Wholly His

September 1, 2025

Throughout the sacred Scriptures we find that God has a burning passion to have a people of whom He can say: "He is Mine. She is Mine. They are Mine." Belonging wholly to God is a magnificent component of His plan of redemption. Isaiah 43:1 confirms this. "...I have redeemed you - ransomed you by paying a price instead of leaving you captives; I have called you by your name, you are Mine." As we meditate on the words, "You are Mine," these words reach into the deepest recesses of our heart and create a wonderful sense of belonging. Without argument, to whom we belong makes all the difference in our lives. Having a conscious "knowing" that we belong to God gives to us a sense of security and assurance that the unbeliever does not enjoy.

For now, and throughout all eternity, we, who belong to the Lord, will be the desire and delight of His heart. Nevertheless, there is a fervent desire in His heart regarding our present relationship with Him; an indescribable longing that goes far deeper than our name recorded in His Book of Life. Our Beloved God desires for us to be wholly His. Becoming wholly His is the essence of our walk with Him: it is the root, the basis, and the foundation of spiritual formation (the shaping of our entire being into Christ likeness). In light of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, how can we not be constrained and compelled to follow the path that leads us toward our pursuit of becoming wholly His?

God's possession of us is with a definite, divine purpose. We read of His intent in Ephesians 3:19: "...that you may filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God - [that is] may have the richest measure of the divine Presence and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!" In this scripture, we see the ultimate plan and purpose of God for His Glorious Bride. Know this with absolute certainity: when the Bride of Christ arises in gloriousness, she will have become wholly His, so much so that the entirety of her being will be engulfed with God Himself.

In the Song of Solomon, we find a prophetic picture of the Bride of Christ and her relationship with her Heavenly Bridegroom. Within the story found in this Song, we find the progressive phases of the Shulamite maiden's ascension toward becoming a mature bride whose love for her beloved develops to the extent that she becomes wholly his. These stages of spiritual advancement are unveiled through three key expressions that unfold thus revealing three levels of ascension that are essential for the Shulamite to arrive at a place of complete surrender to her lover. The three expressions found within this Song are: "My beloved is mine, and I am his", secondly, "I am my beloved's and my beloved's is mine", and finally, I am my beloved's and his desire is toward me " (Song of Solomon 2:26, 6:3, 7:10 KJV). For the Bride of Christ, these three levels of ascension depict the steps that are crucial in her journey towards becoming wholly His.

In the first expression of the Shulamite, we observe that she places self before her beloved - the Shulamite is in a state of being caught up with the benefits and blessings of the relationship she has with her lover. For example: his kisses (1:2), his good ointments (1:3), encountering her lover at the banqueting house (2:4). At this phase of her journey, her love for her bridegroom, although fervent, is immature. As the Shulamite progresses toward becoming wholly His, her love matures. Once her love matures, she begins relinquishing more and more of herself (her will, her ways, her dreams, her ambitions) to her beloved. Her relinquishment is readily observed in her second expression of surrender. In this expression, we detect that the Shulamite has had a change of priorities. She places her lover before herself as seen in the phrase, "I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine." However, an element of self is still revealed in her declaration. In her third and final declaration, we find her life is all about him. She has given herself in absolute abandonment to her beloved. She is wholly, irrevocably his!

These three expressions so vividly depict the three levels of development that have been set before us as we mature into a glorious Bride who is wholly abandoned to her Beloved. At the beginning of our life in God, we have a tendency to get caught up in all the blessings and benefits that God so lavishly bestows upon us. Sad to say, many Believers live their whole Christian life in this beginning level, concentrating on themselves and their needs and desires, thinking little of ascending into a deeper relationship with their God.

The second expression of the Shulamite (" I am my beloveds, and my beloved is mine") correlates to those believers who yield to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit and press for more of God. From the depths they cry out, "God, I want more of You." They begin to rearrange their priorities, and they give God a prominent place in their hearts and lives. In doing this, they ascend to a higher level in their walk with God. From their hearts they can say, "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine". This is a wonderful place to be, but there is yet a higher level - a place that Jesus passionately longs for His Bride to ascend unto.

This higher level is for those who cannot, who will not be satisfied until they come to a place of abandoning themselves totally, completely unto God. The cry of their heart is, "God, I want You to have all of me. I want to be irrevocably, wholly Yours!" Granted, this place of abandonment is not easily attained, for it demands much sacrifice and struggle. It requires the laying of our lives on the altar, forsaking all that we tenaciously hold on to, and the relinquishment of things we consider dear that are hindering our total yielding to God.

In Song of Solomon 2:14 we read these words: "O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret place of the steep pathway..." (NAS) The path that leads us to the place of becoming wholly His is steep, for this path consists of sacrifice, abandonment, and surrender of all that holds us back from completely abandoning ourselves unto God. Abandonment is a matter of supreme importance in our quest for spiritual progress and maturity. Our Beloved will never be satisfied with a partial surrender; He yearns for all of us! He longs for the entirety of our being to be wholly His. He seeks for our will to become merged into His will; fully in concert with His will. The true measure of our development in God (spiritual formation and growth) is not about how much we have of God, but rather about how much of us that He has!