The Help Meet

I was listening to a sermon by R.C. Sproul recently in which he was discussing the Temptation of Christ in the wilderness. I always enjoy his sermons and books and mostly agree with what he has to say. Mostly.

In this instance, he said something that really captured my attention. Something that he passed over very quickly. I've no idea if he had given any particular thought to what I noticed, but, though I listened to the rest of the sermon and feel I gained much from it, his initial point, to me, was the salient one.

He began by describing the circumstances of Jesus baptism, including the argument against it by John, the descending of the Dove and then the call into the wilderness. He pointed out that Christ, being the second Adam, faced temptation with the difference being that the first Adam had a mate for support, but Jesus was all alone when facing the devil. 

A mate for support? That didn't work out so well for Adam.

Incidentally, what would've happened had Eve succumbed and Adam had not? This requires more time and words, but, in short, Eve would've been banished and Adam would've been alone. Remember, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." (Gen 2:18)

This part of his discussion really set my mind to thinking. I wondered, why didn't Jesus have a mate and why was he alone? What was the point in the devil's questions, other than the obvious, and why did he go after these particular areas of our Lord's life? Yes, I have heard many valuable sermons on this matter, but they, I suppose, always lacked in something for me.

My father loved the Church! He was a pastor and his job, his family, his life revolved around supporting, promoting and edifying the Body of Christ. He taught me so many things in this regard and, though I might not recall his exact wording, he taught me to always look for two people when studying the Scriptures: the Bride and the Groom.

If you look for them, they are on every page of the Holy Bible. From Genesis and the first wedding to Revelation when the "Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!" (Rev 22:10) They are there, hidden in this wondrous and sometimes mysterious tome.

So, it occurred to me, why isn't Satan going after the bride first, like he did with Adam? Is there a bride to attack yet? A bride who would lead her mate into a fall as the first bride did?

Now, we know, if we know anything, that trying to line God up with time and bind him into any sort of chronology is a fool's errand. God created time and is not bound by it, but is all through it or outside of it or around it or wherever and whenever He chooses to be.

So, if I say, there was not exactly a Bride of Christ yet, I'm in dangerous territory. No, I don't suppose there actually was because Christ had not yet washed Her in His blood and there was yet no death, burial and resurrection, so I'll just say, tentatively, that Christ was truly alone in the wilderness with no one by His side. (Though I also remember He was a "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev 13:8)

Sadly, the Bride has become so diminished and so overlooked due to the Fundamentalist storming of  fairly all of our American Christian denominations, that She is almost an anachronism in current theology. The problem is, there is nothing and no one as important as She is to the Groom! She is His one True Love. She is His heart's desire. She is the One washed in His blood and presented blameless before His Father. She is the One Whom Jehovah declared would ensure that the man was not alone. She would be his "help meet"!

His "help meet." His helper. Or as one description even says, "one comparable to him." 

This was why the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He had a wedding to attend. His own!

Don't forget, His first miracle was at a wedding. The party was about to crash because they had nothing to drink. Not until He provided it, at least.

I am just trying to emphasize the importance of the Bride of Christ to the Bridegroom here. As my father always said, a wife is more closely related to her husband than their own children. The twain are one flesh.

Okay, so, did the tempter know this? Did he understand this? Did he comprehend this? I'm going to say, no, but he is a master at finding the weak points. Certainly, he doesn't understand love, commitment or attachment, but he does see the importance of it in our lives and is an old hand at using such unknowns against us.

Now, here is Jesus, ragged, tired, hot and hungry. Searching for communion with His Father. I love to ask, I wonder what He was talking to His Father about on day thirty-nine. 

Along comes old slue-foot and, in short order, hits him hard with three temptations. Our Lord of course, passes the test with flying colors, the devil flees, for a time, and the angels come to minister to Him.

You know the story, how He is tempted in three things. (No, you can't be tempted if it doesn't cause you to desire it.) Sustenance, adoration and recognition. These were all things our Lord desired, though He knew He couldn't trust the one making suggestions to Him.

Okay, so where is the connection?

All the things that Christ was tempted with were things that a husband should expect from his spouse. 

Now, these concepts I present will be very old fashioned, but, I think, Jesus was an old fashioned guy.

Trying to keep this PG, most men, firstly, expect a woman to fulfill his physical needs. Cooking, caring, etc. They expect their wife to sustain them physically and mentally. Even to the point of producing offspring for them.

The second thing a husband might expect would be recognition. He's been out all day fighting the dragons and the traffic and when he brings home the bacon for his lovely wife to cook, he wants to know she'll recognize his value as a bread-winner and protector and the "man of the house." Why do you think men whine and cry about how hard their job is?

Thirdly, and these last two are closely related,) men seriously expect worship for what they do. (It's no small thing that in King James' English, "worship" means "respect." He wants his wife to tell him how great he is and how strong and virile. Yes, he wants to be put on that pedestal that men think they've earned.

Yes, these are likely over generalizations. And let's be clear, the Lord was not a selfish, arrogant man. Still, we are a reflection of Him and His Bride, so the parallels are obvious if we look for them.

So, Satan, in essence, was telling Him that He really didn't need His Bride. He could achieve everything that He needed without Her.

"Feed yourself. Jump off the temple roof and, when the angels catch you, everyone will know who you are. Just give me a little worship, and the entire world will worship you too."

Yeah, simple enough. Big problem! It wasn't God's plan. Worse yet, it would've meant that the Son of God would be alone, never knowing true love as God intended it.

Incidentally, that last bit was a bridge too far for the devil for sure. He betrayed his own desires by asking for worship from Him Who deserves all glory and praise. Yes, Satan is envious of God! He is, unlike our Savior, all alone.

Scripture says that, while Eve was deceived, Adam was not. (I Cor 2:14) He purposely chose his Bride over his Father. And rightly so. (Yes, I've written about this elsewhere.)

Yes, there are many lessons to be derived from this story, but, as Moses said, "The twain shall become one flesh." So, I suppose, the devil, by design or by instinct, went after the heart of our Lord. His aim was to cause Him to do the opposite of what the first Adam did. To choose Himself over His Bride.