Shocked And Appalled At The Nature Of Spiritual Intimacy
I do declare!
For many, the true nature of spiritual intimacy is hard to grasp. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual connections between male and female members of the Body of Christ. Observers of these holy unions are often shocked and appalled when opposites attract so forcefully, fearing that sexual sin cannot be far behind. Even if there is no undue affection, people often think that unions break our traditional values and are a “bad” testimony.
The natural man does not understand spiritual intimacy
Unfortunately, natural-minded people are not equipped to judge supernatural behavior. Though we read the same Bible, men and women of reason never comprehend men and women of revelation. Those who eat of the knowledge of good live by a different standard than those who find themselves moved by the Spirit of God. It is a hard saying, but nevertheless, it is true.
The root of mankind’s problems is our reliance on what seems right to our natural minds. This is the legacy of Adam’s and Eve’s sin. People look at connection love and recoil, not because it is ungodly, but because they cannot understand it. True purity is so foreign to our earthly existence that we do not believe it when we see it. Surely, we “know” that if two people are so close there must be shame somewhere.
Learning to trust God’s voice
I am convinced that much of the intimate behavior between connections is meant to break us of our shame. Through opening up to each other, in such a profound and vulnerable way, we lay bear ourselves in absolution of our fig leaves. Since people normally only do this when they have been physically intimate, people assume that such carnal knowledge must be present. However, spiritual connections, if they are somewhat intimate, only do so out of love of the Spirit and not out of carnal desires. Connection love does not seek its own.
When deep connections occur between men and women
God connects men and women whether they are married or not. Divine love does not follow the relationship patterns of this earth. When we yield to the Holy Spirit, which is a foretaste of the world to come, everything we do begins to conform to our future home. People neither marry nor are given in marriage in the New Heavens and New Earth. This is true because the types of relationships over there are greater than any earthly marriage.
Likewise, spiritual intimacy should not surprise anyone because it is a picture of the bride/bridegroom relationship in heaven. God created male and female, therefore, when the Holy Spirit manifests through us He does so through our gender. God would not manifest the bridegroom through a woman any more than He would manifest the bride through a man. We act out heavenly realities according to our gender.
Judge not
Some try to cover up their shame by policing other people. Those who struggle the most with lust, often times see lust in everyone else. As spiritual intimacy shows forth in others, many who do not feel the Spirit that way, try to control the expression of others who do. This can and often does take some pretty extreme forms. Some condemn, others try to intimidate, still others threaten dire consequences if you do not conform with what they believe is decent and in order.
Through much tribulation
The evil spirits that drove otherwise pious people to burn “Heretics” at the stake are still very much alive in the church today. What restrains these demonic manifestations from taking place in our time is that torture is illegal. However, Hell unleashes its fury upon those who dare to live as God first intended.
Jesus says,
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.”
Matthew 10:34,35
I and my Father are one
So many assume that what Jesus says fits within their definition of sound doctrine. People imagine that others will only persecute them for believing in Jesus. However, the truth is, when you follow the Spirit of God, you always find yourself beyond doctrine, beyond acceptability, and beyond reason. Do not imagine for a minute that people are going to persecute you for standing for some widely held belief. Believers will persecute you because you say and do the equivalent of this scripture,
“I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.”
John 10:30,31
For an appointed time
In conclusion, the words I speak are not yet that relevant for many. For most, what I say about spiritual intimacy does not really hit home. This is because many have no current need to understand these things. However, God is about to do a work that will sweep away man-made doctrine and replace it with His revelation. When we begin to live as God intended, what I say will be much more relevant.