The intimacy which the Lord has sought with man is evidenced in a very blessed way through Scripture. It may have had different expressions, but still it was intimacy. The glory in the cloud, the Lord in the burning bush, the armed Captain by Jericho, and the glory filling the temple–all tell this nearness of God to man. Then, in the progress of His wisdom and counsels, there was the actual assumption of Manhood, the witness of witnesses to this precious truth.
But what has strongly drawn my mind is the intimacy that He so wondrously and graciously seeks and has provided in this our present age. He has given the Holy Ghost; the Spirit of truth is in us. The Comforter abides with us forever. Our bodies are nothing less than His temples. There is no form of intimacy so wonderful as this, and none more true and real. If personally the Lord God would take a calf or a cake–as pledges of hospitality to a travelling man–from the hand of Abraham; if in the sight of the congregation He would let the glory dwell, and fill the temple courts, to show His joy in His newfound dwelling with Israel; if in the manhood of Jesus of Nazareth, He would sit at a well with a sinner, or let another lean on His bosom at supper; in this our very hour He has us, in the thoughts and purposes of His own heart, up in heaven with Himself, and the Holy Ghost is here within us!
Is this intimacy of a feebler nature? Is this a retracing of His steps, going back again into His own perfections and glories, or amid the principalities and dominions of angels? No. It is pursuing His former purpose of intimacy, only in a further stage till He perfect it in the kingdom. This indwelling of the Spirit tells us that in every pulse of affection that beats, in every duty or service that is fulfilled or performed, the thought of the Lord should mix itself; the Lord is to be brought in as the animating and ruling principle.
Is this the withdrawal of Himself? Is this the symptom of a God in the thick darkness, a God far off? It is the very reverse. It is only a richer pursuit of that same desire for intimacy with us which broke forth in its infant form in the Book of Genesis, and which is to bloom in its perfection in the kingdom.
It has been sweetly described by another that the divine intimacy was expressed by Jesus when risen, as well as by Jesus in the flesh. This appears from His preparing the dinner on the seashore, eating in company with His disciples (Jn. 21). He would relieve our consciences with a peace which He has made for us; He would satisfy our hearts with attractions that are divine and ineffable, and fitted to teach us that the half could not be told. They are the attractions which nothing less than He Himself puts forth; and He would bring Himself in amid all our occupations and relationships, that the recollection of His authority and grace may sanctify as well as bless the whole.
It is faith that enters into this purpose of God and enjoys it. Faith apprehends a peace made by Himself, which is therefore perfect, and clothes the conscience with it. Faith apprehends His love and the other blessed attractions that are in Him, and gives the heart as a dwelling place to Him. Faith knows Him to be no stranger to the smallest action, and therefore invests the whole course of life with the sense of His authority and sufficiency. His desired fellowship adds grace to all the joys and sorrows of His people.
And where does this intimacy appear at the end? In the Apocalypse, redeemed man takes the place of nearness to the throne. The tabernacle of God is with men, and the Lamb’s bride becomes the habitation of the glory.