Defining Intentional Intimacy - Tri-unity

Tri-unity is a foreign concept to us because although we were created in the image of God, we also have suffered the results of “the fall” and often embrace our sin nature and fleshly desires.

The problem and the cure can be summarized with a look at a few verses. (I like the Scripture highlighted in the book Share Jesus Without Fear, which brings to light the Truth and is an easy way to witness to others.) It is true that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). Jesus states, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3) and “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Furthermore, "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame'" (Romans 10:9) because, "he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). Jesus offers a new relationship, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

Meditate on these passages and their Truth. These passages, when embraced, point to a new life with Christ—one that is the beginning of unity with God and the starting point of a changed life through God’s grace. If you do not have this relationship, I pray you search your heart and the Scriptures and accept the gift of Jesus Christ that God has so freely given through His love for you.

If you are already in a relationship with the Lord, do you feel held back somehow? Do you feel like you are breathing but not really alive? That is not God’s desire. God continues His grace for believers with a new nature and new nurture by which we have full access and ability to completely embrace His power through Christ and His resurrection. The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Being that new creation which is no longer held back by old flesh and being filled with the Spirit, we now have the opportunity to employ the unity of relationship given by God.

Again, tri-unity and intentional intimacy sound like foreign concepts. But, through God’s grace and understanding we can connect His teachings and live out His calling to love Him and love others as Jesus instructed, “Love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

This is a key concept if we want to live a life of passion that brings God glory. What is our new nature and how do we embrace that new nature? Through embracing His teachings and obeying His calling in loving Him and others. This is especially prevalent in the closest relationships we have – within our marriages and our families who are our nearest neighbors.