To understand the idea of us being intimate with God, we must first of all grasp something about God Himself: He is relational – defined by an internal relationship between the members of the Trinity. Before time began, Father, Son and Holy Spirit were together. From the very first chapters, the Bible portrays the Trinity working in unity completing creation, and later in the outworking of the redeeming plan.
Although Deuteronomy 6:4 clearly tells us that God is one, we know that He is also three distinct persons. We can see this very clearly when Jesus is being baptized: The Father speaks confirmation over him – “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”, and the Holy Spirit comes down as a dove. Another fact we can glimpse out of this passage are some attributes of this relationship: love and affirmation.
Another dynamic in the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is that they collaborate. Each person has a different role. The Father sent his son, the son came to do the Father’s will and performed the redemptive work – in other words, saved us, and the Father with the Son send the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us – makes us more like Jesus and able to do the Father’s will. They work together.
Another clue pointing to the fact that God is three person is that each of them also have their own will. In Luke 22:42, Jesus, just a few hours before his crucifixion, prays to God the Father ‘not my will be done but yours’. In Corinthians we read that the Holy Spirit gives his gifts to whomever he chooses. Although each of the three has a distinct will, they never disagree. They are always working together and are always in harmony. At the heart of the trinity are perfectly pure love, submissiveness, obedience and deep intimacy.
I don’t know if you have ever heard this one but sometimes people would say God created human beings because he was bored of being alone. But we know that before anything was created God the Father, God Son and God the Holy Spirit who are one – were self-sufficient in their relationship with each other – a relationship of love, fellowship, collaboration, harmony and deep and bottomless unity and intimacy– too perfect for us to fully grasp.
In His Image
When we look at human intimacy we have to understand our origin. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created us in his image. God who himself is love and exists in an intimate relationship within the Trinity creates beings, personalities that have that same relational DNA. Beings that long for love, fellowship, partnership, harmony and intimacy.
We are not only created to live in relationship with others but God also and most importantly created us to have an intimate relationship with Him. It is our Creator, the Creator of the universe, it is the Christ who gave Himself entirely for us, for you, who invites and pursues you and woos you to enter into that intimacy with Him.
Definitions of Intimacy:
Invitations
“Warm close personal friendship”, “A feeling or atmosphere of closeness and openness towards someone else, not necessarily involving sexuality.”“Intimacy is linked with feelings of closeness, safety, trust and transparency among partners in a collaborative relationship”“For intimacy to be sustainable and nourishing it also requires trust, transparency and rituals of connection. It is possible to compete over intimacy, but that is likely to be self-defeating. Intimacy requires empathy – the ability to stand in the other’s shoes. Intimacy is both the ability and the choice to be close, loving and vulnerable.”
When we look at the Bible, many stories of individuals start with God uttering an invitation into a covenant with Him. To Abraham he said ‘“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bess you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.” So Abram left, as the Lord told him.’ One chapter later it is God again who approaches Moses and says to him “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” God invites Abraham into a relationship and it is God who establishes the covenant which is to last for the generation to come.
In the story of Moses again, God is the initiator in the relationship. He entices Moses to get closer to Him through the burning bush were He then reveals him his purpose and sends him out to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt. God again takes the first step.
Jesus Himself said,
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44) and “No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10:22).
The verse of this old hymn reminds us:
I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me.
It was not I that found, O Savior true;
No, I was found of Thee.
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me.
It was not I that found, O Savior true;
No, I was found of Thee.
The word “prevenient” is often used of God. It means “coming before, preceding”: “the One who goes before, working in grace so we can respond; the One who draws us so that we will seek Him; the One who reveals Himself”.
It is always God who initiates a relationship. The Holy Spirit draws us in into a revelation of who God is, His heart cry being that would be intimate with Him, feel closeness, safety, trust and be transparent towards Him, that we would collaborate with Him and that we would discover new depth and new realities of His character.
Being Intimate with God
One of definitions above reads: Intimacy is both the ability and the choice to be close. If intimacy is a choice, it means we have to respond to the invitation. Let’s look at ways to respond, ways into intimacy with God.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul says "Pray without ceasing." Being intimate with God means being in constant conversation with Him throughout the day. Of course it doesn’t mean praying out loud all day long. I believe it means being aware of God’s presence all the time and inviting Him into any situation. One of my friends said she finds it difficult to be aware of God’s presence at work. We can all relate. Sometimes it seems so much easier to compartmentalize our lives into some areas where we are Christians and some areas were we aren’t. There are some areas in life where it can seem like God just doesn’t fit in. In our work place we might not be allowed to speak about God with clients and sharing our faith with our non-Christian friends and family is often challenging. It’s easy to adapt to their world and blank God out. But being intimate with God means inwardly praying “I’m yours” “Remain with me”, “You’re here” “Help!” “touch them”…
Intimacy with God also means meditating on Him. One guy once said when you think about problems you worry, when you think about God you meditate. Meditating in a Christian sense doesn’t mean you empty your mind of everything. Philipians 4:8 says “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Thinking on one bit of scripture and letting God speak to you – that’s meditation. We often think that to hear God clearly we must to read as many chapters in the Bible as possible. But the times when God speaks most clearly and deeply are sometimes those when we allow ourselves to read, reread and ponder on one passage for months.
Intimacy requires honesty. Being intimate with God is being honest with Him. It means to stop pretending we are self-sufficient and letting Him take down our walls of pride. I was reading a marriage book some time ago and it was suggesting that there are 5 different levels of verbal communication within a marriage, the fifth one being the deepest. In order to achieve that fifth level, it suggested, you had to know that your spouse’ love for was unconditional, that they accepted you as aou were and only wanted the best for you. I believe it is the same with God. When we know that we are accepted by God because of what Jesus did, we can be honest with God and share our deepest thoughts with Him. Psalm 139 reads “Search me Oh God and know my heart..”
Being intimate with God means to seek what is on His heart, valuing the things He values. Investing in what He values. I heard the phrase “singing of the same hymn sheet” this week in a meeting. When you hear an expression in a language that is not your mother tongue, you often give the words their literal meaning first before ascribing a figurative meaning to them. When I heard this saying I pictured the two man who were speaking singing different songs at once, then realizing they needed to synchronize. Being intimate with God means singing of the same hymn sheet as Him. For example, in proverbs it says “Different weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scale is not good” – so we will be fair in our tradings. Jesus valued praying alone so I will learn to do it, he also valued times of fellowship and so I will seek them. He valued compassion so I will try to be compassionate.
Time to Grow Close
The biggest obstacle to intimacy with God is business in our lives and the inability to do as it says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
A.W Tozer who wrote about the Christian life 60 years ago he wrote,
A generation of Christians reared among push-buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul. (p. 66)
This was 60 years when people had 2 channels on their TVs. We want instant connection with God but friendships need time to develop. Nothing of lasting value is instant. ‘Wait’, ‘be still’, and ‘quiet’ are words we often find in the Bible in the context of finding God.
Be encouraged by the words of this hymn
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word…
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
