A Suitable Helper

A SUITABLE HELPER

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When the Lord Jesus returns to install His kingdom on the earth and to govern the nations, He will do so through His helper, the Body of Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, He is slowly bringing His Body to maturity as He works in each Christian, helping him overcome his sin and grow into the stature of Christ.

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Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1)

According to the book of Isaiah, the Lord God will put His Spirit on His Servant and the Servant will bring justice to the nations. The Servant of the Lord is Christ — Head and body. The purpose of the two thousand years of the Church Age has been to make the body a suitable helper for the Head.

For several reasons, the Christian Church to the present date has not been brought to the level of maturity required for her role as the body of Christ. Now the Spirit of God is emphasizing that it is time for the body to be brought to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.

When the Lord Jesus came to the earth, He taught a number of disciples, announcing to them that He was going to build a church, that is, a group of people called out from the world. The nature of the disciples and the Church is shown in the four Gospel accounts, the book of Acts, and the epistles. Almost immediately, probably still in the first century, the nature of the Church was lost sight of, and the Christian religion came into being. Today we have the Christian religion, and it is seldom pointed out that while our Christian religion is one thing, what the Bible means by the “Church” is something quite different. From the beginning, the original concept of the Church was significantly altered.

A religion was developed which people could join, whereas in the beginning, the Church was made up of people chosen by the Lord, who had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ — commencing with Christ during His lifetime on the earth, and later in His resurrected form. Being a member of the body of Christ includes a personal acquaintance with the living Christ. Such a personal acquaintance is not true of multitudes who have joined the Christian religion. This alteration continues to the present hour.
Probably in imitation of other religions, the goal of salvation changed from moral transformation and union with Christ, to eternal residence in Heaven after one dies. Again, this alteration persists to the present day.
The concept of a kingdom that is coming to the earth was lost. In my Christian denomination, which is as good as any, the term Kingdom does not even appear in the Statement of Faith. Does it in yours? Yet, the original Gospel was the Gospel of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. Isn’t its omission in the Statement of Faith rather peculiar?
The concept of the body of Christ, the revelation given only to the Apostle Paul, was set aside in favor of a priest/pastor and congregation. The idea that each believer is to be a functioning member of a mature body of the Christ was not often emphasized, and the clergy-laity division persists to the present.
We have lost the concept that when the body is mature, it will appear with Christ and establish justice among the nations of the earth. Sometimes the totally unscriptural notion that Gentiles will compose a kingdom in Heaven while the Jews compose a kingdom on the earth is taught. This idea is not only unscriptural, it is also unrealistic. Multitudes of people have both Jewish and Gentile blood in them. How is one to distinguish among them? Would those who are part Jewish, part Gentile, be placed in Heaven or on the earth? Where would the Apostles of the Lamb find themselves? They all were Jewish! Also, the Apostle Paul told us in Christ, that is, in His body, there is neither Jew nor Greek.

Obviously there are many Christian traditions that need to be reviewed at this point if the Christian churches are to bring forth the radiant Wife of the Lamb.

In the beginning God placed man in Paradise on the earth. What God begins God finishes. When all has been finished, man once again will be in Paradise on the earth. The difference will be that mankind will be governed by a righteous kingdom that will prevent sin and death from entering the earth. The Kingdom of God is composed of Christ and His body, His Church.

All that has transpired since Adam and Eve rebelled against God has been for the purpose of teaching man and angels the folly of sin, and then for the developing of a program that will culminate in the restoration of what was lost.

He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. (Acts 3:21)

The above verse does not mean, as some have conjectured, that eventually every individual will be restored to God’s Presence. Rather, it means that all will be restored according to what was spoken through the Prophets.

Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, One had to come who would be perfectly obedient, and then be willing to be a sin offering for mankind. The Lord Jesus Christ did this with the result that an atonement has been made for the sin of the world.

However, an enormous problem remains. After people have their sins forgiven, what then? The earth is still cursed. People are still born in a state of lawlessness. The nations are still in rebellion against God. Even though sin has been forgiven, the earth remains the valley of the shadow of death. Someone must come to the earth who has the authority to lift the curse from nature, and who has the Spirit of God to such an extent that all sin can be driven from the earth and Paradise can be restored. The One who is to do this is the Servant of the Lord. Why then did the Lord Jesus Christ, the Servant of the Lord, not lift the curse from nature and drive sin from the earth when He appeared two thousand years ago? After all, He has all authority and also the Spirit of God without measure.

The answer to this question goes back to the beginning. When God created a man on the earth, God said it was not good for the man to be alone. God promised to make a helper suitable for him. Adam by himself was not able to be fruitful and have dominion in the manner God desired. Whatever temporary fulfillment the original edicts of God may have, the Divine promises are directed toward the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God’s Man in the truest sense. Christ alone is the image of God, the Son of God. God was saying it is not good for Christ to be alone, for Christ by Himself to be in the image of God, for Christ by Himself to be fruitful and exercise dominion over the works of God’s hands. God portrayed in the garden that He will draw from the Person of Christ a helper suitable for Him so the plan of God can then move forward as God intends.

Therefore, the Servant of the Lord includes not only the exalted Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, but also a body. From this point on, I will capitalize the term body in order to distinguish the Church from the physical body of Christ.

The Body of Christ is the Church, the Wife of the Lamb. She is the Wife of the Lamb because people become part of the Wife of the Lamb by eating the Lamb, God’s Passover Lamb. The first and most important aspect of the Body of the Servant of the Lord is that she no longer is a human animal, but has been fashioned from the very Substance of Christ just as Eve was fashioned from the very substance of Adam.

The creation of Adam and Eve, while it took place in a literal sense, has its full significance as a portrayal of the eternal union God is interested in.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church — for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:25-32)

The account in Genesis is about Christ and the Church!

So we have the Servant of the Lord, Christ, Head and Body, who will return to the earth and establish justice among the nations. Sin and death will be driven from the world. The Spirit of God will cover the dead sea of mankind as the physical waters cover the physical sea. Little children will play with all the animals, domestic and wild, with no harm. This is the Gospel of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth, the Gospel that has been buried under the rubble of religious tradition.

This is the Divine plan and it is perfect.

One major problem remains. It is that the Wife of the Lamb must be a helper suitable for Him. An immature, self-seeking, sinful, disobedient member of the Christian religion is not a helper suitable for the Lamb of God. The purpose of the two thousand years of the Church Age has been to call out from the nations of the earth and bring to maturity the members of the Church. This is not to indicate that the members of the Church are the only persons who will be saved from wrath. Rather, the members of the Church have been predestined to be in the moral image of Jesus Christ and to be in untroubled union with the Father through the Lord Jesus. When such moral transformation and union have been accomplished, then the world will believe God indeed has sent Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world.

How much has been accomplished in the way of bringing the members of the Church to the necessary maturity remains to be seen. There is an intimation in the last chapter of Isaiah that in the last days there may be a sudden appearing of Christ in the believers.

“Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children. Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD. “Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God. (Isaiah 66:8,9)

In my opinion, the nation that will be brought forth in a moment is the holy nation, the royal priesthood, the Church of Jesus Christ. I don’t think the Lord Jesus Christ will return until the members of the Church come to maturity, until they form a helper suitable for the Lord.

I believe the above passage does not mean that spiritually slothful, unbelieving, self-seeking believers will instantly become giants of faith. I think it is true rather that those disciples who have patiently sought the Lord, doing His will diligently, will suddenly be displayed. At birth a baby is suddenly displayed to the world, but the formation of the baby from embryo to fetus to baby occurs during previous months.

How are the members of the Body to be brought to maturity? They will be brought to maturity by means of the various ministries and gifts that are given to the members of the Body so they can build up the Body to maturity. Also, God will employ additional means such as suffering, delayed gratification, the incidents through which we pass, and so forth to bring us to maturity. The program of bringing the believers to maturity has been developing very slowly because the gifts and ministries of the Body are not as prevalent as they must be in order to perform the task assigned to them. I think this situation will be changed in the days to come and we will see many, many more gifts and ministries operating in the Christian assemblies. Let us hope so.

In Ephesians, we find that God has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in order to build up the Body. By the way, these are not five super ministries as is being preached today. The five (or four) listed here are only representative of the variety of gifts and ministries given to the members of the Body by the Holy Spirit. We go from one error to another.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. (I Corinthians 12:7-11)

These also are examples of the gifts and ministries that must begin to operate in our day so the Church may become a helper suitable for the Lamb.

Now you are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. (I Corinthians 12:27,28)

Notice that pastors and evangelists are not mentioned in the above passage, which would not be the case if the apostle, prophet, evangelists, pastor and teacher were to be viewed as five super offices set above the other members of the Body. All are placed in the Body for the common good. No office or ministry is to be elevated above another. As far as leadership in the local assembly is concerned, God will help us to perceive who is best suited to help with the government of the local Body of believers.

Now notice below the purpose of all the gifts and ministries given to the Body of Christ.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so the Body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

It is difficult to determine from the above passage whether it is saying God gives ministries and gifts to people so these people may be prepared to build the Body, ministries and gifts such as to be an apostle or prophet, or whether it is saying the apostles, prophets, and others are the ones who prepare God’s people so they may serve Him. I prefer the former interpretation but can accept the latter. In any case, the purpose of the gifts and ministries given to the Body of Christ by the Spirit of God is to bring the believers to the same living faith in the Lord Jesus (not the same theological belief), to the full knowledge of the Son of God, until each attains maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ. It is only as we attain such maturity that we are suitable helpers for the great Head of the Servant of the Lord.

And notice:

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:15,16)

My own opinion is that such building up takes place now and also after we die. If the building up does not continue after we die, how can we all come to perfection together? However, this is not to say we can be careless today and make up for it after we die. If we are not fully diligent today, then, when we die, we shall be treated as a lazy, wicked servant, in accordance with the parable of the talents.

How are we to determine what our gifts and ministries are, and how are we to go about using them? I am personally acquainted with the ministry of laying on of hands and personal prophecy in order to assist the believers in receiving and operating gifts and ministries. These are helpful contributions. However, there is another method that is more certain. This is to present our body an offering to God in total consecration.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1,2)

There is only one sure way to discover the will of God each day, and that is to offer our body as a living sacrifice each day. In this way we are able to “test and approve what God’s will is.” After we have determined what God’s will is, we then are to use our gift and ministry in a practical manner, behaving modestly according to the proportion of faith God has assigned to us.

So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:5-8)

Remember, the end product of our contribution is to build up the Body of Christ until it becomes a suitable helper for the Lord Jesus.

Now let us think about some of the areas of maturity into which we must grow. First, and probably most important, is that of learning to live by the body and blood of Christ. The Wife of the Lamb will not consist of flesh and blood human beings, but of the new creation formed from the Substance of Christ. In the economy of God, like must marry like. Jesus Christ is Son of God and Son of Man. His Body, His Bride, His Church, must also be born of man and born of God. This is why we must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God, which is Christ — Head and Body. Flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom.

How are we to learn to live by the Body and blood of Christ?

Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:57)

Every day, we have many decisions to make. We can choose to make each decision, great and small, according to our fleshly soul and mind. Or we can choose to make each decision, great and small, in prayer before the Lord, committing every aspect of our thinking, speaking, and acting to Him.

Whenever we make a decision according to our fleshly soul and mind, we remain an animal creature. Whenever we make a decision in prayer before the Lord, committing the decision to Him, we are, in the spirit realm, given to eat of His flesh and to drink of His blood.

Let us say there is someone we must forgive. This may be difficult for us. We may choose to ignore the prompting of our conscience and justify our attitude. Or we may go to God in prayer and ask His help. When we do this, we are given the body and blood of Christ to strengthen us until we actually are able to forgive the individual. Try doing this with your decisions and see if I am correct.

It is in learning to live by His body and blood that we are married to the Lamb, becoming an integral, eternally inseparable part of His Person, just as He Himself is an integral, eternally inseparable part of God’s Person.

Implicit in the idea of presenting our body a living sacrifice, and living by the body and blood of Christ, is the concept of stern obedience to God. The original sin was disobedience — the setting of one’s will against God. In spite of the low standard of consecration being presented in many Christian churches, it is a fact that no creature of God is accepted who in the smallest area of behavior is not sternly obedient to God. The Kingdom of God is the doing of God’s will in the earth as it is in Heaven. Nothing short of this is permitted. The obedience of the Church must be perfected before God will work with the remainder of mankind.

The Servant of the Lord is totally, sternly obedient to the Father at all times and under every circumstance. God will perfect the attitude of obedience in you and me if we will ask Him.

And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. (II Corinthians 10:6)

What further growth is needed if we are to be a helper suitable for Christ? Let us turn to Isaiah to find out.

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

The first issue we of today must come to terms with is that we are to be the Lord’s servant. It has become fashionable, at least in America, to try to use the Lord Jesus as our servant. It is as though He is to be a helper suitable for us and assist us in every aspect of our life. Imagine if Eve were to consider Adam as a helper suitable for herself so she might pursue her own inclinations successfully!

Thinking in terms of the types of the Bible, we who are at Pentecost (the fourth feast of the Lord) are standing at the golden Lampstand (the fourth article of furniture of the Tabernacle of the Congregation). The next (fifth) article of the Tabernacle was the Altar of Incense. It is at the Altar of Incense, so to speak, that we cry out to God “Not my will but Yours be done.” In other words, it is after Pentecost that we begin to see ourselves as the Lord’s servant, the Lord’s helper, rather than the other way around.

Such total consecration to the Lord’s will is seldom emphasized in the Christian churches of America. Do you agree with this? The believers are like spoiled children, supposing God is waiting to supply their every desire while they pursue their own plans.

This is not the way of the Gospel of Christ. We have been commanded to lay down our own life, take up our cross, and follow Jesus Christ. Until we do this, we are not a disciple. Until we are a disciple, we are not a member of the Body of Christ, just a typical American member of the Christian religion.

God is calling today for those who are willing to endure the long, painful process of becoming a helper suitable for the Lord Jesus. How many American believers do you suppose will forsake the unscriptural teaching of “grace-rapture-Heaven” and turn to the Lord Jesus, ready to take up their cross of denial and patient suffering? Out of the millions of members of the Christian religion in America, will there be ten thousand who will serve Jesus Christ? The Lord is not moved by numbers. If there are a hundred from all the American “Christians” who will turn away from their fleshly religion and serve Jesus Christ in iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father, then there will be a hundred from our generation who will appear with Him when He comes to install His Kingdom on the earth.

God never places quantity above quality. The Scriptures cannot be broken.

Also, as one can readily understand, if we do not grow up in Christ now, how in the world do we expect to be a helper suitable for the Lord? Would you allow your four-year-old child to drive your car downtown? It is time to grow up in the Lord. We are to become a part of the Servant of the Lord, not a wandering star who is trying to be like Christ without becoming part of Christ.

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

The servant is God’s “chosen one.” I have come to believe that being a member of the Body of Christ is by Divine choice. When I teach what I think God has shown me about the Kingdom, there are a few who behave like a person dying of thirst who has found cold, sparkling clear water. Then they try to share what they have learned with their friends, and it is something like addressing an Egyptian sphinx. There is no recognition that anything intelligible has been uttered.

I am at a loss to account for this, for it seems to me that Christian people are intelligent and devout. So becoming a member of the Body of Christ must be by Divine choice, as Isaiah stated.

God delights in those who have chosen to serve Him without regard for how their own plans and ambitions may be affected.

God puts His Spirit on those who serve Him. Today we see outstanding Christian leaders attempting to use the Spirit of God according to what they perceive to be God’s will. They are speaking more of the Spirit than they are of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not wise. God gives His Spirit to those who obey Him, not those who are attempting to use the Spirit to have sensational meetings.

“He will bring justice to the nations.” The concept that the return of Jesus Christ is for the purpose of bringing justice to the nations of the earth has been buried under many feet of accumulated rubbish. We say today that “Christ is coming to catch up His waiting bride to Heaven.” This is totally unscriptural. There is not one verse of the Bible that supports this belief.

Christ and His Bride are coming to bring justice to the nations, not to rest in Heaven. The reason for the catching up of the resurrected saints is that they might meet the Lord in the air and descend with Him as He by force installs the Kingdom of God on the earth.

God intends to restore on the earth all that was lost by Adam and Eve, and to add to this restoration marvels of which we are not able even to dream. The Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth in order to bring this restoration to pass, not to return again to Heaven with the myriads of saints He brought with Him so He and they might do nothing of significance in the spirit realm for eternity.

The Lord’s heart is in the earth. He has prayed to the Father that He might inherit the nations and the farthest reaches of the earth.

He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. (Isaiah 42:2)

What does this tell us? It tells us that the gifts and ministries of the Body must build us to a maturity of character that does not shout or cry out or raise our voice in the streets. Today it is fashionable to encourage presumption with such statements as “go out and do great things for God”, “dare God to show His power”, and this kind of presumptuous faith. No hero of the Bible ever acted in this manner. The Lord Jesus Himself never sought to “sell” the Gospel nor did He seek to provoke God to act or to do great things. He waited on His Father and acted only in accordance with the Father’s will.

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30)

Isn’t that lovely? The Lord made no judgments on His own nor did He attempt to do anything without the Father. For this reason, His judgment was always just. He did not seek to please Himself but the Father who sent Him.

This is a level of maturity we must arrive at. This is maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ. It is not always easy to wait quietly on the Lord for many years while others are having great spiritual “success.” Also one may enjoy having the spiritually ambitious point out how foolish it is to wait on the Lord when they are doing great things. “Come down off the wall!” “Come down off the cross!” But we learn to not judge people or circumstances, but to wait quietly until we know what it is the Lord wants us to do.

How do you feel about this? Are you willing to strive for this type of maturity? It is the way of the Servant of the Lord.

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; (Isaiah 42:3)

It is not unusual for strong Christians to despise those who are having problems, the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. We have a tendency to point out their weaknesses and gossip about them. Did you know that it hurts the Lord when we do this? It is like your daughter telling you about a terrible thing your son did and rejoicing over it. But you do not rejoice over the shortcomings of your son! The way of the Servant of the Lord is to work patiently with the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks, faithfully bringing forth justice for them.

Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear — hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (Jude 1:22,23)
And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, (II Timothy 2:24,25)

We must grow in maturity until we are kind to everyone, not quarreling with anyone, if we are to be a helper suited for Jesus Christ. The willingness to gently instruct those who oppose us is a sign we are approaching the stature of the fullness of Christ.

He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope. (Isaiah 42:4)

When we consider the state of the earth today, it is difficult to picture a world in which there is no sin, where the children can play in peace with the wild animals, where there are no wars, no wicked people of any kind. In America of 1999 it is not safe for little children to be left unguarded among people, let alone among wild animals!

In addition, multitudes of Christian people are horribly bound with the love of the world, the lusts of the flesh, and self-will. How long will it take to convert them to the moral purity and character of Jesus Christ?

Today, some are picturing a sudden work of Christ in which the immature, lukewarm believers are quickly transformed into faithful saints. I have never seen this happen. It appears people are slowly — very slowly — changed into the image of Christ. It is hard to imagine a process in which the image and knowledge of God are brought suddenly into the personality. The Bible says we are saved with difficulty. I do not see how this could change.

The Servant of the Lord “will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.” As we come to maturity in the Lord, we must learn to trust God and not become discouraged, even though it seems at times there is no possibility that righteousness will triumph over wickedness.

As for the inhabitants of the islands of the sea putting their hope in Jesus Christ, Isaiah says this will take place. God is not discouraged with His long-range plan and we are not to be either. But to plod along patiently year after year, seeing little or no results from one’s efforts, requires spiritual maturity if we are not to become discouraged. However, if we are to be a helper suitable for Christ, we must grow in this area also.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:3)
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. (Hebrews 12:12)
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Luke 18:1)

Then we come to the vision that we must have if we are to become the helper that the Lord Jesus needs for His work of serving God in the earth.

This is what God the LORD says — he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:5-7)

If we are to succeed in becoming a helper suitable for the Son of God, we must look up and behold the majesty of God, as Jesus always does. The restoration of what was lost in Eden is not something man can do, even if every person on earth were to add his or her strength, wisdom, and talents to the effort. The powers of darkness will not yield to human determination. The work must be done by Him “who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it.” The Person and work of the Servant of the Lord must and shall indeed proceed from the Almighty God who alone created the entire material realm with His Word of power and who alone supports the life of all earth’s peoples.

How can we be discouraged? God has spoken. God has promised. God has the power to do what He will. All God has said shall come to pass in detail, and we can be part of it if we will give ourselves to Him without reservation.

It is God Himself who has called us in righteousness. We must mature in righteousness of character and behavior. God simply will not work where there is unrighteousness. The scepter of Christ’s Kingdom is a scepter of righteousness.

When we first receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, the righteousness of Christ is ascribed to us. Immediately, if we are following Christ, if we are a disciple and not just a member of the “Christian religion,” the Spirit of God begins to lead us into battle against the sin in our life. The Spirit enables us to attain to righteousness of personality and behavior, for the Servant of the Lord is called in righteousness. There is no smallest part of unrighteous behavior that is acceptable in the Kingdom of God.

This is extremely difficult for American Christians to accept. They have been taught for so long we are not to concern ourselves with righteous behavior, only with the imputed righteousness given to those who take the “four steps of salvation.” In this we are entirely wrong. A believer who behaves unrighteously, who is worldly, who is self-willed, is not suitable as a helper for the Lamb of God.

This is easy to understand, isn’t it? The Lord will hold our hand. The task is much too great for us. But when God is holding our hand, we can do the job.

The Lord will make us a covenant for the people. This means the people of the future will approach God through us, just as we approach God through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church, the Wife of the Lamb, is the royal priesthood. Our destiny is to bring the Presence of God to people so they can be delivered, blessed, and enabled to walk in ways pleasing to the Lord. In this manner we become the Divine covenant to them.

We are to be a light to the Gentiles. Jesus Christ is the only Light of the world. When He is in us, we also are the light of the world. This means when people see us, observing how we behave, they will know what it means to worship God and to live so as to please Him. Today the world understands neither how to worship God nor how to please Him. When the Lord returns to earth with His Church, the peoples of the nations will have light by which they can see and understand the Person and ways of God. Can you imagine what a blessing this will be to the downtrodden of the world?

The nations of today are blind. Various religions, including the religion of Christianity, seek to advise the nations how to behave. But the members of the religions themselves do not know the Lord and so they become like blind people who are endeavoring to guide those who are blind. Only the Lord Jesus and those who are an integral part of Him are able to guide the blind.

In another sense, even the Lord Jesus and those who are part of Him are blind. The Servant of the Lord is blind to all that is around Him. He sees only God. He does not see the magnificent Temple of Herod. He sees only the huge stones torn down and lying on the ground. He does not see the new world promised by the philosophers. He is blind to the opinions of people. He sees wars and rumors of wars. He sees the Antichrist spirit in the hearts of people, realizing that one day the whole earth will be led astray.

This is the way we are to be today if we hope to be a member of the Body of the Christ. We are not to see what the media would have us see. We are to walk patiently in God, seeing only what He wants us to observe. Americans are looking toward a bright future filled with ever increasing money and material goods. But the prophets are seeing that America, because of her sin, already has lost her place as the leading nation of the world.

The prophets are blind and deaf to the wise men of America. They are seeing hurricanes, droughts, fires, financial collapse. What are you seeing today? Are you permitting the newspaper to tell you what is true, or are you waiting before the Lord until you are hearing from Him? Blessed are the blind and deaf, for they shall see the King in His glory. But woe unto those who see with the eyes of this world, for they shall be caught in the snare that is to come upon the face of the earth. In order to know God’s will and to escape being deceived by Satan, we must be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

The prisoners of the earth huddle in their straw, confined by the great granite walls of the curse that God has placed on the earth. The meek suffer at the hands of those who wickedly vaunt themselves without regard for the welfare of their fellow captives.

God is preparing a Deliverer. He came two thousand years ago to make an atonement for sin. When He comes again, it will be with a great host chosen from people who lived at different periods of earth’s history, with a helper suitable for Him. Together they shall free the captives from their prison. They shall release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. The destroyers of the earth shall be destroyed in that Day. Those who have ground the faces of the poor, who have robbed the meek of the earth, shall themselves be ground to powder. The wicked who boasted of their power shall be burned up in the fire which the Lord Jesus will bring at His coming with His holy angels.

Then the meek shall inherit the earth. Then those who love what is righteous will come to the saints and be blessed and delivered. The members of the royal priesthood who have been tormented by the wicked shall be the judges of those wicked people. The tormented shall be the tormentors in that Day. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and He shall execute it through His saints in that Day.

Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the LORD. (Psalms 149:5-9)

This is the Day of the Lord, and the Lord alone shall be exalted. If you and I hope to be a part of Christ in the great Day of the Lord, then we must be seeking Him with total diligence that we may become a helper suitable for Him.

(“A Suitable Helper”, 3122-1, proofed 20230901)