“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” (Matthew 4:4).

Matthew 4:4 records Christ’s answer to Satan’s first effort at tempting Him in the wilderness. In all three of the temptations, the Lord responded to Satan simply by quoting a relevant verse of Scripture, giving to us His own example as the best possible instruction on how to deal with temptation in our own lives. Thus, He gained victory over the wicked one by the same ability available to His creatures—that of knowing, and believing, and applying the Scriptures.

In the process, He also indirectly confirmed the doctrine of the Bible’s verbal inspiration and its resultant inerrant authority. The affirmation, “It is written,” is in the perfect tense, carrying the thought, “It stands written, once and for all, and that settles it!” The verse quoted by the Lord here was from Deuteronomy 8:3, where the daily, life-giving manna from heaven was compared to one’s daily need of the words of God. The emphasis is on every word. It is not just the thoughts or concepts of the Bible that are important, it is the very words! “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable . . .” (II Timothy 3:16). The Scriptures (that is the “writings,” the words actually written down) are “God-breathed” and, therefore, profitable for our lives.

The Lord Jesus had such a high regard for the integrity and authority of the Old Testament that He actually quoted from it no less than 39 times in Matthew’s gospel alone. This is, among other things, an indictment of those who either reject the unique inspiration and authority of the Old Testament or who, while professing to believe it, practically ignore it, thinking it has little relevance in the Christian dispensation. More important even than our daily bread, therefore, is a daily word from God through the Holy Scriptures. HMM