Part 5: Understanding the Partnership
Some of us have witnessed many examples of couples that have relationships, but they don’t have a partnership. Instead of working towards the best for each other and building unity, they sow hurtful seeds of contention with mean words and nasty attitudes. They declare they have love for one another, but continually behave as if this isn’t true. Love is not rooted in their actions when it comes to the betterment of their relationship. They may call themselves a couple, but if it is not based on the love of Christ, it is not a partnership that God would place His stamp on. It is not the kind He desires for His people, and it is not the kind of partnership He desires to have with each of us.
The definition of partnership is the state of being a partner. It requires at least two entities or people that agree. With personal relationships, a partner is one who shares a bond with another. They are bound by their commitment. It’s a collaboration, connection, and cooperation that exists between the two. Although each may have different functions, they work together to accomplish a common goal that is positive and good. Heavenly Father demonstrates this beautifully for us within the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—different functions, but they are One.
Through the Spirit of God, John the Apostle tells us in John 21:25(NLT), “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” Many in the unbelieving world have taken issue with the truth John wrote in this verse, but they shouldn’t. He said that the whole world wasn’t large enough to contain the books if all that Jesus Christ had accomplished were written down in them. In the mind of a person who doesn’t know Jesus Christ personally, this may sound like an exaggeration, but it isn’t at all. The finished work of Christ is on such magnitude that it is impossible to quantify. It is so awesome and amazing that people have not ceased to talk about it and writers have not ceased to write of him since his ascension. Even what is spoken and written is hardly a pin head’s amount of knowledge regarding all that God accomplished through Christ. It will take an eternity to fully digest it.
1Corinthians 13:9 tells us that our knowledge is partial and incomplete. In Isaiah 55:9(NLT), God tells us, “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Heavenly Father’s knowledge is exponentially higher than ours. The distance between the two is eons and galaxies apart. The Holy Spirit chose specific things to reveal to us in God’s Word. All of God’s knowledge and everything about Him is not in there, but it contains specific truths that are foundational to the partnership we can have with God through Jesus Christ. And these are the truths we must be committed to learning and living. We must study God’s Word so that we learn the loving way to build partnerships that are productive and strong.
1Corinthians 1:9(NLT) says, “God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” God has invited us to join together with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ to introduce and increase His Kingdom in the earth. The reason that it is so important to come into partnership with God through Christ is because we can’t do anything without God. We owe everything to Him, even the air we breathe. Jesus said it this way in John 15:5(NLT), “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Without a relationship with God through Christ, our lives are not nearly as robust and fulfilling as He has destined them to be. We are created for the purpose of partnering with Him, and when we do not seek or honor this partnership with God, we miss out in life big time.
Again, in a partnership there’s a shared goal. In our partnership with God, He’s the Creator; therefore, He sets the goal and agenda for what we’re to accomplish. We are to lean on God for EVERYTHING! We are to be humble, to follow the example of Jesus Christ by serving others and to walk in God’s Will. James 3:13(NLT) tells us, “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.” This is our commission. It’s a spiritual way of living life, where we do not seek the world’s direction, but we seek God in all things. Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 6:33 to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and blessings will be added to us. When we walk by the Spirit and live by faith, everyday will be an exciting one as our partnership with God grows and our spiritual ability increases through the Holy Spirit. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Building A Lifestyle of Intimacy with God: Part 5-Understanding the Partnership”, written by JMack, 4theChristianMan.com© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.