Email to Daisy Carr, Evangelism Committee,
First Baptist Church of Monrovia / Arcadia,
Jan. 18, 2008

On the Four Levels to a Deepening Intimacy with God

Black text = original letter. Blue text = added comments for this website.

The work of the Evangelism Committee cannot be detached from the growth in spiritual maturity of the church's members. Spiritual maturity is just another term for the depth of a believer's intimacy with God. The more spiritually mature a believer is ~ the deeper his intimacy with God ~ the more eager and ready his is to share his faithm on a personal, one-on-one basis as well as in concet with others in a evangelistic campaign, and to enthusiastically support the church's evangelistic ministry. Thus, although our primary concern in the evangelism committee is on the evangelistic ministry of the church, we are equally concerned about all othera ctivities of the church that help their spiritual maturity and growth as this will heve a positive impact on the church's evangelistic ministry as well.

And incidentally, spiritual maturity and evangelism will both have a positive effect on the church's finances as well. The reason is, (1) more spiritually mature believers tend to be good givers as well, and (2) an actively evangelizing church tends to continually bring in and attract new members who - when they are themselves guided properly in their spiritual growth and maturity - especially in their deepening intimacy with God - will tend to become enthusiastic sharers of their gifts, talents, and resources to support and get deeply involved in God's work through His church.

In line with the material in my website, here are some thoughts on helping church members grow in their relationship with our Lord. We know of course that the aspects of the Christian life are just that - aspects. They are really just facets of an integrated whole. Meaning, what happens in one area affect practically all the rest. Thus, in the write up below, while I'm saying that it's about helping each individual member in his or her spiritual growth, the eventual impact is on the life and ministry of the church as a whole!

About 10 years ago, at our church in the Philippines - the Union Church of Manila - we had a series of seminars on how one grows in "intimacy with God". There was even a book that was used as a study and discussion guide in the seminars. I guess I was quite busy at that time so although I heard about it, I never got to attend it. Nevertheless, the very title of the seminar - growing in one's intimacy with God - made a strong impression on me. And I believe the Lord laid in my heart - based on my walk with Him - the following levels of intimacy with God.

Basically, intimacy means a "very close personal relationship". I believe the apostle Paul exhibited this intimacy in the following passage in 2 Timothy (2:16-17) where he presumably wrote about an extremely trying and stressful time - a time of standing in trial as the one accused - for it was a trial for his life.

At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength ...

How did Paul get to this level of intimacy with our Lord?

Whatever the answer, I believe the Lord laid in my heart the following levels of attaining intimacy with God by His grace:

Level 1 - Individual Bible study. We of course get to know God by reading his Word. Individual personal study of the word is for me the lowest, initial and basic level. But its being the rudimentary level does not in anyway depreciate its significance, in the same way that in one's educational career, one needs to take grade 1, 2 and so on. In fact, the foundations laid at this level are of extreme importance as they can influence one's learning and understanding at the higher levels, either to hinder them or facilitate them. At this level, one gets a first glimpse at the true character of God, a first step in getting to know Him, and eventually in becoming intimate with Him.

Level 2 - This is by way of individual obedience following the principles one has learned from his individual study. The study part is the theoretical part. Again, although it is theoretical, this does not mean what one "learns" on a theoretical basis is are important. They are! But still, they are still just in the level of thinking, not actual practical experience. We all know the difference between studying, say, a book on car maintenance, versus actually doing it. The practical application provides a quantum leap in one's understanding of the principles. When one obeys the word, one begins to experience the joys and the pains , the challenges and the triumphs. Somehow, in all these practical experiences, God reveals Himself more to the person, one gets to know God even more intimately, even when one suffers persecution for it, or especially because of it. One enjoys the sweet experience God's loving care, provision, defense and protection.

Level 3 - This is when one joins a group Bible study. At last, one starts becoming part of a body as God means it. For we would note that the Christian life is NOT meant to be lived individually but corporately, as a living and organic part of a group or body of other believers. This principle is all over the Bible and especially the New Testament.

For instance, the letters of Paul are for the most part letters to churches, i.e, to groups rather than individuals. The "you" of his admonitions and exhortations are you in the plural (meaning all of them together) instead of the singular. That's why the old English rendering of "ye" is more appropriate. We ordinarily ascribe the letters of Paul as if they all come from just Paul himself, overlooking the other members of Paul's team whom he also mentions by name: Paul and our brother Sosthenes (1 Corinthians); Paul and Timothy our brother (2 Corinthians); Paul and all the brothers with me (Galatians); Paul and Timothy (to the Philippians); Paul and Timothy our brother (to the Colossians); Paul, Silas and Timothy (1 & 2 Thessalonians). In his letter to the Romans, he mentions his teammates at the ending: Timothy, Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, Gaius, Erastus, and Quartus. And how thankful we are to Tertius who served as Paul's secretary in writing the letter to the Romans!

The very prayer that our Lord Jesus taught us assumes a group praying together: "Our Father who art in heaven ... give us this day our daily bread ...".

And in the letter of Paul, how many exhortations to "one another" are given! They cannot be obeyed in practice except in the context of church life, within the fellowship of believers as the primary area of application.

This is where I'd say that the modern philosophy of individualism has worked against the original spirit of church life as God intends it. Individualism has tended to atomize the believer, separating him from the life of the body, the fellowship, which he (automatically meaning, "she") needs so much for his spiritual growth and maturity.

In a group study of Scriptures, one sees the many-sided beauty of the single Truth of God, as those aspects are understood and articulated by the different members of the study group, as the Holy Spirit teaches everyone of them without respect of persons. The splendor of God's truth shines like the glistening multicolored facets of a precious gem, a diamond. In a group context, one gets to see how the same truth applies to a man, a woman, a younger or an older person, a man of wealth or a man of limited means, a strong man or a weaker man, a captain of industry or a rank and file worker, a soldier or a rebel, sick man or a healthy man, a young child or a man on his death bed ... the Spirit of God speaks the same truth to all of them!

So this is the third and higher level in one's growing intimacy with God.

Level 4 - But a higher level still is when the study group does not stop with just studying the word together, but decide to obey the word together as they are led by the Holy Spirit! So what was individually experienced in Level 2 is now collectively experienced in Level 4. And how much sweeter and wonderful this is, allowing us to take another quantum leap in our intimacy with God.

I believe Paul is at least in this level as he wrote his many letters. As they obeyed the Lord together, traversing those wild and primitive provinces of the empire to bring the light of the gospel of our glorious God to those pagans who never realized their long buried hunger for God's truths that would bring them immortality, love, joy and peace by knowing and accepting the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord, through the multitude of experiences they had along the way, both good and bad, they got so intimate with God ~ i.e., God and our Lord Jesus Christ revealed themselves to them ~ that in the course of writing letters of encouragement, instruction, exhortation and admonition to the groupings of believers (called ekklesiai or "churches" that were thus formed through their apostolic work - their ministry - the Holy Spirit so imbued their thinking and expression that the letters themselves have become part of Holy Scripture!

I believe also the methodology has not changed. In our church life and work, we are to apply the same principles today until the coming of our Lord, seeing to it that every believer is shepherded into going through this four-step process of growth in intimacy with God.

As an economist (as I am an economics major in the university so I'm well acquainted with the concept of opportunity cost), the neglect of the group application part has caused untold harm to the work of the Kingdom of God! How much good, how much blessing, how many souls won for Christ, how much advance into the territories of the enemy, is missed because of the neglect of Level 4 - group obedience to the word of God by believers, who get to be contended just doing "Bible study". Or, deceived by individualism, each sheep is left to figure out for himself how he is to apply in his own individual life what he has learned, not realizing that we are called to work in the context of the Body. The result of all this individualism is to make us like so many toes and fingers, arms and legs disconnected from one another, rendering the body ineffective in accomplishing anything for the Kingdom like a lifeless mannequin in a department store! Meanwhile, wickedness and evil range practically unhampered in the world! How far a cry is this from the image that Paul draws in his letter to the Ephesians (2:10), "For we are his workmanship (this word is said to be better rendered 'masterpiece'), created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Note the phrase "we should". It means we don't automatically do it, but must determine and decide to obey it.

Daisy, I hope this did not go too long, but I though you might get some ideas here for the Saturday Board Meeting. This is very much in line with the ideas I set forth in my www.geocities.co/maharlika_tqm website.

Best regards and God bless,

Tom