The Nugget:
Mat 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:
To stay alive spiritually we must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Those words are found only in the Bible. Our Lord Jesus Christ expects us to regularly read and study the written word of God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 as recorded in Matthew 4:4 in response to the Tempter or Satan (Matthew 4:3) who challenged Jesus when Jesus was very hungry after fasting for forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2), saying:
Mat 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Notice that Satan said, “If thou be the Son of God.” The underlying Greek text uses what is called the First Class Condition of “if,” which assumes the condition to be true. By the use of “if,” Satan was not calling into question whether in fact Jesus is the Son of God; rather, he assumes this to be true.
Greek has four different kinds or classes of the word “if.” I have marked these as carefully as I could in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury in a note at Matthew 4:9. The different classes of “if” represent different degrees of “ifyness.” Most interesting to me is the class which means contrary to fact or impossible.
Notice that Jesus answered the Devil by citing Scripture to refute him. This ought to be a lesson to us on how important it is to know the Scriptures. Remember how James wrote that we are to resist the Devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7).
There is still more truth to glean from Matthew 4:4. There are two commonly used Greek words, logos and rhema translated by the same English word word. Understanding the important difference between these two Greek words opens up a whole new world of understanding, especially when reading Hebrews chapter 11, starting with the use of rhema at Hebrews 11:3.
Many thanks are due to Ken Sagely for allowing me to share his encouraging Facebook post.
From Ken Sagely’s Facebook Post:
THE INFALLIBLE WORD IS ESSENTIAL !!
doth man live.
and then thou shalt have good success.
more than my necessary food.
that I might not sin against Thee.
hear the Word of the Lord,
nor the power of God.
that ye may grow thereby.
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION
said—-To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled.
For Deeper Study:
Matthew 4:4
It is written. The appeal is not to the spoken voice (Mat 3:17) but to the written Word (CB). T1034, Mat 4:6, 7; Mat 4:10, **Mat 22:29, +*Psa 119:11, Mar 12:10, Luk 4:4; Luk 4:8; Luk 4:12, Joh 7:42; Joh 17:8; Joh 17:14; Joh 17:17, +*Rom 15:4, *Eph 6:17, Heb 10:7, 8.
Man. Mat 6:25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34. *>Deut 8:3, Luk 4:4, Joh 4:31, 32, 33, 34; Joh 6:49, 50, 51.
not live. Isa 38:16, Dan 1:15.
bread. FS171, +Gen 3:19. Mat 4:3, Mat 6:11; Mat 6:31; +*Mat 24:45, Gen 42:2, 1Ki 17:4.
but. Mat 14:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, Exo 16:8; Exo 16:15; Exo 16:35; Exo 23:15, 1Ki 17:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 2Ki 4:42, 43, 44; 2Ki 7:1, 2, Hag 2:16, 17, 18, 19, Mal 3:9, 10, 11, Mar 6:38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44; Mar 8:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Joh 6:5, etc., Joh 6:31, etc., Joh 6:63.
by. T1047, Deut 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# G4487, Mar 9:32 note). (Mat 5:11). Mat 12:36; Mat 18:16; Mat 26:75; Mat 27:14, +Mar 9:32 note. Mar 14:72, (Luk 1:37), Luk 1:65; Luk 2:15 (thing), Luk 2:17; Luk 2:19 (things), Luk 2:29; Luk 2:50, 51; Luk 3:2; Luk 5:5; Luk 7:1; Luk 9:45; Luk 18:34; Luk 20:26; Luk 24:8; Luk 24:11, Joh 3:34; Joh 5:47; Joh 6:63; Joh 6:68; Joh 8:20; Joh 8:47; Joh 10:21; Joh 12:47, 48; Joh 14:10; Joh 15:7; Joh 17:8, Act 2:14; Act 5:20; Act 5:32 (things). Act 6:11; Act 6:13, Act 10:22; Act 10:37; Act 10:44; Act 11:14; Act 11:16; Act 13:42; Act 16:38; Act 26:25; Act 28:25, Rom 10:8; Rom 10:17, 18, 2Co 12:4; 2Co 13:1, Eph 5:26; Eph 6:17, Heb 1:3; Heb 6:5; **Heb 11:3 note; Heb 12:19 a. 1Pe 1:25, 2Pe 3:2, Jud 1:17, Rev 17:17.
of God. Deut 32:47, +*Jos 1:8, =1Sa 21:9, +*Job 23:12, *Psa 17:4; **Psa 119:11, Isa 38:16, +*Jer 15:16, +*Joh 5:39; *Joh 6:63, 1Co 3:15, *Eph 6:17, **Heb 4:12, 1Pe 4:18, Rev 19:15.