Reimar A. C. Schultze
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Luke 4:4).
When Jesus spoke these words, He first said: It is written. In each case Jesus met the word of the devil with God’s Word. Over and over, our Lord went back to the Scriptures which He had committed to memory in His youth. Jesus had learned the Scriptures, lived by the Scriptures, fulfilled the Scriptures and conquered by the Scriptures. They sustained His spirit and He used them to drive back the enemy. The Scriptures were His bread and sword.
By the time Jesus was twelve, He knew the Scriptures so well that He confounded the doctors, the scribes, the lawyers and the Pharisees. Jesus inhaled the Word, and He exhaled prayer. This is the way He lived until He returned to His Father. Because of His devotion, Jesus knew what He could and could not ask of His Father. He knew what to speak in comfort and in defense. He knew how men ought and ought not to live. He knew how to discern between good and evil. He knew how to converse with the adulterous, the soldiers, the fishermen, the rich, the poor, the dedicated, the careless and His enemies when He was on the cross. Because Jesus lived by It is written, He still lives on today! When you live by God’s Word above your word, you will also triumph.
The devil wants you to live by your word and not by God’s Word. It is man’s word—the word of the natural man or the carnal man that alienates and separates you from God—that the devil wants you to live by. The following are some of man’s words that often exalt themselves above God’s Word:
1. “Nobody loves me.”
Many Christians will often say or think: “Nobody loves me.” This is a lie of the devil and not part of It is written. When Christians say this, it is like sticking a two-edged dagger into God’s heart. Consider the violence, the wickedness, the meanness of these words: “Nobody loves me,” especially when they come from the lips of men who profess to know Christ. Is God a nobody? He is the Creator of day and night, flowers and trees, the ostrich and the greyhound. He giveth men breath and sight and causes the grass to grow and the flowers to bloom as He waters the crops so that you may have food on your table. He keeps the earth in its orbit so that you are not burned up or frozen to death. Jesus told Nicodemus: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
How can this statement, “Nobody loves me,” stand in the courts of eternal justice? God’s love is an attribute of God’s heart, and you are the object of His love because you are created in His image whether you are redeemed or depraved. Do not live by your feelings or opinions, but by that which is written in God’s Word. Furthermore, it is not only that God loves you, but all saints also love you. Saints are the sanctified people and all sanctified people love everyone: ...the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Rom. 5:5). For you to say, “Nobody loves me,” is to speak of ignorance, carelessness, defiance or self-pity. As you live by God’s Word, you shall live forever. If you live by the lies of the devil, you shall perish. You may live in a home full of strife and you may never have heard a kind word from anyone all your life, yet, the truth is that you are loved.
2. “I cannot make it!”
When you say: “I cannot make it,” you are believing a lie from the devil. Remember what God has written: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13); ...all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23); No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper... (Isa. 54:17). As you live by God’s Word, you will not become bitten by fiery serpents and become infected with the venom of unbelief. Should you put your word above God’s Word? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar... (Rom. 3:4).
What is this whimsical and whining spirit that moans and groans under the burden of unbelief and complains about the hardness of the journey, the scarcity of the water of life, the dryness of the bread from heaven, the dimness of the pillar of fire, the barrenness of the grace of God, the shortness of the arm of God, the deafness of the ear of God and the absence of God’s presence? This complaining, whimsical, whining spirit twists God’s Word to its own destruction and says: “His yoke is hard, and his burden is heavy.” This same carnal spirit complained of the lack of leeks, onions and garlic in the wilderness (Num. 11:5). This same spirit rose up against God and Moses and asked, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? (Num. 21:5).
You can become justified, no matter how unjust you have been. You can be cleansed, no matter how unclean you have been. You can be sanctified, no matter how often you have failed. You can be the instrument of His love in all situations of life, no matter how much resentment you have had. You can have life with no hurt feelings—the life of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. You can become disciplined, even though you have been undisciplined all your life because It is written that you can. Everything that God wills for you to become is possible for you in your life.
Dear ones, keep persevering in your faith by laying ...aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares... you (Heb. 12:1). Because if you entirely follow God’s instructions, you will not lack what God has promised. Please remember to be careful what you say because there is power in what you say: ...just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you (Num. 14:28).
3. “If others would just...”
Many say: “If others would just live up to what they profess, I could make it.” The question is not, “How do others live?” The question is not, “Do those who profess the most, live it?” The question is not regarding lack of quality of those about you. But you must ask yourself this question: “Do I believe in Him?” He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). There is no requirement here about what others are or are not measuring up to—the only requirement is that you believe in Christ. It is written: “Look and Live” (Num. 21:8-9; John 3:14-15). Look at Jesus Christ and believe in Him! It is Christ, Christ, Christ forever!
Surround yourself and saturate yourself with Christ. It does not matter what others are doing or are not doing. Believe in Jesus Christ and rivers of living water shall flow from within you and shall quench the thirst of every hungry heart you meet because It is written. The spirit of blaming others for your predicaments is of the devil and you may have heard someone say: “I am not going back to that church as long as so and so is there.” Judas was even among Jesus’ disciples, yet no disciple left Jesus because of Judas. They all simply kept their eyes upon Jesus Christ.
4. “If God really loved me, this would not have happened.”
Do not blame God or others for your troubles or your destitute state. That was one of the first sins of fallen man, they blamed others for their troubles. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. All those who blame God or others are being deceived just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. On Judgment Day, nobody will be able to blame others for their own failures and shortcomings. God will not allow you to use that excuse. Do not succumb to temptation and then blame God. May the Lord be able to help you to live by that which is written, not by what you think, what others think or say about you, nor by your feelings.
You just need to become acquainted with what is written. Nobody has ever been exhorted to live by the comments of others. How many of you are living by the comments of others? Their comments are like bitter herbs and they deprive you of the sweet coriander seed of heaven (Ex. 16:31). If your life is regulated by the comments of others rather than by God’s Word, your life will be like a roller coaster with many ups and downs. It is not written, “Live by the comments of others,” but It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). God loves you and He wants to give you the victory. Memorize God’s Word and you will have strength for all the battles that God will send your way.
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word... of God. Those who live by His Word are the victorious ones. So live by God’s Word everyday from now on, and you shall live with Christ forever.
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