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In His earthly ministry the victorious Christ defeated the devil and destroyed his works (Matt. 4:1-11; 1 John 3:8):
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For Him to accomplish His ministry for the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord Jesus had to defeat God's enemy, the devil, Satan (Matt. 4:1, 11):
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This He had to do as a man; hence, He stood as a man to confront the enemy of God (vv. 3-4, 6-7).
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The devil's temptation of the first man, Adam, was a success; his temptation of the second man, Christ, was an absolute failure (v. 11).
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In His ministry on earth, the Lord Jesus destroyed the works of the devil (1 John 3:8):
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In 1 John 3:8 the Greek word translated "destroy" may also be translated "undo," or "dissolve."
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For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might undo and destroy the sinful deeds of the devil, that is, condemn, through His death on the cross in the flesh, sin initiated by him, the evil one; destroy the power of sin, the sinful nature of the devil; and take away both sin and sins (Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:14; John 1:29).
Morning Nourishment
1 John 3:8 He who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.Heb. 2:14 Since therefore the children have shared in blood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil.
The newly anointed King fasted in His humanity, standing on the ground of a man [Matt. 4:1-11]. However, He was also the Son of God, as God the Father had declared at His baptism. For Him to accomplish His ministry for the kingdom of the heavens, He had to defeat God's enemy, the devil, Satan. This He must do as a man. Hence, He stood as a man to confront the enemy of God. The devil, knowing this, tempted Him to leave the standing of man and assume His position as the Son of God. Forty days before, God the Father declared from the heavens that He was the beloved Son of the Father. The subtle tempter took that declaration of God the Father as the ground to tempt Him. If He assumed His position as the Son of God before the enemy, He would have lost the standing to defeat him. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 139)
Today's Reading
Matthew 4:4 says, "...It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.'" The tempter tempted the new King to take His position as the Son of God. But He answered with the word of the Scriptures, "Man," indicating that He stood in the position of man to deal with the enemy. The demons addressed Jesus as the Son of God (8:29), but the evil spirits did not confess that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:3), because by confessing Jesus as a man, they would be defeated. Although the demons confess Jesus as the Son of God, the devil does not want people to believe that He is the Son of God, because in so doing they will be saved (John 20:31). The word "man" spoken by the Lord Jesus to the tempter was a killing word.In Matthew 4:10 the Lord Jesus said, "Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.'" Satan in Greek means "adversary." He is not only God's enemy outside God's kingdom, but also the adversary within God's kingdom, rebelling against God. The new King rebuked the devil's presentation and defeated him by standing on the ground of man to worship and serve God only. To worship or to serve anything other than God for gain is always the devil's temptation to secure worship. The Lord seemed to be saying to Satan, "Satan, as a man, I, Jesus, worship God and serve Him only. You are God's enemy, and I will never worship you. I don't care for the glory of the world or for the kingdoms of the world. Satan, get away from Me!"
Verse 11 says, "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." The devil's temptation of the first man, Adam, was a success; his temptation of the second man, Christ, was an absolute failure. This indicates that he will have no place in the new King's kingdom of the heavens. After the Lord Jesus defeated Satan, angels came and ministered to the tempted King as a suffering man (cf. Luke 22:43). (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 139-140, 146-147)
First John 3:8 reveals that as He ministered on earth the Lord Jesus was undoing the works of the devil: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." The Greek word rendered "destroy" may also be translated "undo, loose, dissolve." Also, the Greek word translated "for this" literally means "unto this," that is, to this end, for this purpose. The devil sins continually from ancient times and begets sinners to practice sin with him. Hence, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might undo and destroy the devil's sinful deeds—that is, condemn, through death on the cross in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), sin initiated by him, the evil one; destroy the power of sin, the sinful nature of the devil (Heb. 2:14); and take away both sin and sins. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 746-747)
Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 11