God bless you and greetings in the name of Jesus Christ who when tempted responded with it is written (Luke 4:4).
I finished teaching a zoom class entitled, Making Your Bible Your Constant Companion on August 1st. It was five sessions on Making Your Bible Your Friend, Developing a Love for God’s Word, God’s Blueprint for Intimacy, Meditation, and I Will Not Forget. They are available on YouTube if you are interested. I also have written notes available upon request. It was refreshing to get back to live personal teaching, although I do so enjoy communicating in these written emails, too. I’m looking forward to the get opportunity to get back on Zoom sometime soon.
If I were to add a sixth session to that class, it would be this one, Not by Bread Alone. Jesus in his typical manner unsheathes the sword of the spirit declaring, “It is Written! Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” He used this rhēma of God to back down the devil during his first temptation. He continued handing each temptation by declaring an appropriate spoken word of God in an “It Is Written” fashion. Jesus had just spent forty days without food and did not deny that some food would be real good at that very moment. However, he was making a profound statement that echoes through the years as it reaches into our day and time with his sword of the spirit.
We eat “bread” or natural food because that’s what our body needs to maintain strength and health. Jesus was not denying that truth. He was just elevating a greater spiritual truth that as much as our body needs food every day, our spirit needs the Word of God every day for our spiritual health and well-being.
The phrase, “by every word” is epi panti rhēmati in Greek. It occurs only in Mattew 4:4 and in Luke 4:4. The word “by” is the Greek word epi, which means on. The word “every” is the Greek word panti, and it means every. It is a compound of two words: pas, which means all, and the word ti, which denotes the smallest, most miniscule detail. Hence, it refers to every little piece. The word “word” is the Greek word rhēmati and it is plural for the word rhēma. It depicts living words; words brought to life by being spoken. Just as people use bread to sustain their natural life, they must use spoken words of God to sustain their spiritual life.
Jesus is painting a beautiful picture for us, a picture of a life feeding on the multiple courses of rhēma, spoken, living words coming toward it from the mouth of God. A life that consumes all of it, every little piece down to the smallest detail. Clearly then we are to take every word of Scripture into our hearts and souls and feed on it. Every little nuance of the Word of God has power in it and brings nourishment to our lives.
Just as the natural man must have physical food to survive and thrive, so the spiritual man must have God’s living Word as his daily sustenance. If we want to live with God’s abundance and thrive, it is essential that we live “on” the Word of God if we want to spiritually flourish. We mustn’t ignore or neglect our spiritual need for God’s Word. To do so is the equivalent of denying our bodies the food that they need to grow, develop, and prosper in health.
Only as we are Bible fed will we be spirit led! Jeremiah knew how to nourish himself.
Jeremiah 15:16:
Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
All scripture is God breathed. It’s the very life of God. So, squeeze the life of God from every promise. Meditate on it until the power of God and the revelation of that promise become a reality. God will show us wonderful things when we give our time and interest to His Word. When God’s Word is in our hearts it will issue in our lives (Proverbs 4:23) that why we hid it there (Psalms 119:11).