Blessed be the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Welcome, beloved, as we study the Word of our God together.
If you are a faithful reader of the Bible, you are familiar with the three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. What is striking is that the devil did not tempt the Lord with witchcraft, sickness, or his own words, but rather he used the very Scriptures to tempt Him.
This shows us something profound: the greatest battlefield of Satan against the believer is not necessarily in sorcery or witchdoctors, as many imagine, but in the Word of God itself. Satan exerts his power to make you misunderstand or misapply the Word, for once that happens, he has already defeated you. If our Lord Jesus had not truly known the Word of God, He could never have resisted Satan. But because He was the Word made flesh (John 1:14), the enemy could not overcome Him.
Many Christians miss the mark here. They believe their greatest enemy is the witchdoctor or the sorcerer, and so they spend their prayer life fighting human agents, forgetting that the most powerful weapon Satan fears is the Word of God—the sword of the Spirit:
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
—Ephesians 6:17
If a believer does not have the Word of God dwelling richly in their heart, they are already vulnerable to deception, even if they pray passionately every day. Paul warned the Galatians:
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.”
—Galatians 3:1
How Jesus Defeated Satan in the Wilderness
Let us briefly look at how the Lord answered Satan, for in this lies an important lesson.
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
—Matthew 4:1–4
Notice carefully: the devil quoted Scripture when tempting Jesus. For instance, when he said, “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone,” he was quoting Psalm 91:12.
But Satan twisted the context. The Word of God, when misapplied or taken out of its rightful setting, can become dangerous—even deadly. This is why Paul instructed Timothy:
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
—2 Timothy 2:15
Examples of Misusing Scripture Today
Sadly, this same strategy continues today. Some misuse Scriptures meant for married couples—like 1 Peter 3:7 or 1 Corinthians 7:5—to justify sinful relationships outside marriage. This is nothing but twisting the Word, just as the devil did in the wilderness.
The lesson? We must know the Word in its proper context. Otherwise, Satan will use half-truths to lead us into destruction.
Learning to Rightly Divide the Word
Therefore, beloved, the greatest defense of a believer is not to spend energy hunting for who is a witch in your family, but rather to diligently study the Scriptures. When you face trials, ask: What does the Bible say about this situation? Did anyone in Scripture face a similar test? How did God deliver them?
Do not rely only on sermons you hear online or teachings from famous preachers. Those may help, but your foundation must be personal study of the Word. Otherwise, you will remain unstable, “tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching” (Ephesians 4:14).
Remember the warning of the prophet Hosea:
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”
—Hosea 4:6
To walk in victory, you must open the Bible yourself. That is the first sign that you have truly begun the journey of knowing God.
May the Lord bless you richly as you learn to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Share this teaching with others, and let the Word of God dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16).