Put a marker in Matthew 4 and turn with me to 2 Peter 1. One of the things I’ve encountered over the years is that many Christians believe they can take the Bible, read the Bible, and then say that “This is what this verse means to me.”
When you take that approach with the Bible, you might as well put God on a shelf and say “You’re not involved.”
The only way we’re going to come to an understanding of what this book is all about is understanding what we’re about to read in 2 Peter 1.
(20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
God really drives that point home with the word “no.” It’s the Greek word OU. It means “absolutely not,” “no possible way,” “no exceptions.” So here in Peter, it says that knowing this first, that no prophecy – and don’t take the word to mean something like “Thus saith the Lord.” It’s talking about the Bible that we hold in our hands.
The verse is telling each of us that we cannot read the Bible and then say “This is what it means to me.” Tabitha can say well, this is what this verse means to me. Stephen can say, well I see this verse this way. Ladies and gentlemen, the verse means what it means and God drives this point home with verse 21.
(21) For the prophecy came not – that word “not” is also OU – in the old time by the will of man:
[In other words, men didn’t just sit down and decide to write the Bible. So many folks in the Body of Christ believe that there are 66 books and all of them were written by men. Ladies and gentlemen, say this with me: “Man had nothing to do with writing the Bible,” and we see it in the next clause.]
“For the prophecy came not in the old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Holy men of God sat at the feet of the Teacher, the Holy Ghost, and took dictation.
When it comes to how we interpret this book, one of the things we’ve been taught over and over again is to never ever take a verse or passage out of context, out of its setting.
I wanted to mention all of this to you because there are so many times that we will read the Bible and we’ll see a word in the Bible and we think that we understand the meaning of that one singular word.
Over the past few weeks, the Lord has had me camping on some specific words. And one of those words we’re going to look at this morning is s the word IF.
When we see the word IF in a verse, and I’m limiting myself to the New Testament, as saying the same thing each time we see it. But there are two Greek word for the word IF. One is Ei (pronounced “eye”) and the other is Ean. Our focus this morning will be on Ei.
Ei “expresses a condition which is merely hypothetical and separate from all experience.” The person who is reading that hypothetical situation, and I’m going to use “hypothetical truth.” It’s really not a hypothetical truth. Let me explain.
Ei, in most cases, focuses our attention on truths that to us are “hypothetical” until we understand them, until we believe them and until we act on them. And the only way you can do it, ladies and gentlemen, is by faith. There is no other way for the “hypothetical truth” to become a reality in our lives but by faith.
Ei also identifies where we are in our obedience to God and where we are in our fellowship with God. Are you following me?
Whether or not we choose to act on the “hypothetical truth” does not negate the fact that it’s truth. Our response will either be one of faith or one of unbelief. I’m going to put it to you another way: Not acting on the “hypothetical truth” points to another truth – that there is a level of pride operating in us. By not acting, mentally we are saying “I don’t believe it or I don’t have to do it or It doesn’t apply to me.” Are you following me?
How many of you know that there are people in the Body of Christ who believe that the Old Testament doesn’t apply to them? That’s a big mistake ladies and gentlemen. A lot of what Jesus taught had its basis in the Old Testament. He used the Old Testament as a launching point to introduce the kingdom of God.
I want you see how Ei plays out in Matthew 6 but hold your place in Matthew 4. These are verses we’re very familiar with and we’re talking about it being a hypothetical truth until we understand it, believe it and then act on it in faith.
(14) For if [It’s the Greek word Ei and Ei is a word that means we must understand, believe and act on what we’re about to read. Are you following me?] For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Why is this a hypothetical truth? The only thing we have to go on is the fact that God said it. There is nothing in our lives that would indicate that is the case. Is that not true? The only way we can believe this verse is by faith because God said it. Are you following me? Then verse 15 says,
(15) But if (Again Ei) ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
How do we know this? This is what God says. There is nothing in this world that will help us understand that if we don’t forgive, God will not forgive us. Nothing. We have to take that statement by faith.
Again, what does IF communicate? It communicates our level of obedience and our level of fellowship with God. Now notice I used the word “fellowship” and not “relationship.” The relationship is we’re sons and we’re daughters. But there are degrees of fellowship. The more you agree with your Father, the more that you agree with His Word, the more intimate the fellowship. Are you following me?
Ladies and gentlemen, we can only know this because that is what the Bible says. But you wouldn’t know this by looking at the lives of the Body of Christ. Well, let me back up. I don’t want to paint everyone with such a broad brush. You wouldn’t know this by how most of the Body of Christ lives.
Why is our willingness to forgive so very important? What is it that a lack of forgiveness in our lives impacts? Remember how earlier I talked about context and how important it is in understanding a verse or passage?
Go back up to verse 5.
(5) And when thou prayest
(6) But thou, when thou prayest
(7) But when ye pray
(9) After this manner therefore pray ye
(12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
What is this telling us ladies and gentlemen? Your forgiving someone or not forgiving someone impacts God’s ability to answer your prayer. You cannot live in unforgiveness and expect God to leap over that unforgiveness and answer your prayer. It is not going to happen. Period. God is not going to tell you to forgive and then when you don’t, turn around and answer your prayer anyway. Nope.
If you are holding unforgiveness any where in your life, you need to get rid of it really quickly ladies and gentlemen. It is putting a big 200,000 pound slab of cement over your prayers. Do you see how important that one little word IF is? It indicates your willingness to obey God and the type of fellowship you with Him.
The first time ei is used in Matthew 4. When it comes to studying the Bible and understanding what scripture says, many times the first time a word is used sets its usage. Let’s begin with verse 1. The first word is “Then.” What happens for the “Then?” (My son said “Something else” and people started laughing.)
Let’s go back up to Matthew 3 and begin reading with verse 13.
(13) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
We see “then” again but this one is unrelated to what has been written prior to it.
(14) But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and cometh thou to me?
(15) And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it become the us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
What does it mean to “fulfill all righteousness?” In a nutshell, to fulfill all the righteousness of the law. Remember Jesus came to fulfill the law and all the righteousness of the law.
(16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heaves were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
(17) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whole I am well pleased.
What I want you to remember is “God spoke a word to Jesus.”
Now back to Matthew 4.
(1) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
What spirit led Jesus up to be tempted? The Holy Spirit.
The word “tempted” means to test, scrutinize, entice, discipline, examine or prove. I’m going to focus on scrutinize and examine. Now remember, the devil already knows who Jesus is. The temptation here is the devil tempting Jesus to find out if Jesus understands who He really is. He’s measuring Jesus, the man. He’s sizing Him up.
Just he did to Jesus, the devil is going to size you up. He’s going to measure you. He’s going to scrutinize you. He’s going to examine you – in the same way he did Jesus.
This word devil is diabolos. He is one who falsely accuses. In John 8;44 it says that he is a liar and the father of lies. This word diabolos also means to divide people without any reason.
How does he divide people? I have a one word answer: Emotions. Unfortunately, he is able to divide the Body of Christ with a lot of low hanging fruit. Politics is a low hanging fruit. Racism. That’s a low hanging fruit. Wage inequality. That’s a low hanging fruit. When people disagree over same sex marriage, that’s a low hanging fruit.
Let’s go a little higher up the tree. Denominations. It’s a low hanging fruit that is a little higher up the tree. The devil uses denominations to divide the Body of Christ. What did Jesus say? A house, in our case, a “body” divided against itself cannot stand. Cannot stand what? The attacks that come against it.
Let me ask the question this way: What is it that the devil wants to separate the Body of Christ from? The Bible. The Word. This is THE FRUIT he wants to separate us from. Everything else is low hanging fruit.
Everything else is a result of him already having separated us from God’s Word. Most of the Body Christ, when you listen to what they are saying, you know that they are living in rebellion and that they have no fellowship with their Father. None.
So we see that the devil wants to divide us through our emotions with low hanging fruit. And we are so accommodating.
(2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.
(3) And when the tempter came …
Mark it down, he is coming if he has not already arrived. He is coming. And remember when we talked about the word “tempted” and two of its defining words – scrutinize and examine, and then diabolos means to falsely accuse? In the past I’ve painted the picture of diabolos as been one who constantly drips false accusations about God and His Word until the person begins to believe them.
The tempter is coming to scrutinize and examine in your life? What is he looking for? He wants to find out if you are living by what is written in the Bible. And in those places where he finds out that you are not living by this book, he’s coming after you.
Satan’s purpose in his temptations is to find out how intimate our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son. Hold your finger her and go to 1 John 1. How do we develop our fellowship with our Father? We’re going to read verses 3 and 4.
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, [Who is John referring to? His fellowship and interactions with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.] that ye also may have fellowship with us: [You cannot have fellowship with someone if you are not in agreement with that person. Do you see this?] and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. [And why do we want to have fellowship with the Father and His Son?] And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full [Regardless of the circumstances. Regardless of the situation. That your joy may be full!]
Remember when I said the tempter wants to scrutinize and examine you? We see this in Genesis 3, verse one.
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
That is a scrutinizing question. “Do you know what God has said?” That is also an examining question. “Do you believe what God has said?”
For our purposes: “Did God really say (fill in the blank)?” “Did God really say that?” “Did God really say you shouldn’t commit adultery?” “Did God really say you should not steal?” “Did God really say the homosexual lifestyle is wrong?”
Do you know that there are Christians who believe that Jesus never addressed that issue? I’m serious. They believe Jesus never addressed the issue of homosexuality. I don’t know the exact chapter and verse, but I can tell you how Jesus addressed that issue.
Jesus said “Have you not heard that from the beginning He, God, made them male and female?” And the question He was answering from the Pharisees who had come to Him about whether or not a man can divorce his wife. So, when Jesus says male and female, Jesus is saying “Have you not heard from the beginning that He made them husband and wife?”
But there are so many in the Church living lives that are compromised that they don’t want to see it even when it’s presented to them in black and white.
We also know that it’s more than just knowing what God said. The bottom line is do you believe what God says? Do you believe what God says when people are telling you that you’re wrong? This is where the line is drawn in the sand. This where you find out how obedient you truly are and how intimate your fellowship with the Father and His Son really is.
Are you willing to stand in that place of agreeing with scripture when folks don’t agree with you?
We know that in Titus 1:2 it says that God cannot lie. In 1 John 1:5 it says that God is light and in Him is not darkness at all. But the one I want to read to you this morning is one of my favorites It’s in Numbers 23 and it’s the passage where Balaam’s has had his donkey handed to him and now sees things the way God sees things. (People laughed) Verse 19.
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Every time we read something in the Bible, we know without a shadow of a doubt that it is truth.
Verse three again. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If (Ei) thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Satan is approaching Jesus and saying “Hypothetically, if you are the Son of God, then turn these stones to bread.” “If you are the Son of God, okay, if that’s what you say, then prove it.”
Ladies and gentlemen, IF present a hypothetical truth that must be understood, believed, and acted upon before it becomes real to us.
What is the hypothetical truth here? Jesus is the Son of God as spoken to Him by His Father. Jesus understood, believed and acted upon the spoken word He received from His Father.
IF is a faith word ladies and gentlemen because you have to have faith that it is true. There will be nothing in this world that supports the truth that IF presents. IF is also a fellowship word, as we have seen.
Satan was trying to bait Jesus just like he baited Eve. He asked a question already knowing the answer. When it comes to tempting us, he wants to find out if we know who we truly are and the authority that we walk in.
Satan says to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, then I want you to turn these stones into bread.” So many times we focus on turning the stones into bread. That’s a result of the Word being spoken from a place of authority!
Our authority as sons and daughters of God are in the words that we speak when we believe what we say. It’s easy to parrot what the Word says. But, deep down inside of you where no one can see, where no one can scrutinize you, where no one can examine you, do you really believe what you are saying? Do you?
This is what Satan is asking Jesus with the word IF. “I know you say you’re the Son of God. And you may even believe that you are the Son of God. But Jesus, I’m from Missouri. You have to show me.”
In that one little word, Jesus had the opportunity to disobey God by trying to prove something that He already knows is true. Ladies and gentlemen, God doesn’t ask you to prove to anyone who you are. He asks us to prove it by simply loving people and showing them who He is.
We have to get to the point that there is nothing anyone can say to convince us that what the Bible says is not true. But Bro. Barry, you are not seeing it in your life. God’s Word is still true. The Word is not the issue. Barry is the issue.The Word has put in place a standard that Barry has yet to achieve.
Often we get discouraged because we know what the Word says and we’re not doing because our faith is at a point that’s lower than the faith the Word requires. It’s simply a matter of our need to increase our faith to reach the standard our Father has set for us in His Word.
And we say to ourselves God it’s taking so long for me to reach the faith we need to achieve what the Word says. Ladies and gentlemen, at least you’re going in that direction. There are so many in the Body of Christ who are not going in that direction.
Verse 3 again. “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
(4) 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.
Jesus says man’s sustenance, man’s life, comes from the Bible. Our sustenance, our life, comes from the Bible.
This the first time that the word IF, the hypothetical truth is mentioned.
Our response to the written Word will determine whether or not it becomes a reality for us. If we respond in faith, at some point, that word will become a reality for us. If we are responding with pride, unbelief, then that word will never be a reality for us.
Look at 1 John 4:11. This is one of those verses, ladies and gentlemen, that the Body of Christ will say “Yes, I’m doing this and they’re lying.” “Beloved, IF God so loved us, [the Bible says] we ought also to love one another.”
That word “ought” means “we are obligated to love one another.” Do you hear me? We are obligated to love one another. So when you hear folks saying negative things about the President or Nancy Pelosis or anyone like that, they are not fulfilling that verse. When the Bible says we ought to love one another, that we are obligated to love one another, that means we have no choice.
So the next time that a thought comes into your mind about politics or cultural situations that are not in agreement with the Bible, kill it up here (I pointed to my head, my mind.). Don’t give it life by speaking it because once you put it out there you cannot get it back. Don’t let it come out of your mouth.
We are to love one another. How do we demonstrate our love for the president, for Nancy Pelosi, etc? We pray for them. The Bible says we are to pray for our leaders. This is the best way we can demonstrate our love for anyone. Praying for people, especially those that you don’t agree with, transcends your emotions and puts you in fellowship with your Father.
Each time we see the word, Ei, IF, in the New Testament, it’s an opportunity for us to do a self examination of our faith, our trust, and our belief in what the Bible says.
When it comes to developing a more intimate fellowship with the Father and with Jesus, IF puts the ball in our courts. IF puts the responsibility on us.
I encourage you ladies and gentlemen, it’s a little word that when you see it will give you an added depth to what the text is saying. I encourage you to go home and when you see the word IF, note it and then dig into the Word. Every one please stand.
