Intimacy With Grace Leads to Feeding and Resting on the Finished Work of Jesus

About a year ago the Lord spoke to me about how marriage is a picture of how His grace works in our lives.  I shared this in our Bible study late last year and I’m finally getting around to writing it down.  He spoke to me specifically about intimacy in marriage and how it is a picture of how we should be intimate with His grace.  It says in Colossians 1:5-6 that the Gospel grows and bears fruit with our understanding of grace, us becoming accurately and intimately acquainted with His grace.

Colossians 1:5-6 (AMP)

⁵ Because of the hope [of experiencing what is] laid up (reserved and waiting) for you in heaven. Of this [hope] you heard in the past in the message of the truth of the Gospel,

⁶ Which has come to you. Indeed, in the whole world [that Gospel] is bearing fruit and still is growing [by its own inherent power], even as it has done among yourselves ever since the day you first heard and came to know and understand the grace of God in truth. [You came to know the grace or undeserved favor of God in reality, deeply and clearly and thoroughly, becoming accurately and intimately acquainted with it.]

God wants us to be intimate with His grace, to cultivate the presence of the Lord in our lives daily.  Because He knows the results.  Just like intimacy in a marriage leads to hunger, intimacy with His grace will lead to spiritual hunger.  I researched some scientific studies that prove that after intimacy both men and woman become hungry, they crave to eat.   And intimacy with His grace leads to hunger for His word.  When His grace entered my life I found that the more conscious I was of His grace and the more I received it the more I supernaturally wanted to read the word of God.  I needed to feed, and the more grace I received the more I fed.  I noticed the same in my wife and others close to me that have believed and received His grace.  The church has taught for the longest time that we must read the word to grow, they have done studies that prove that those that read the word four or more times a day are more “obedient” to the word.  But this self effort is temporary and leads to failure, it eventually fades and for the temporary time it works it allows for boasting for the obedient and condemnation for the disobedient.  It is this law mentality that leads to sin as the law is the strength of sin.  Before grace entered my life I always desired to read the word and be “devoted” but I never did.  I could never will myself to stick to it.  But now with the revelation of His pure grace, I read it supernaturally without any self effort and it is full of His revelation.  It is not a law to me, under grace we are now led by the promptings of the Spirit – Romans 7:6 (AMP). It is not about making “new years resolutions” it’s about always receiving His pure grace (unmerited favor).

His grace will make you grow in His word of righteousness and as you hunger for His word you will be able to feed on solid food (His word full of truth and revelation).  Hebrews 5:12-14 ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. ¹⁴ But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.  

As you become full of His word of righteousness (solid food / truth and revelation) you will be able to enter into His rest.  This solid food is the fullness of Jesus, He is the bread of life. John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. Just like in a marriage, after you feed the hunger that was brought on by intimacy you are able to rest.  You will find that you will sleep like a baby.  And in fact we were born that way, a baby sleeps best with a full stomach.  Put a hungry baby to bed and they will not sleep at all.  And God’s desire for all believers is for them to enter into His rest.  Hebrews 4:9-11 ⁹ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

Let go of incorrect teaching that leads to self effort and focuses on habits and receive His abundance of grace. Intimacy with His grace (unmerited favor) will make you grow in knowledge of His word of righteousness (right standing with God in His full redemption and no condemnation). It will supernaturally lead you to hunger for the word and you will feed on the bread of life, Jesus himself (solid food and revelation in His word).  Full of His truth you will then be able to enter into His rest.