The Eternal Dance of Love & the Devil's Hidden Agenda

"Fish swim.  Birds fly.  People Worship."

In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus is led into the wilderness by God to be tempted by the devil.  Matthew records 3 specific temptations, although it's likely that there were many  more, since it says in Hebrews 4:15 that He was tempted in every way as we were, yet without sin.  The third and [seemingly] final temptation recorded here is the temptation to bow down and worship the devil.  If Jesus would only bow down for even a nanosecond, Satan promised to let Jesus off the hook (bypassing the cross) and give Him back all the kingdoms of the earth.  But, there was a catch: he had to worship the devil.  I'd like to take a deeper look at what was at stake here, but only after we clearly define worship.

I think that many things come to mind when we think of worship, especially worshipping the devil.  I think it is helpful to remember that the reason that we (human beings) are so bent on worship is because we were made in the image of a worshipping God.  Our nature reflects His nature.  We worship because God worships.

Now God has always existed in 3 distinct Persons, and this Community has never ceased to worship one another (John 17:5).  This is how it plays out:

God-the-Father worships both the Son and the Spirit, constantly pouring Himself out in ceaseless, relational love and adoration.  Likewise, God-the-Son is always seeking to glorify the Father and the Spirit, never self-seeking, but constantly giving and receiving love.  And finally, God-the-Spirit lives to pour Himself out in relational, self-giving love toward the other two members of the Godhead.

In the ancient picture of the Trinity called the Eternal Dance of Love, the Members of this Community face inward toward each other.  Before everything else, there was God, and He has always existed within this mutually satisfying, relational exchange of love that really is kind of like a dance.  The relationship within the Godhead is a safe place that is infinitely satisfying, with undending joy and perfect love.

So, God did not create out of need, for He is in need of nothing (Acts 17:25).  Rather, creation was (and is) and act of divine love.  By creating, God was saying "We want you all to share in and be completely satisfied in this love that We share."  Or, as my latest record is entitled, "I want you here with me." 

Now, the Hebrew word for Satan means "adversary" and its translation into Greek gives the word "Diabolos", from the root dia-ballo, to divide or separate.  So, what was this Separator's hidden agenda when he was trying to trick Jesus into worshiping him? 

I think that the devil understands that God exists forever in ceaseless worship, and I believe that he wanted in on the action.  In other words, the devil wanted to become part of the Trinity, thus sharing in it's worship.  (At least, that is how it looks at first glance.)

However, I think that a deeper look at the devil's own nature reveals that if the devil were allowed into the Blessed Union that is God, that would be to inject evil (selfishness) into this perfect, sinless Community we call God.

Just imagine with me, if you will, a family who loves each other more than anything else in the world.  Imagine the love, support, and the mutual satisfaction they share in this unit.  Now, imagine if someone injected a pedophile, a rapist, or a serial killer into the mix.  Wouldn't that destroy and corrupt what was perfect and pure?

This is what the devil wanted.  And notice, he wasn't even trying to get Jesus off mission.  God would still be able to reconcile everyone and everything back to Himself.  He was just trying to change the method by which this should happen.  Instead of self-denying, others-focused love toward the world, Christ would have been choosing to look out for Himself, stepping out of that perfect, God-focused eternal dance of love. 

Sin kills community.  We see this happen in Gen 3:1-24.  As soon as man tries to find His identity in something/someone other than God (which I think is a good definition of idolatry), all community (relationship between God and man, and man and man) is destroyed.  In a sense, we are that family that Sin has been injected into.  But, brothers and sisters, that's not the end of the Story.

God, for some reason, places value on us, and the rest of His creation.  Rather than leaving us to our own destruction, He sees fit to come down and rescue us in the Person of Jesus. 

Just imagine that the Trinity is chilling in eternity like they always do, and they are discussing (probably without having to use words, since they are One), what must be done to save humanity.  Suddenly, without any hesitation, Jesus - the second Person of the Godhead - says I'll go, send Me.  The Father and the Spirit nod in agreement, and they then decide [in their infinite wisdom] the best possible time, place, and culture to insert Themself into human history. 

Brian McLaren has said this about the Trinity:

"The early church leaders described the Trinity using the term perichoresis (peri=circle resis=dance): The Trinity was an eternal dance of the Father, Son and Spirit sharing mutual love, honor, happiness, joy and respect… God’s act of creation means that God is inviting more and more beings into the eternal dance of Joy.

Sin means that people are stepping out of the dance… stomping on feet instead of moving with grace, rhythm and reverence. Then in Jesus, God enters creation to restore the rhythm and beauty again."

In John 17:20-21, Jesus says:

"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me."

In The Great Dance, Baxter Kruger says:

“The great dance is about abundant life—love, passion, joy, fellowship, and creativity. It is the fellowship of the relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit. The incarnation is the philanthropic act of God to reach out, embrace us through forgiveness, and include us in the dance.”

Satan does not want us to be included in the dance, nor does he want us to know how much God loves us.  That is why he is constantly trying to distort our view of the Trinity.  But here's the cool part:  We do not have to wait until we're in heaven to become a part of this dance.  Through Christ's indwelling Spirit we are already included in it! 

So, while the devil tries to get us to find our identity in things other than God, we are becoming more like God every day as we are finding our identity in Him. It's interesting to me that God also finds His indentity in Himself, since there is no higher idea other than Himself.  It is right and appropriate that God would worship Himself.  If there were some other idea higher than God, then He should worship that.  But since God is actually worthy of worship, all of creation is pointed toward God - including Himself in three Persons.  This is Ultimate Reality, the way things really are. Anything else (seeking to find our worth in created things) is the lie (Rom 1:25).

I'll close with a picture of what it might look like once we've joined the Dance.  In Philippians 2:1–11, Paul encourages us to have the same attitude as Christ—the supreme example of humility and selfless concern for others, and a kind of proof that we are, in fact, united with God:

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death,
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."