Our TWO-FOLD SPIRITUAL IDENTITY in GOD’s LOVE

 

July 15 Bible Reading: Song of Solomon Chapters 7-8

Our TWO-FOLD SPIRITUAL IDENTITY in GOD’s LOVE

"I am my Beloved's, and His desire is toward me." (Song 7:10)

King Solomon is unfolding this beautiful love poem between the Beloved and the Shulamite, which is symbolic of the relationship between Jesus and the individual believer, and gives us spiritual principles to aid us in our progression of holy passion for Him. We need to understand that our obedience is rooted in our two-fold spiritual identity in God’s love. Our first spiritual identity is that we should see ourselves as ones that Jesus desire. Our second spiritual identity is that we should see ourselves as totally belonging to Jesus. We are our Beloved’s because His desire is towards us. We need to first understand that Jesus loves us with an eternal love and His desire is for us at all times. "We love Him because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

Spiritual Identity #1: We see ourselves as ones that Jesus desire. 

The prominent theme in the Song is the revelation of God’s desire for us. We should have a deep insight into Jesus' affection and enjoyment of us as His spiritual bride. This revelation will powerfully change us, and this should be our primary motivation for obedience and diligence in the ways of God (Song 4:9; 6:4-5; 7:6-10). Insight into God’s desire gives us the strength to refuse to live by the opinions of others as this gives us emotional security. We speak the Word to the enemy, saying, “It is written: His desire is towards me, regardless if others reject me”. 

Spiritual Identity #2: We see ourselves as lovers of God 

This is in saying, "I am my Beloved’s” or “I belong to Jesus, I'm under His leadership, I want to please Him, His desires are what I care most about." We should have the revelation of Jesus’ total ownership of us (1 Cor 6:20). We exist for Him without any other considerations (Rev. 14:4). We should serve God without any concern for what will happen to us. Our focus should now be entirely on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:1-2). The question of what Jesus desires in us should be the most relevant issue in our lives. This is what we should value more than anything else in this world.

We should thus be defined by the fact that we are desired by God and that we desire (love) Him. We confess our identity, “I'm a lover of God. That is who I am. That is what I do.” We should live a life of sacrificial obedience because He already desires and loves us.

God loves us in the same measure that He loves His only begotten Son Jesus Christ (John 15:9; 17:23).  Let us understand the depth of God’s love as well as our two-fold spiritual identity in that love as we live to please Him alone in this world. "Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God…" (2 Thess. 3:5)

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Eph 3:14-19)