Daily Bible Nugget #238, Matthew 4:4

The Nugget:

Matthew 4:4 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.

My Comment:

The Scriptures should be used against our spiritual enemies (The New Topical Textbook, Topic “The Scriptures,” page 240). During His temptation in the wilderness Christ used Scripture to answer the challenges and temptations of Satan. He quoted the Bible from the book of Deuteronomy. To be able to use the Bible in this way, following the example of Jesus, it would seem we must know the Bible well enough to quote it. I would suppose that the idea of using the Bible to answer our spiritual enemies is a rather strange notion to many Christians. Engaging in debate or argument or refutation of spiritual or doctrinal error in defense of spiritual truth or the Bible is probably distasteful to many Christians. But I suggest that the times we live in may get worse rather than better, so the best time to prepare for future contingencies is now (Proverbs 22:3). To be better prepared against the wiles of the devil, we need to put on the whole armor of God. A major part of that armor is prayer. But we also need the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, the Bible. May God grant that you become better prepared for spiritual warfare by learning how to better use the sword of the Spirit. Jesus was prepared. You can be too, with His help, as found in His written word in the Bible.

For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:

(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1017 for Matthew 4:4.

(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 1036 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Matthew 4:4.

(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:

Matthew 4:4. It is written. The appeal is not to the spoken voice (Mt 3:17) but to the written Word (CB). T#1034. ver. Mt 4:6, 7, 10. **Mt 22:29. +*Ps 119:11. Mk 12:10. Lk 4:4, 8, 12. Jn 7:42. 17:8, 14, 17. +*Ro 15:4. *Ep 6:17. He 10:7, 8. Man. Mt 6:25-34. *>Dt 8:3. Lk 4:4. Jn 4:31-34. 6:49-51. not live. Is 38:16. Da 1:15. bread. FS171, +Ge 3:19. ver. Mt 4:3. Mt 6:11, 31. +*Mt 24:45. Ge 42:2. 1 K 17:4. but. Mt 14:16-21. Ex 16:8, 15, 35. 23:15. 1 K 17:12-16. 2 K 4:42-44. 7:1, 2. Hg 2:16-19. Ml 3:9-11. Mk 6:38-44. 8:4-9. Jn 6:5, etc., Jn 6:31, etc., Jn 6:63. by. T#1047. Dt 8:3. Note: That is, as Dr. Campbell renders, “by every thing which God is pleased to appoint;” for rama, which generally signifies a word, is, by a Hebraism, here taken for a thing, like davar, in Hebrew. every word. Gr. rhēma (S#4487g, Mk 9:32n). Mt (Mt 5:11). Mt 12:36. 18:16. 26:75. 27:14. +Mk 9:32n. 14:72. Lk (Lk 1:37), Lk 1:65. 2:15 (thing), Lk 2:17, 19 (things), Lk 2:29, 50, 51. 3:2. 5:5. 7:1. 9:45. 18:34. 20:26. 24:8, 11. Jn 3:34. 5:47. 6:63, 68. 8:20, 47. 10:21. 12:47, 48. 14:10. 15:7. 17:8. Ac 2:14. 5:20, 32 (things). Ac 6:11, 13. Ac 10:22, 37, 44. 11:14, 16. 13:42. 16:38. 26:25. 28:25. Ro 10:8, 17, 18. 2 Cor 12:4. 13:1. Ep 5:26. 6:17. He 1:3. 6:5. 11:3. 12:19a. 1 P 1:25. 2 P 3:2. Jude 1:17. Re 17:17. of God. Dt 32:47. +*Jsh 1:8. =1 S 21:9. +*Jb 23:12. *Ps 17:4. **Ps 119:11. Is 38:16. +*Je 15:16. +*Jn 5:39. *Jn 6:63. 1 Cor 3:15. *Ep 6:17. **He 4:12. 1 P 4:18. Re 19:15.