“To be the man, you’ve gotta beat the man” - Ric Flair
In my final Ric Flair post, I saved his most recognizable quote for last. Up until his retirement in March of 2008, Flair was often heard challenging all comers with this taunt. “To be the man, you gotta beat the man.” And for over 30 years in the pro wrestling world, Ric Flair was the man.
But from a biblical perspective, Jesus Christ is the man.
In Luke 4, Jesus was tempted by Satan. And when confronted by the temptation of hunger, power, and self-preservation, Jesus repeatedly quoted from Scripture to defeat Satan’s attack. So how does this connect with Ric Flair…The answer is found in John 1:1.
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Satan’s desire was to get Christ to compromise Himself, and His ministry, by using the temptations of hunger (Jesus had been in the desert for over 40 days), power and authority (appealing to man’s pride and ego), and pride and arrogance (Jesus could angels from heaven attend to His every need). Satan, in HIS arrogance, tested Jesus Christ with all the things that we, as humans, struggle with. Jesus was fully God and fully man. But Jesus Christ relied on God’s power to sustain Himself. Jesus did not succumb to Satan’s attack because He reminding Satan of what Scripture said about those temptations. But here is where John 1:1 comes into play.
In John 1:1, Jesus was called the Word. Jesus [the Word] was with God and [the Word] was God. So for Jesus to quote Scripture to Satan to defeat his attacks, Jesus was in essence saying, “I will defeat you because of Who and What I AM.” Or in other words, “To be the man, you gotta to beat the man….and I AM the MAN!” Satan did not have the power, authority, or ability to beat the Man. And Satan never will.
But Scripture also says, that through Jesus Christ, YOU can do all things, if you believe in Him [Jesus]. But that promise from God doesn’t stop there…it also says that no matter how you find yourself, tired, hungry, sad, hurt, depressed, broken, or lost, God will ALWAYS be there and give you the strength you need.
But it’s because of our own pride and arrogance that we, as humans, try to do everything in our own power. We refuse to give up control of anything in our lives. Scripture says it best, we MUST give up control of EVERYTHING and follow Jesus Christ. It is only through His power that we find true contentment, success, and fulfillment.
To be the man, you gotta beat the man..and Jesus has never been defeated.
AMEN BROTHER! Great post. Miss your face!
Ridiculous!! I’ve been looking at The Rich Ruler In Luke at the same time you did this post. Love you man, enjoy your time away this weekend.