THE SCENARIO Beloved Oikeiothta (“e-kee-oh’-tay-ta”) seeks spiritual intimacy with Jehovah God. Oikeiothta loves God very much and wishes to deepen that irresistible love relationship with Him. Oikeiothta knows that this intimacy is a gift from God who desires the same with Oikeiothta. “Coming to the table” with a largely mundane notion of intimacy per se, let alone spiritual intimacy, let alone spiritual intimacy with Jehovah God, Oikeiothta is in essence trying to appreciate the breadth, and depth, and character of God’s love into which God has pulled Oikeiothta by His exceeding grace, even into oneness with the Divine Oneness.
In the outworking of this scenario please consider the following:
Sensitivity Points under Consideration
1. What is spiritual intimacy? Spiritual intimacy with God from His perspective.
2. Spiritual intimacy with God, but how?
3. My little hand in His pierced hand, thus walking, not balking.
6. Kiss the Son!
Discussion
1. A secular dictionary would define intimacy so: “close familiarity or friendship.” We can begin with that in this context. Spiritual intimacy with God would then just mean close spiritual familiarity or friendship with God, where by “spirit,” on the human side, we are going to assume this definition: “seat of emotion and character animated by Mind.” So, we are talking about a relationship between God’s Spirit and our spirit going forward. This scenario is interested in that relationship. Okay, with the understanding that very God makes spiritual intimacy with Himself possible in the first place (John 15:15, et al., “Jesus: I Have Called You Friends”), He gives us many heads-up guidelines in that regard, guidelines that are familiar to us, and concern our relationship with others for starters. Our relationship with others is a window to the potential spiritual intimacy we might have with God. (If we cannot cut it with others, it is going to be tough outside of much grace to cut it with God here.) Our great God loves justice among humankind, mercy one to another, forgiveness fits here, overlooking an offense as well; and then there is humility—pride, the antithesis of humility, obviates, nay, kills spiritual Intimacy with God for at the heart of pride lies Godlessness, i.e., no need of God, i.e., self over all (Micah 6:8; please note also these selfless guidelines-Exodus 20:12-17, John 13:34-35). Maybe we can call these “others” guidelines “horizontal” guidelines. There is a vertical one too. We may “feel” like we love God, and probably do from our perspective, but God is looking for another level besides. Not to deny the purely affection angle here—that is very human—but God sees love for Him motivated by obedience—that’s the vertical one—a bent to obey Him (John 14:21, 15:10). Clearly loving God is integral to spiritual intimacy with Him, and we see that from His perspective our love for Him involves an obedience qualifier. Probably not going to be perfect, or even adequate most of the time, but is the motivation, the desire to obey there is the qualifying question. And repentance goes right along with that. When there is sin, as inevitably there will be (disobedience to God is Sin by the way), there must be confession with tears and genuine repentance. It all goes together; it is a love package from God’s perspective (loving others+obedience bent+confession of sin with tears+repentance=Love for God from His angle). This love package God unwraps and looks inside. His heart is moved, or not, by what’s inside. A love package, with a little card affixed: ”…Dear Lord, I love you, and wish to deepen my spiritual intimacy (familiarity, friendship, outright love) with you. Inside this package please find my depth of love for you, my sincerity in this love-speak I claim…”.
2. God is not an “unknown” entity these days. He has decidedly revealed Himself through the Savior, Jesus Christ. One must know someone in order for a relationship to even get off the starting blocks, and so it is with our relationship with God, we can have this spiritual intimacy with Him by foremost coming to know Him through Jesus our Christ, and Jesus is found all up and down the pages of the Old and New Testament of the Christian Bible. Much of what we (and myriad others much more qualified and able than us) are doing here on this site is presenting this great Savior Jesus to the reader. We want the reader to come to know Him and have a wonderful relationship of intimacy with Him and be exceedingly blessed, according as it pleases Jesus to extend intimacy with Himself to the reader. Please do so great Savior God if the reader desires it, thus bless the reader. Amen.
3. Spiritual intimacy with God comes through Jesus as said, it is the fruit of a Walk; a day-by-day, hand-in-hand walk with a willing Savior; walking hand-in-hand with Him, never balking at His Word ( this is obedience). Through this Walk, tethered to Christ and His Word, day-by-day, comes familiarity with God, and with that familiarity an ever-deepening appreciation of the breadth and depth of His love for us (and the exceeding shortcomings of our reciprocal love and thus no less the depth of His grace usward).
4. If ever one doubts that God desires to have spiritual intimacy with us despite our exceeding shortcomings, let us always remember that He died to make it possible. He, Jesus, bore in His flesh that which is corrupt in our flesh (the flesh defiles the spirit), so that our unholy spirits, cleansed by His precious blood, might ever fellowship with His Holy Spirit. This is just totally amazing and is hard to truly appreciate with limited human insights, intellect, and knowledge. Spiritual intimacy with God surely consists of a sort of Walk that is ever astonished and amazed by His death for us, and ever thanks and praises Him without ceasing. Prayerful whispers of thanks as the day goes by is a form of spiritual intimacy with our great Savior God. (Prayerful communion per se as the day goes by is a form of spiritual intimacy with our great Savior God of itself.)
5. Even as a husband and wife are intimately one, so our spiritual intimacy with God pulls us up into the Divine Oneness. Oneness with the Divine Oneness, predicated by spiritual intimacy with Him through Jesus Christ. Not a “pipedream,” but quite doable because of God’s promises to us which were accomplished through Jesus’ ministry and sacrifices. Oneness with the Divine Oneness is possible through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ for wretched sinners (and all of us, everyone, has sinned and falls short of the glory of God Romans 3:23), and is sealed by that very blood. It is a work of God from first to last—you see dearest reader, He did this because He desired it (our oneness with the Divine Oneness—imagine that), and He wearied Himself at great pains to accomplish it. We must not “let Him down” as the saying goes, we must rush to embrace His Salvation with bended knees and thankful hearts bursting with praise and thanksgiving (“A Letter of Invitation”). Praised be your blessed Name my Lord, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Amen.
6. Kiss the Son! How? Tell of His mighty deeds, tell of His great Name. Grab His outstretched, pierced hand and embrace Him, His Word, His Revelation of God. Cherish Him as the “apple of your eye.” Go to work for Him. Love His people and help them however and wherever you can. Set some Spirit-aided bounds for yourself that you will not cross under any circumstances for His sake in obedience to His blessed Word. Ask His Spirit to sensitize you to His deep love for you and reciprocate as best as humanly possible. Do not steal His glory, be someone He can trust. Be brave for Him.
7. Dear Christian friend, spiritual intimacy with God is something that He greatly desires with us. Jesus made that abundantly clear when He prayed His priestly prayer just before His crucifixion | resurrection (Fig. 1). It is incumbent on us therefore to love and care for one another in the extreme because dissentions and fractures and dare I say hostilities amongst us runs so very counter to our Lord’s desire for us as His people and for us and Him as Family. That’s where spiritual intimacy with God starts for us—with exceeding love and care for one another as His people. The rest, i.e., He is pulling us up into oneness with the Divine Oneness, is in God’s quite able hands.
Please forgive our abundant failures insofar as being your people according to your commands and desires great Savior God, and grant us healing in that regard. Even so, please grant us spiritual intimacy with you, whom we so love and adore; hide not your face from your Beloved, pull us up into oneness with the Divine Oneness. Praised be your Divine Name in all the earth great Jehovah God. Amen.
ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES
Figure 1. Spiritual Intimacy with Jehovah God: Oneness with the Divine Oneness (John 17:22-23).
WORKS CITED AND REFERENCES
“A Letter of Invitation.”
Jesus, Amen.
< https://development.jesusamen.org/a-letter-of-invitation-2/ >
“Jesus: I Have Called You Friends.”
Jesus, Amen.
< https://development.jesusamen.org/jesus-i-have-called-you-friends/ >
"The Sacred Zone."
Jesus, Amen.
< https://development.jesusamen.org/the-sacred-zone-scenario-42/ >