Jesus answered him!
Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.
I want you to notice that Jesus answered the devil. For us, when a temptation comes, it usually comes to our mind. When those thoughts come, you and I must learn to answer them. That is best done, when possible, by just opening your mouth and saying what the Word of God says about the situation or the thought the devil just brought to you. Jesus answered things. One of His most famous responses was when He answered the fig tree. Mark 11:14 says, “And Jesus answered and said unto it, no man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever, and His disciples heard it.” He talked to fevers. In Luke 4:39, He rebuked a fever by speaking to it. He answered it. Jesus also answered a storm by talking to the wind. In Mark 4:39, He said, “Peace be still.” We all know what He did after He spoke to the fig tree. He taught the disciples and us that if we have faith in God, we can speak to mountains, to situations, to obstacles, and to problems the devil and life brings. So many times, people want to just talk to God about their problems, about what the devil is doing; but if we will follow Jesus’ example, like we are supposed to, we, too, will answer things.
In our scripture, we see the devil tempting Jesus. I just picked one of the three attempts that the devil came with to tempt Jesus. The temptation was very real to the one who would one day turn water into wine and multiply the bread and the fish. The devil, who is talking to the flesh of Jesus, Who had just been without food for forty days, told Him to turn the stones into bread. I believe Jesus could have, but Jesus did not need to do that to prove to the devil He was the Son of God, and neither do we. The Lord answered the devil. He gave the devil an, “It is written.” You have to know what is written so you can tell the devil, “It is written.” You will find out later, as you read about the last of these three temptations, that the devil will misuse the Word of God on people who don’t know the Word. We must know what is written, and we must know how to correctly apply what is written. We must know and believe this Word for ourselves. It is not enough to know about the Word and maybe know what it means. Just ask the Seven Sons of Sceva. Remember, they went to cast out a demon and spoke to it to come out, and the demon answered them, “Jesus I know, Paul I know, but who are you?” When you answer the devil and all the circumstances and problems he brings, be ready to say, “It is written.” Say it with all your heart. Say it by revelation and watch the devil depart!