Four Pictures of Intimacy
When you think about intimacy with God we find that He desires it more than we do. We have to look no further than the Incarnation and Cross to see the proof. In the New Testament we find pictures of the intimacy that God desires for us.
The Shepherd and Sheep. The shepherd never left the sheep. He would lead them, protect them, and watch over them…God never leaves us and He never forsakes us. We all like sheep go astray, but our Shepherd pursues us and brings us back. Do you know Him as Shepherd?
The Temple. God’s presence came to the Temple and He dwelt there. The New Testament describes us as temples, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20). God in in us and wants to fellowship with us.
The Marriage Relationship. ”And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:2). Paul uses this analogy in Ephesians. The deepest relationship we have on earth is found in marriage and that is simply a picture of our relationship with God.
The Vine and the Branch. We see this in John 15. A vine and branch grow together to the point that it is hard to tell where one starts and the other ends. They are intertwined and dependent upon one another. God wants us to live like that. To be so full of the Holy Spirit, so full of His fruit, that when we come across people and spend time with them, they experience God in us. We never become gods, but we should be so full, so controlled, and so like Him that others see Jesus, hear Jesus, and experience Jesus through us.
All of this comes through TIME. Time alone in His Word, time alone in prayer, time with the Body of Christ, and just time throughout the day.
The Shepherd and Sheep. The shepherd never left the sheep. He would lead them, protect them, and watch over them…God never leaves us and He never forsakes us. We all like sheep go astray, but our Shepherd pursues us and brings us back. Do you know Him as Shepherd?
The Temple. God’s presence came to the Temple and He dwelt there. The New Testament describes us as temples, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20). God in in us and wants to fellowship with us.
The Marriage Relationship. ”And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:2). Paul uses this analogy in Ephesians. The deepest relationship we have on earth is found in marriage and that is simply a picture of our relationship with God.
The Vine and the Branch. We see this in John 15. A vine and branch grow together to the point that it is hard to tell where one starts and the other ends. They are intertwined and dependent upon one another. God wants us to live like that. To be so full of the Holy Spirit, so full of His fruit, that when we come across people and spend time with them, they experience God in us. We never become gods, but we should be so full, so controlled, and so like Him that others see Jesus, hear Jesus, and experience Jesus through us.
All of this comes through TIME. Time alone in His Word, time alone in prayer, time with the Body of Christ, and just time throughout the day.
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