You Cannot Live On Bread Alone

by Paul Tautges | April 3, 2019 6:35 am

[Jesus] answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

The Bible is the living word of the living God. Therefore, you cannot live without it. If you try then your soul will shrivel up and die. It’s been that way from the beginning.

God brought the universe into existence by the power of his spoken word (Hebrews 11:3). Then, after forming the first man and woman out of the dust of the earth, God breathed his life into them, and they became living souls. Souls who could not live without God. Designed that way.

Nonetheless, tempted by the devil, they tried to live apart from the Creator’s sacred oversight. Neglecting God’s words, they lost sight of him. And the death spiral began. They became afraid. So they ran and hid themselves (Genesis 3:1-11).

But the Lord of grace pursued them. Immediately, he provided a sacrifice to cover their shame. He restored their relationship to him, so they could again walk with him—in his presence—by faith, and according to his word.

And so it must be for you and me.

We come to know the Lord through the saving knowledge of the gospel. We embrace Jesus as our sin-bearing Savior, and begin a new life, as new creations, under God’s sacred oversight (2 Corinthians 5:17). Still, however, we are tempted to live without his words.

But we cannot.

This is what the Son of God says…to the devil.

Again, the same devil tempts a man to ignore the word of God. But this time it’s not just any man; it’s the Second Adam from above. Jesus responds to the temptation by throwing Scripture back at Satan. “It is written,” he says, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” First directed at Satan, these words are meant for all of us—even you.

Your physical body might be able to survive on physical food alone. Your brain will continue to function, your heart will keep pumping blood. But you won’t really be alive. Alive unto God, that is. Your soul cannot really live without spiritual bread, without “every word that comes from the mouth of God.” If you haven’t realized this yet, you must. Your spirit cannot thrive without Scripture. It is the soul-satisfying food your heart should delight in (Psalm 119:16, 77).

My friend, I don’t want you to merely survive your time of suffering. I want you to thrive.

(Full disclosure: One of my goals for this blog is to get you into the Bible daily. Is it working?)

Source URL: https://counselingoneanother.com/2019/04/03/you-cannot-live-on-bread-alone/