Authority in Intimacy
(This week's message is part of a concurrent series on the Song of Solomon. For more on the Canticles, please visit our archives)
Out of the place of intimacy, the believer is given all authority to crush the head of the serpent and live the life of an overcomer. Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God’s universal plan has been to restore mankind to a place of communion, wherein our hearts and lives are drawn back to Him. As we are positioned into a place of restored relationship with God, we find that our lives begin to once again demonstrate the authority over our atmosphere and circumstances, much like Adam held authority over his own surroundings in Eden.
The first realm of authority we begin to inhabit is self control over our own deeds. Sin no longer is given license to reign in our mortal flesh. But God seeks to entrust us with much more rulership than simply over our own habits and actions. The life of the believer is not centered around overcoming personal sin issues. That is a rudimentary starting point, but our lives are centered around the Lord Himself.
The authority with which we can be entrusted really has no boundaries, and is measured only by the degree in which we are submitted in love to the King of Kings. Spiritual authority is not dependent on years of training, seminary education, age or length of time as a Christian. It is measured solely by how much of the Lord we have in our lives.
Last week we read of the beloved emerging from the dark night of the soul, to a triumphal vision of King Solomon – who is here a type of Christ, specifically modeled as the King of Glory. He came from the desert like a column of smoke, not unlike the cloud of glory that encamped about the children of Israel and led them, even when they were in the dry places.
King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon. Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior lovingly inlaid by the daughters of Jerusalem. Come out you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced (Song 3:9-11).
Notice that the King was crowned on his wedding day. Isaiah 61:10 further illustrates this “as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest. …” In the place of intimacy, we are crowned with authority. But moreover, the Lord Himself is crowned with authority as we turn our hearts to Him. As we give him our allegiance, we increase the scope of His power. Notice that this is the “crown with which his mother crowned him.” Who is the mother of Christ, but the church? Of course we are not the mother of God as if we preceded Him – but the church, like Mary, gives birth to an expression of Jesus and His Kingdom in the natural realm of the earth. As the presence of God hovers over us in secret prayer, it causes us to release a tangible Heavenly deposit into the world around us.
One way that we crown Him, is when the crowns of our lives are given to Him. All of the service, glory and accomplishments of our lives are laid before Him to increase His domain, even as the elders laid their crowns before Him in the Book of Revelation.
The paradox is this: although the church, like a womb, gives creative expression of God’s Kingdom into the natural realm, yet we are still the work of His hands – Him who is the Creator of all things. We are made by Him, to be carriers of Him. Solomon made for himself the carriage, and the carriage is us. “He made it of wood” means He made us of flesh, as wood is a typology of mankind in scripture. We are the vessels that carry His glory, created specifically for that purpose.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us (2 Cor. 4:7).
Our calling is to be a habitation place for His presence. A place that the Son of Man can finally rest His head. A softened heart is like the royal upholstery of this carriage; our inner life is like its interior lovingly inlaid for Him. We are the temple He inhabits, and the Lord will never dwell in another temple made by hands – He will live only in the chosen ones who carry His name.
It is for this reason, in Amos 9:11, that the Lord says He will restore the Tabernacle of David. He never promises to restore the Tabernacle of Moses, the temple of Solomon or any other earthly structure. Why? Because the Tabernacle of David represented intimate worship, where His people could come openly, without the barriers and veils of the Mosaic Tabernacle, to worship directly before the Ark of the Covenant itself. It was symbolic of direct, unhindered communion between God and His people, which did not hinge on works, ceremony or outer form. It spoke of a new covenant. Remember that this was the lifestyle lived by David, the worshipper, who was commended for having a heart after God’s own heart. For this, David was given a kingdom – authority – that would never end. An eternal throne, birthed in the place of intimate worship as a poor shepherd boy. In fact, even Jesus sits on David’s throne! David was a “mother” who crowned the Lord in the place of intimacy.
One day, every knee will bow to the Lord. The Lord will eventually appropriate His authority over all things, but He is lingering for those who will, by choice, first submit their allegiance to Him willingly. We will either bow our knee to Him out of force, or out of passionate desire. To those who bow the knee out of desire, their inheritance is to rule and reign with Him forever. The more authority we give to God in our lives, the more authority He will entrust us with in our own lives here on earth.
God does not want those who bow the knee like robots. He wants lovers, not slaves. This is why there was free choice in the Garden. And this is why He did not keep His presence in the dead, stationary forms of manmade temples. We are a house built of living stones. Like Solomon’s carriage, or the throne on wheels in Ezekiel’s vision, we are a moving seat for the King. We can operate in the fluidity and life of the Spirit and move at His will.
Understand that God does not need our service, and that is not His reason for exercising authority over us. Our love and service toward the bridegroom makes his “heart rejoice.”
Out of the place of intimacy, the believer is given all authority to crush the head of the serpent and live the life of an overcomer. Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God’s universal plan has been to restore mankind to a place of communion, wherein our hearts and lives are drawn back to Him. As we are positioned into a place of restored relationship with God, we find that our lives begin to once again demonstrate the authority over our atmosphere and circumstances, much like Adam held authority over his own surroundings in Eden.
The first realm of authority we begin to inhabit is self control over our own deeds. Sin no longer is given license to reign in our mortal flesh. But God seeks to entrust us with much more rulership than simply over our own habits and actions. The life of the believer is not centered around overcoming personal sin issues. That is a rudimentary starting point, but our lives are centered around the Lord Himself.
The authority with which we can be entrusted really has no boundaries, and is measured only by the degree in which we are submitted in love to the King of Kings. Spiritual authority is not dependent on years of training, seminary education, age or length of time as a Christian. It is measured solely by how much of the Lord we have in our lives.
Last week we read of the beloved emerging from the dark night of the soul, to a triumphal vision of King Solomon – who is here a type of Christ, specifically modeled as the King of Glory. He came from the desert like a column of smoke, not unlike the cloud of glory that encamped about the children of Israel and led them, even when they were in the dry places.
King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon. Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior lovingly inlaid by the daughters of Jerusalem. Come out you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced (Song 3:9-11).
Notice that the King was crowned on his wedding day. Isaiah 61:10 further illustrates this “as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest. …” In the place of intimacy, we are crowned with authority. But moreover, the Lord Himself is crowned with authority as we turn our hearts to Him. As we give him our allegiance, we increase the scope of His power. Notice that this is the “crown with which his mother crowned him.” Who is the mother of Christ, but the church? Of course we are not the mother of God as if we preceded Him – but the church, like Mary, gives birth to an expression of Jesus and His Kingdom in the natural realm of the earth. As the presence of God hovers over us in secret prayer, it causes us to release a tangible Heavenly deposit into the world around us.
One way that we crown Him, is when the crowns of our lives are given to Him. All of the service, glory and accomplishments of our lives are laid before Him to increase His domain, even as the elders laid their crowns before Him in the Book of Revelation.
The paradox is this: although the church, like a womb, gives creative expression of God’s Kingdom into the natural realm, yet we are still the work of His hands – Him who is the Creator of all things. We are made by Him, to be carriers of Him. Solomon made for himself the carriage, and the carriage is us. “He made it of wood” means He made us of flesh, as wood is a typology of mankind in scripture. We are the vessels that carry His glory, created specifically for that purpose.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us (2 Cor. 4:7).
Our calling is to be a habitation place for His presence. A place that the Son of Man can finally rest His head. A softened heart is like the royal upholstery of this carriage; our inner life is like its interior lovingly inlaid for Him. We are the temple He inhabits, and the Lord will never dwell in another temple made by hands – He will live only in the chosen ones who carry His name.
It is for this reason, in Amos 9:11, that the Lord says He will restore the Tabernacle of David. He never promises to restore the Tabernacle of Moses, the temple of Solomon or any other earthly structure. Why? Because the Tabernacle of David represented intimate worship, where His people could come openly, without the barriers and veils of the Mosaic Tabernacle, to worship directly before the Ark of the Covenant itself. It was symbolic of direct, unhindered communion between God and His people, which did not hinge on works, ceremony or outer form. It spoke of a new covenant. Remember that this was the lifestyle lived by David, the worshipper, who was commended for having a heart after God’s own heart. For this, David was given a kingdom – authority – that would never end. An eternal throne, birthed in the place of intimate worship as a poor shepherd boy. In fact, even Jesus sits on David’s throne! David was a “mother” who crowned the Lord in the place of intimacy.
One day, every knee will bow to the Lord. The Lord will eventually appropriate His authority over all things, but He is lingering for those who will, by choice, first submit their allegiance to Him willingly. We will either bow our knee to Him out of force, or out of passionate desire. To those who bow the knee out of desire, their inheritance is to rule and reign with Him forever. The more authority we give to God in our lives, the more authority He will entrust us with in our own lives here on earth.
God does not want those who bow the knee like robots. He wants lovers, not slaves. This is why there was free choice in the Garden. And this is why He did not keep His presence in the dead, stationary forms of manmade temples. We are a house built of living stones. Like Solomon’s carriage, or the throne on wheels in Ezekiel’s vision, we are a moving seat for the King. We can operate in the fluidity and life of the Spirit and move at His will.
Understand that God does not need our service, and that is not His reason for exercising authority over us. Our love and service toward the bridegroom makes his “heart rejoice.”
posted by John Crowder at 1:12 AM
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