And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 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. Matthew 4:3, 4.
(SD 141.1)
The great trial of Christ in the wilderness on the point of appetite was to leave man an example of self-denial. This long fast was to convict men of the sinfulness of things in which professed Christians indulge. The victory which Christ gained in the wilderness was to show man the sinfulness of the very things in which he takes such pleasure. The salvation of man was in the balance, and to be decided by the trial of Christ in the wilderness. If Christ was a victor on the point of appetite, then there was a chance for man to overcome....
(SD 141.2)
Christians, who understand the mystery of godliness, who have a high and sacred sense of the atonement, who realize in the sufferings of Christ in the wilderness a victory gained for them ... would be greatly strengthened by earnestly and frequently comparing their lives with the true standard, the life of Christ.... The amusements which lead to levity and forgetfulness of God, can find no sanction in the example of Christ, the world’s Redeemer, the only safe pattern for man to copy if he would overcome as Christ overcame.... Man now has the advantage over Adam in his warfare with Satan; for he has Adam’s experience in disobedience and his consequent fall to warn him to shun his example. Man also has Christ’s example in overcoming appetite, and the manifold temptations of Satan, and in vanquishing the mighty foe upon every point, and coming off victor in every contest.46
(SD 141.3)
The habits of eating and drinking are the most difficult to overcome because Satan binds you securely to his chariot car.47
(SD 141.4)
All who give themselves to the service of Christ will follow the example of Christ, and will be perfect overcomers.48
(SD 141.5)