Matthew 4:7

Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.

Again it is written ... This is the key to the Scriptures! Every passage of the word of God is to be understood in the light of other passages bearing on the same subject. No isolated, proof-text method of interpreting the Scriptures is valid. God's will on any subject is to be understood in the light of ALL that is written. Christ made that principle clear in his words to the disciples on the road to Emmaus when he said, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken" (Luke 24:25). Nevertheless, the devil likes to quote Scripture. "Take a little wine for thy stomach's sake!" "Be not overly righteous!" "Eat, drink and be merry!" - who has not heard Satan quoting such passages as these? Satan's purpose in quoting Scripture is not to heed God's word but to circumvent it. May the child of God have the grace to answer, over and over, in all of life's confusing situations, "It is written ... it is written ... and again, it is written." This was Jesus' method, and he won the day. So shall his disciples win the contest if they use his method!

Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God ... Jesus did not argue with Satan but simply announced the word of God forbidding the thing Satan suggested. In this temptation, Satan appears as an angel of light, quoting the word of God, pretending to be interested in a "shortcut" victory for Christ. This was a dramatic change from the subtle insinuation of the first temptation. Failing in both maneuvers, Satan changed again; and, in the following temptation, attempted to overpower Christ, appearing before him as a roaring lion, arrogant, overbearing, and pretending to have world dominion.