Jesus' victory over Satan in the wilderness
(Matthew 4) must be seen in the broader context of His work of
salvation. This was more than just a personal victory - a victory for
Jesus. It was a victory for us. Jesus won the victory for us. He walked
in the way of victory so that we might live in the power of His victory.
After Jesus had won the victory over Satan, He called His disciples to
Him - "Come, follow Me!" - and He sent them out from Him, empowered by
Him, to be witnesses for Him - "fishers
of men" (Matthew 4:19). His victory was more than a victory for His
first disciples. It was a victory for all would become believers through
their witness. This includes all of us, since each one of us has come
to faith in Christ through the testimony of His apostles. When Jesus
sent them out, He did more than send them. He showed them what they were
to do (Matthew 4:23-25).
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
Comments
Post a Comment