A Relationship with Jesus Creates an Intimate Identity
Once I am convinced of my identity in Christ, I can be connected in intimacy with Christ.
But if anyone loves God, he is known by him.
1 Corinthians 8:3 CSB
Intimacy describes a deep relationship wherein we know and are known by another. Because of all Christ has done for me, I am brought into a deep connection with Him when I choose to be in a relationship with Him. The identity that is given to me by Christ promotes intimacy with Him. This intimacy is a naturally occurring process.
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:7 CSB
Because of Christ, I Can Have an Intimate Identity
Christ gives me His righteousness, placing the royal robes of His purity upon me. He has written me a letter avowing love, and He is preparing a place for me so that His church may eternally dwell with Him as His bride. With God ascribing meaningful truth, Christ affixes His seal of approval, signifying that I belong to Him, thereby giving me a sanctified identity. In support of Christ’s redemptive grace, the Holy Spirit changes my soul’s orientation to God while restructuring my value system to reflect a deep abiding desire for intimacy with Jesus.
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Romans 5:1–2, 5, 8–11 NLT
Demonstrate God’s Love
I am to demonstrate God’s love because I am God’s beloved child. Within my intimate relationship with Christ, His love is being perfected in me.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
1 John 4:9–12 NLT
Love becomes the manifestation of my solidified intimate identity with Christ. When it becomes evident that love is my way of life, I have a tangible indication of my right standing before God.
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
1 John 3:18 NLT
Loving God Is True Spirituality
We see the first command of the Shema in Deuteronomy. Jesus quotes it to establish that loving God is the essence of true spirituality.
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”
Mark 12:30 CSB
Jesus goes on to say that if you have my love in you, you will have a tangible outflow of love for others.
“The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Mark 12:31 NLT
As God has evidenced His love for me, I am able to share His love with another. To demonstrate God’s love is to love as He loves. Therefore, I will share the essence of His presence with others.
“I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
John 13:34 NASB
My ultimate industry is to love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. When I demonstrate God’s love, I fulfill my reason for living. God’s love animates every aspect of a believer’s life.
“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:12–13 NLT
Insight Journal
- This is how I would describe my relationship with Christ:
- I demonstrate God’s love when . . .
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Excerpts from iProcess by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis © 2023. Download your copy today!
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Read more about iProcess: identity in Christ, intimacy with Christ, industry for Christ.
