Intro to John
The Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Handout
Handout
What is intimacy?
That is going to be the question we look to answer this semester as we meet together on Wednesday nights.
Whether we know it or not, we are all created with an innate need for intimacy. Mankind was created for intimacy.
In Genesis 1 we see that “In the beginning” God created the heavens and the earth. In six days God created everything. His chief creation was mankind. It says that while God spoke and life existed, in the case of mankind, God knelt down in the dust, formed Adam and Eve by hand and set them apart from all other created things.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
In chapter 2 we see this process a little more detailed.
then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
God created Adam first but it was not good for Adam to be alone. God then brought every other living thing to Adam for Adam to find a partner. Adam named every living thing but found no helper suitable for him. God then put Adam into a deep sleep and out of his rib created the first woman whom Adam called Woman because she was a part of him.
Here we get a first look into intimacy.
The four intimacies
Emotional Intimacy: An intimacy built through emotional connections. Sharing a secret with someone you trust, expressing a frustration, expressing an insecurity. Not sexual in nature but conveys a sense of belonging and community.
Physical Intimacy: An intimacy built through physical connections. A mother holding her child, two friends giving high fives, a brother giving his sister a hug. Not sexual in nature but conveys a sense of protection and safety.
Sexual Intimacy: An intimacy designed for the confines of marriage. Used as a tool to enhance emotional and physical intimacy. It brings honor and glory to God by taking what were once two people and uniting them into one flesh.
Sexual immorality: A false intimacy. Sin disguises itself as emotional, physical, and sexual intimacy. Seeks to corrupt emotional and physical intimacy by introducing sexual intimacy too soon or in a way that is inappropriate.
Spiritual Intimacy: An intimacy built on the transformative work of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. It is purchased in justification, manifested through sanctification, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. It is an intimacy that expels sexual immorality and protects the other intimacies from perversion. It sees all people, not as objects to be used, but as creatures made in the divine image of God.
We see a couple different types of intimacy at work.
Emotional: God is caring for the needs of Adam. He understands what Adam needs deep down in His being. He understands Adam’s desire for a partner and sympathizes.
Physical: The Creator of the Universe is handcrafting Adam and Eve. He is walking with them in the cool of the morning. He is present and near to His creation.
Spiritual Intimacy: There is no separation between Adam and Eve and their creator. There is no presence of immorality or insecurity. They are naked and unashamed in the presence of their Lord.
On top of God’s relationship with Adam and Eve we see His relationship amongst the persons of the Trinity. Perfectly unique and perfectly unified. We see the Spirit hovering over the waters. We see the Father’s plan unfolding. We see the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus, toiling in the dust. All three members of the Trinity carrying acting in harmony to carry out the supreme will of the Lord. Father, Son, Holy Spirit existing as one in being. They share a perfect intimacy with each other. Jesus says in the Gospels, I and my Father are one. Everything Jesus does is in accordance with the Father’s will. Likewise it says that it pleased the Father to have the fullness of God dwell in Jesus. there is intimacy between the Father and the Son. There are countless examples of the Trinity and the intimacy between them. It is the Spirit that searches the depths of the Father. It is also the Son who sends the Spirit to inhabit the hearts of His people. There is no insecurity between persons. No competition or conflict between them. Jesus honors the Father, the Father honors the Son. The Spirit honors both and is honored by both. All three work together throughout all human history to work all things for their glory and our good. Our being all who call on the name of Jesus for salvation.
Transcendence: “That which is higher than or surpasses other things. What is transcendent is thus relative to what is transcended. God is conceived by traditional theologians as being transcendent with respect to the created universe, meaning that he is outside the universe and that no part of the universe is identical to him or a part of him. To think of God as transcendent with respect to time is to conceive him as timeless.”
When we think of God there is something that we recognize immediately. He is unlike any created thing we have ever experienced. Why? Because He is the creator of all things! God is almighty. All powerful. He exists outside of time and space yet is present in every moment. The word transcendence is the character or nature of God that separates Him from us. Him from all other things. He is not controlled by anything He is master to all. Even time itself is subject to His authority. God is Lord over angels, demons, kingdoms, presidents, illnesses, even death itself. God is Lord over all.
When we think of God and elevate Him to His worthy place as King of all Kings we begin transition to thinking, what does a holy and transcendent God want to do with me. He is a busy God perhaps He has no time for me. Perhaps He doesn’t even know I exist. This is the part of God’s character and nature that blows us away. Even though God doesn’t need us He wants us. He doesn’t need our worship or our praises to make Him feel good about Himself. It isn’t like Santa in the movie Elf where Santa needs people to believe in him to continue to have Christmas magic. God has no need for us yet He created us for intimacy. Intimacy with others but most of all intimacy with our Creator.
In the beginning, before anything existed, God was motivated in His love to create us for Himself. To have relationship with Him for all eternity. To walk with Him in the cool of the morning naked and unashamed.
This however doesn’t last long. God created us for intimacy and also with a free will. Mankind used that free will to sin against God breaking the intimacy we had with Him.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
God created mankind, put them in the garden, and gave them one rule: don’t eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve sinned. Deceived by satan to forsake the intimacy they had with God for a lie. From here mankind has had an intimacy problem. Sin corrupts intimacy. It doesn’t come naturally to us anymore. We feel insecure, we feel threatened, we feel shame and guilt, we feel temptation to objectify, take advantage, and use people for our own purposes. We want attention, control, affection, power. Our intimacy is broken and in need of restoration.
God hasn’t stopped in His intimacy towards us. In fact satan still actively is trying to destroy the intimacy between God and His people, but Jesus has come to offer abundant life.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
What kind of intimacy does God have for us?
O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
We see that God is persistent in pursuing us, He is consistent in his care, and He is intentional with His intimacy. He searches and knows us on the deepest level. Every fear. Every hope and dream. Every temptation and sin. Everything. He knows us completely. It is a great thing to know God and be known by Him. He is present everywhere we go. In every time of need our God is near and attentive. Even darkness isn’t dark to Him.
He formed us in our mother’s wombs. He gave us our passions and personalities. Every single part about us was designed by God. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. He meets us here in those secret places with a plan for every day we will ever live. This intimacy is what sin and satan have tried to take away. Sin tells us that we can find intimacy and love in other places. Sin says look at this fruit, its good to eat, its what you need, but all the while it draws us further and further away from intimacy with our creator.
How do we restore the intimacy that has been broken by sin?
This semester we are going to study the Gospel of John. He is going to answer that question for us. We’re going to see that intimacy comes from being born again, from drinking deep from the river of living water, from stepping out into the light, from abiding in our savior, from running to Him for forgiveness and grace. Through Jesus, God is inviting us into intimacy with Him once again. He has made the way for us to have new life in Christ and stand before Him unashamed and clothed in Christ’s righteousness.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Our focus these next few months is to focus on intimacy with God.
Experiencing God — through spending time in the word
Talking to God — through spending time in prayer
Waiting and listening to God — through spending time being still and hearing teaching from His word
Obeying God — through doing all that God speaks to us in those intimate moments and producing fruit consistent with what He is calling us to be
Community with God’s People — through gathering together holding each other accountable and encouraging one another
Intimacy with God grows like intimacy with any other relationship. It happens over time and its strengthened by what we do when intimacy is challenged. Will we make time? Will we commit to doing the hard things?
Here are some verses to help in our pursuit of intimacy.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
