The Bible tells us in (Ephesians 6:12): “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” While we live in physical bodies our real battles in life are not against one another but against supernatural spiritual forces – and chief among them is Satan.
And it only stands to reason that in order to defeat supernatural enemies we need supernatural weaponry. Thankfully, God has left us a supremely powerful spiritual weapon – the Bible. We also see in (Ephesians 6:17), right in the middle of Paul describing the spiritual warfare we are in, that we are to take up: “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” My friends there is just no more powerful offensive weapon than the Bible.
And there is no better example in all of Scripture of how to wield this amazingly powerful weapon than what we read in (Matthew 4). Here we see Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. I love how J. C. Ryle describes this event: “The chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three times his offer was refused, with a text of Scripture as the reason, ‘it is written’ (Mt. 4:4, 7, 10).”1
You can read the entire temptation account below: (Matthew 4:1-11)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Notice Jesus uses the phrase: “it is written” in verses 4, 7, and 10 to let Satan know that Scripture is the sole source of truth on all matters and that when we follow the Word of God we not only please the Lord but we send Satan packing, for he is no match for the anointed truth of the Bible. Scripture is our most powerful weapon to defeat Satan – period. Notice after three tries Satan had to flee (verse 11).
So, the next time you are confronted with evil and the lies of the enemy remember that we are to assault error and lies with the truth. (Proverbs 12:19 TLB) says it well: “Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed.”
1 The chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three times his offer was refused, with a text of Scripture as the reason, “it is written” (Mt. 3:4, 7, 10). – Grace Quotes