Ok, I have to write this out. In Ephesians 5 and Revelation 19 the church is called, “the bride of Christ”. The marriage relationship is the most intimate on earth. I find it interesting that Jesus sees His church the same way a bridegroom sees his bride. It follows then that the church is to see Jesus the same way a bride sees her bridegroom. Since I am happily married I have a taste of what that means. Over the years my wife has become my best friend. We have grown to love each other deeply and honestly, life would royally suck without her. Now Jesus says, “how you love your wife or husband is how I love you; and you in turn are to love Me like that as well”.
I think the key ingredient we need to focus on is intimacy. Jesus Christ desires intimacy with His church. When we think of intimacy we think of the ultimate union in marriage. And this is where Christians get a little nervous and begin to wiggle in their seats. We have a hard time making the connection between our concept of intimacy and God’s concept of intimacy. After all, our finite minds can only comprehend so much. And so we begin to shuttle and shift and just not think about it or try to marginalize it. In Ephesians 5.32 Paul writes, “this mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” In the verses prior to that he was speaking of the marriage relationship between and a man and a woman. And then in vs. 31 he quotes Genesis 2.24 which speaks of a man and a woman becoming one flesh.
Are you squirming yet?
So, the question remains what in the world is God talking about when it comes to intimacy? Remember, the purpose of this writing is my attempt to resolve this in my limited brain. I believe Paul called it a mystery because we will not fully understand it until we reach heaven. But in the meantime intimacy with Christ means first of all removing as best we can the physical aspect of intimacy and focusing on the spiritual connection that occurs. It is the idea of removing all walls and hindrances and enjoying each other’s presence. That is what I believe Jesus meant in John 14 where He speaks of “abiding in Him”. I think then it’s the concept of His presence; being in His presence, basking in His presence, longing for His presence.
What do you think?
