WE come to the account of the temptations of Jesus for a second time. Last time we took an overall look at this part of the ministry and work of Jesus. Now we can learn some practical lessons for our own spiritual life.

Let us notice in the first place that Jesus was completely victorious over Satan’s assault. Satan could not cause Jesus to sin. If Satan had been able to cause Jesus to sin then everything would have been lost. Jesus would have been found a sinner, and he would then have not been able to die in the place of sinners. Jesus had to be a pure and sinless sacrifice for him to be able to pay the price of our sin. Satan knew this and he was determined to bring Jesus down. Let us rejoice that Satan was unable to make any dent in the armour of Christ. This is wonderful good news, and gives substance to our faith. Jesus all through his life was victorious. We can safely trust in him and know that we have eternal life through him.

Going on from this thought let us learn the lesson of the reality of Satan, and the spiritual forces arrayed against us. He is a foe which we cannot see, and so it is difficult perhaps to believe in him. These verses teach us he does exist, and as we read the Bible we learn that he is not alone. He has millions of devils who do his command and carry out his work. If we are an unbeliever in Jesus, then Satan has us safe in his power. He will then simply see that he keeps us there, and our life may seem very pleasant and free from trouble. When we repent of our sin, and come to Jesus and trust in him as Saviour, we are delivered from the dominion of Satan, and translated into the kingdom of Christ. Satan is not happy for this to happen, and he will make it his business to assault us. Jesus warns us of this fact in John chapter 15. He tells us there that Satan hated Jesus, and attacked him. He goes on to tell us that a servant is not above his master, so if Satan dared to attack Jesus, then he will attack those who are disciples of Jesus. We must not be surprised at this.

From this we learn that we must expect temptation. Temptation is one of the devil’s chief weapons against us. He can’t reclaim us because we have the assurance of Jesus that no power can pluck us from his hand. We have been delivered for ever from Satan’s dominion. If Satan is unable to bring us back under his power, this does not mean he will leave us alone. He will make it his business to make life as difficult as he can. If he can cause us to sin he will gloat. When he wins a battle and cause us to sin he will use this victory over us a leverage to cause us to doubt that we are saved, and that Jesus loves us. If he can he will take away our assurance that we are forgiven and children of God. This must not surprise us. What we need to remember is that we have been freed from Satan’s dominion by our Saviour. We need to remember that our standing before God, and our sure hope of heaven is not founded on our works, but on the perfect work of Christ, and the victory over Satan and sin Christ has already won. This can never be lost, and we are safe in Christ’s everlasting love.

Knowing we will have to face temptation, how do we face temptation? Jesus shows us here that we have an unfailing weapon with which to meet and defeat the assaults of temptation that Satan brings against us. This weapon is called by the apostle Paul the sword of the Spirit. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, the Bible. Each temptation Satan brought against Jesus was met by this sword. It was with the words of Scripture that Jesus met each temptation as it came, and as Jesus stood on the rock of this word of God, Satan had to retreat. He attacked again, and by the word of God he was again beaten back.

If any weapon of warfare is to be of any use, there must be training in its use. The soldier must be trained in the use of his weapons. Only then will they be effective in his hands. This is true also for the Christian and the sword of the Spirit. Jesus was expert in the use of the word of God. He had just the right word for each occasion. If we are to be trained in the use of the Bible there is no escape from diligent study, reading and meditation in the Bible. It is as we do this that the word of God will be stored up in our minds and in our hearts, and at the moment of need the Spirit of God will bring to our mind the word that will be that by which we can resist the devil, and stand against his assaults.

The word of God is a weapon in another way. Satan has the most hold on us when he can excite our natural weaknesses, and when we are living more in the world than in Christ. It is by the word of God that we draw near to Jesus, and Jesus speaks to us. It is by the word of God that we learn how much Jesus has and does love us, and learn to love him. The more we live in the Bible the more we will love the things of Christ, and the less place will be given to the world, and the love of the world. When this happens the devil has less in us that he can use to tempt us and cause us to fall. The more we live close to Christ, when temptation comes the less will the attraction of the temptation grip us. The greatest power against the desires of the flesh is the greater desires for Christ’s love. The more we know of the greatness of Christ’s love and the wonder and greatness of his work for us, the greater will we love him and be won by him, and so Satan’s insinuations will be found distasteful, and the more we will resist them in case we sin against the love of Christ.