RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

“My beloved is mine, and I am his”
SONG OF SOLOMON 2:16

The relationship between the Christian and Jesus Christ is to be one of devotion and ownership. In HIM becoming ours we become HIS. This is no casual relationship; this is one of intensity and pursuit. It is one where we seek, desire and procure HIS affections. This is not a commonly understood theme in the teaching of today yet it is declared clearly in Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians…

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win* Christ”
PHILIPPIANS 3:8

Paul is not speaking of earning his salvation. He is describing his pursuit to win over completely the affections of Christ in his own heart. The Greek word translated here is used in other places in the scriptures where it speaks of the believing wife winning her husband over to the lord by her chaste behavior; or the recipients of the talents or the pounds having GAINED through their faithfulness to what was given. Paul was flat out in his desire to make himself the sole possession of the living Christ. In bringing his life to that place of pure delight in God he was making the Son the sole purpose and desire of his life. Sadly, today Jesus is often seen as an event in our lives, one that fulfills the religious criteria of a Christian, after which we may go out and live our lives. This has produced people who have spent very little effort in discovering the glory of a relationship with God that is a prize above all things. His beauty and wonder permeates the lives of those who have caught glimpses of His pure radiance. A casual attitude and apathetic approach to the Christian walk will leave its adherents in the vague world of teachings and concepts with no idea of the LIFE that is found in HIM.

“My beloved is mine, and I am his”
SONG OF SOLOMON 2:16

This is a statement of mutual love; a declaration of pure holy love at the most intimate spiritual level. It is one that requires change and motion as we seek to become those vessels of holy delight to Him who is in turn our only source of joy and desire. Let the awe of such a possibility of relationship with the Most High God be the fire that burns within our hearts. For that fire (which is the very flame of HIS OWN love burning within us) will not only give us the focus to pursue Him but will, at the same time, burn away the impurities of our own agendas and desires. Men and women who have found this Pearl of Great Price throughout the ages declare in perfect agreement with the scriptures…

“My beloved is white and ruddy,
Chief among ten thousand.
His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy, And black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk, And fitly set.
His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies, Dripping liquid myrrh.
His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl. His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!”
SONG OF SOLOMON 5:10-16

*NOTE: κερδαίνω kerdainō; “He (Paul) was still forfeiting all that he had held dear. What for? He tells us, “that I may win Christ.” This latter expression does not refer to Paul’s acquisition of Christ as Savior, but to Paul’s appropriating into his life as a Christian, the perfection, the graces, the fragrance of the Person of Christ. The word “win” is the translation of the same Greek word translated “gain” in verse seven. This acquisition of the perfections of Christ, he elaborates upon in verses nine to fourteen”

Translation: “Yea, indeed, therefore, at least, even, I am still setting all things down to be a loss for the sake of that which excels all others, my knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord which I have gained through experience, for whose sake I have been caused to forfeit all things, and I am still counting them dung, in order that Christ I might gain”
WUEST’S WORD STUDIES

Brian Troxel