“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
The great proof of faith is not one’s profession, but one’s literal obedience to God according to His word. Why? If we should go back before the day when a person would truly come to Christ, we would be looking at an individual absolutely incapable of living and walking according to the truth revealed or seen in Christ. This is so because the Holy Spirit has not yet come to dwell in the heart of the lost soul. There is not only the absence of strength, purpose, and constraint to obey Christ, there is also the lack of freedom from sin, Satan, and the world to do so. The hold, or slavery to sin and Satan, is such that the truth becomes a very burdensome, heavy thing, for instead of being the means to live in liberty and freedom, it becomes a testament, a witness against us of our lost condition. And yet, the words of Christ ring out so powerfully every minute of every day, “If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (Jn. 8:31,32) What then are we to do? On the one hand, the eternal God speaks His words of life and power, revealing to us the knowledge of the absolute truth as it is in Christ, and yet, we are helpless to obey and follow Christ. The answer to the need of man is singular, and very effective. It is Christ alone, singular as the object of faith and trust, magnificent in His absolute faithfulness and grace. He stands unique among men because He is the unique Son of the Father, the first born of creation, the Beginning and the Ending. Above all this as it pertains to man, He is uniquely the only one who can be approached for salvation and deliverance, the only who can speak life into the dead, power into strengthless souls, being the Hope of the world, and the certain Savior of all men, in particular those who will turn to Him alone. To the one who thirsts after God, hears and responds to the call of God to his heart, power is given to repent, turn from all that he trusts in, to cling to Christ alone. Then the miracle occurs, for God by the Spirit breaks the power of sin’s dominating power. He sets the captive free from his chains to sin and death, to rise up, go forth, and follow Christ. It is in the soul’s initial response to the word of God that God meets the needs of the heart. It is in that moment that the soul, by choosing to obey Christ in the surrender of himself to God, that he begins a race, a walk, a communion, and service to God, that will result in the glory of God revealing itself more and more in the life. It is as the believer chooses to obey, that he becomes daily a receiver of the grace and power of God. It is in DOING, BEING, that the testimony of Christ is manifested. The believer becomes like the Savior and Lord that he loves and serves. Not only is the reality of God in Christ revealed in his life by the “truth” that he embraces and obeys, but the Life of Christ is revealed by the Spirit in an ever-increasing measure. Simply put, an essential key to knowing God, proving Him, seeing Him work, is the act of obeying God’s every word.
When Satan confronted Christ in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry, his objective was clearly to turn Christ aside from obeying fully the Father by not obeying the truth at one point. It was in Jesus’ direct confrontation with Satan, that He clearly revealed that Life was to be lived by every God-breathed word, for at that point God’s power would be faithfully, abundantly given.
Dear Father, Teach us Thy word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.