Personal Relationship with God question

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on May 25, 2014 at 3:21pm

Greetings,

We are in communal relationship with God as His children from the time we are born from above (born again). Here are some things that go along with the concept of personal relationship:

1. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who is God.

2. We are convicted and convinced by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

3. We experience the presence, including comfort, of God.

4.We are given the mind of Christ.

5.We are changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive, where we once could not see or know the things of God, but now can.

6. He still speaks to His people today in various ways.

What this relationship is not is like having a friend who dwells in a single body come into a room and sit down and hold a conversation. That relationship is affected by many factors, such as whether we are together or apart and by how long we might be separated. Whereas with God we are never separated, nor does He dwell in another body (though that is true at its core meaning) He dwells in us and lives in us who are His children.

This is a brief comment. Feel free to ask further.

Lord Bless,

LT

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Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on May 25, 2014 at 10:46pm

Hi Sayness,

Let me just add some Scripture to LT's posting - with which I fully agree. 

We simply cannot fathom the love of God........it is so deep beyond anything in this world.

Here's a passage from the New Living Translation, Ephesians 3:17- 19, " And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. (18) And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is. (19) May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God."  

This passage supports LT's points and speaks to each reader on an individual basis.

No, I couldn't find a direct quote of "personal relationship" in the Bible either. But God does know the very number of hairs on each one's head (Matthew 10:30)...........and if that's not a personal relationship, I don't know what is.

Unless your friend is using that issue as a cop-out.................

This is a common understanding in the ranks of Christian believers = God loves all those who come to Him through His Son, Christ Jesus........and each one has a personal relationship with Him as a result.

I'm sorry for your friend  if he fails to grasp that principle of our belief.

Grace and Peace.

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Permalink Reply by Mary O on May 26, 2014 at 6:34pm

I heard a teaching about Matthew 10:30 (such a great verse) that if one hair falls from our head, we have God's attention.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

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Permalink Reply by Mary O on May 26, 2014 at 6:28pm

Hi Say,

And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, (Deuteronomy 34:10)

After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ (Acts 13:22 NIV)

I go to God when I need to unload what's on my heart. I can't imagine what it would be like without Him. Are there things you have told God that you would never tell anyone else?

Love and God bless,

Mary

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Permalink Reply by ScribeD on June 2, 2014 at 4:19pm

Dear Sayness, may I recommend that it's best not to get drawn into semantical arguments; this is a way that obstinate people use to avoid the point; they just frustrate you by avoiding plain and simple truth - saying "that word isn't in there". Which is beside the point, because I can tell you dozens of words which are not specifically "in there" but which the meaning is plainly taught in the Bible.

The better thing is to challenge your friend to pursue a life of Godliness by specific verses of scripture that may pertain to a specific situation at a certain time.

As for having a personal relationship: There are dozens of different ways that Jesus communicates the importance of having a relationship with God thru Him. One is with the Lord's prayer itself, "pray in this manner... Our Father who is in Heaven..."  In other words, we are to draw near to Him as a child may with a human father - that's pretty personal.

It is also true, as LT has pointed out, that we are to become part of a communion, meaning a corporate experience with God. Notice where Paul speaks about communion, he says "We" twice in this verse (1 Corinthians 10:16)

Both are true. Our experience and our relationship to God is both personal (1:1), and is communal (1:many). Repeatedly, scripture teaches us to have a good relationship as a corporate group, so that our prayers are not hindered individually.

The point is that the Bible is different from any other religion in that it addresses our need at the root level - for both a personal relationship and a group expression - it does not limit itself to either one but requires both. In other religions, God may only be approached only through a corporate experience and only at certain times. Or, in others there is a sense that God is so personal that no one else may have the same experience as you do. But, the Bible is clear that we are to "draw near to God", by the access granted us through the atonement of Christ which allows us to come boldly before Him. We are to seek to have this experience personally.

But going back to that prayer our Lord Jesus taught the Disciples: remember that He said "Our Father". In other words, you may not ignore or rule out your brother or sister in petitioning God. We must seek the Fatherhood of God for ourselves and at the same time be seeking it for others as well.

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