Intimacy that nourish our lives

The true setting for understanding intimacy is marriage. In marriage, man and woman enter into a covenant to offer themselves as a gift to each other. We enter into physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual intimacy.

But since we are two equals looking to the other for our own fulfilment, with insufficient resources within ourselves to provide perfect fulfilment, we inevitably fall short of perfect intimacy in all these areas. We ought to look to God to nourish and perfect this intimacy. Marital intimacy foreshadows our ultimate intimacy with God in the life to come.

God reduced Himself to our level in the person of Jesus Christ in order to take us beyond the physical, social, emotional and intellectual realms and connect us with Him in spirit.

Jesus said that we will worship God “in truth and spirit.” Truth is Jesus Himself, and the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. It is through the merits of Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection that we are made righteous to present ourselves in the presence of God. It is the Holy Spirit who intercedes on our behalf in our worship.

The transaction here is almost one-way. God fills us with the love that we need to nourish our relationships. The love with which we are being filled is the Holy Spirit Himself.

But since our mandate is to be human and to live in the flesh, we face the challenge of going beyond the physical, social, emotional and intellectual realms to connect with God in spirit.

The Physical Realm

The physical realm includes our bodies, sexuality and all material things, including money.

People who serve and worship money as God, and people who propagate sex as a way to enlightenment and entertainment, are examples of those who become stuck in this realm.

Zacchaeus in the Bible represents a true transformation from the physical realm to something beyond it. His encounter with Jesus transformed his relationship with wealth and possessions.

The Social Realm

The social realm includes my social status, name, career, power and authority.

We see people struggle to maintain their social status at the cost of their own lives. They mobilise all their endowments to get ahead of others.

Jesus, however, teaches us another way: to take the last place, wash the feet of our brothers and sisters, and become servants.

The Emotional Realm

The emotional realm includes our joys, comforts, pains and fears.

We can become stuck here too—sometimes in pain and at other times in pleasure.

Hedonism and self-pity are examples of becoming trapped in this realm. Jesus continually calls us beyond our changing emotions into trust and freedom.

The Intellectual Realm

Some people spend their lifetime learning and amassing knowledge. These are people who can become stuck in the intellectual realm.

They are no longer teachable. They love to win arguments and engage in debates but refuse to bow down to the wisdom that comes from God.

Jesus repeatedly challenged those who possessed knowledge but lacked humility. God can reveal to the ordinary what He has hidden from those who consider themselves wise.

Beyond the Realms

In order to experience God, we have to raise ourselves beyond all these realms and meet Him in Truth and Spirit.

This is a daily process that we need to joyfully engage in. It is the Truth—Jesus Himself—that helps set us free from being trapped in any of these other realms.

The physical, social, emotional and intellectual realms are not evil. They are support systems for us to love as God loves and ultimately reach God. They provide for us on our journey, but we ought not to become stuck in any of them.

We are nourished in the spiritual realm so that we can minister in the other realms.

As the Bible says, we are in the world but not of the world.

When we pass into the next life, the things that belong to this earthly existence will cease, while our relationship with God will remain. This is why Jesus tells us to store up our treasures in heaven.

Our strength to sustain and nourish our relationships comes from intimacy with God.

And when we have done our part well here on earth, we are still to say, “We are unworthy servants.”

Then He will surprise us with eternal life, which is immeasurably beyond anything we could ever imagine.

Clarify the central argumentRefine the theology of intimacy