tempted and challenged and danger will come our way.
Finally Satan tempted Christ with power.  He did so by using his own desire to be worshiped.  Satan offered Jesus the world if only He would denounce God and worship Satan.  Satan often uses our desire for power and authority as a means of drawing us to worship something or someone over the Living God.  (Deuteronomy 6:13; Luke 4:8; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:13-14; Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24) It isn’t just that we are not to test God but we are to worship only God. (Deuteronomy 6:13; Luke 4:8; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:13-14; Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24) Even Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us that the whole thing boils down to worship of God alone for this is good.  As Christ finished being tempted by the Devil and the Devil could not cause Him to fall, Satan left Him and the angels came to Him and ministered to Him.  (Matthew 4:11)  Even when we are unaware of their presence, angels are ministering to us. (Hebrews 1:14; Psalms 91:11; Daniel 6:22; Psalms 34:7)