Luke 4:6 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

For that is delivered unto me, &c.— Grotius has well observed, that this contains a vile insinuation, that God had done what no one who truly understands the nature of God and the creature can suppose possible; namely, that he had parted with the government of the world out of his own hands: and we may add to this, that in the text which Christ has quoted, there is enough to overthrow that notion; since God's appropriating to himself the worship of all his creatures, plainly implies his universal empire and dominion over all, and the regard that he has to the religious observation thereof and the obedience of all the subjects of his kingdom. It is remarkable, that among other things which several heathen writers learned from the primitive Christians, this was one; to represent evil spirits as tempting men from their duty by worldly riches and grandeur; over which, Porphyry in particular says, they often would pretend to much more power than they really had. We may observe from this verse, that the impudence of the tempter is boundless: he promises liberally what is peculiar to God to give; and, in return, asks what is due to God alone,—religious worship; that is, an acknowledgment, not of his being the first cause of all things, the Maker, Preserver, and Governor of the universe,—for on this very occasion he confessed that what he had was delivered unto him;—but an acknowledgment of his being lord of the world, so far as to dispense its joys to whomsoever he pleased. Which acknowledgment implied likewise a promise of submission to the measures, which he, as lord of the world, should prescribe.