What is CONCUPISCENCE? The KJV uses "concupiscence" to translate Greek words that mean "to yearn," "to long," or "to have the heart set upon a thing," often referring to desires for things forbidden by God.
Concupiscence, translated as lust, is a word many Christians
would be really uncomfortable with. Go
ahead, clutch your pearls, let’s talk about lust. Do you know that as Christians you are
supposed to be lustful?
“So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” – Romans 7: 4-6
One of the core lessons I have learned in my journey with
Holy Spirit is that every blessing that God has designed in creation, has a light
side and a dark side. One could say sin
is the dark side of blessing. To put it
simply, the enemy corrupts blessing, turning it into sin.
Prosperity corrupted becomes greed, love corrupted becomes lasciviousness, peace corrupted becomes laziness and so on.
The strategy of the enemy is to make the thing that God
desires for you so undesirable, that you shut it down. Most Christians live out their lives and never
walk in the fulness of blessing that our Father has for them, because along the
way they have shut down and become unreceptive.
Concupiscence is an example of this dynamic. Immediately when we hear the word lust we
think sin. Yet lust is not itself
sinful. Lust is strong desire. It can be applied in a sexual sense, or in a
general sense. Strong desire, strong engagement, strong pursuit, even strong
vitality. Lustful. Lusty. Lustily. Lust
for life.
What comes to mind when you hear these terms? To yearn, to set your heart upon, to pursue heartily,
to be vigorous, merry, joyous, enthusiastic, rousing, red-blooded, vital. Joy, laughter, revelry, enjoyment,
celebration. These are all expressions
of the energy of lust. There is none so
lustful as a five year old child, except maybe a puppy.
To be aroused, enlivened, excited, engaged, eager,
quivering, titillated, hungry, fertile, fruitful. To do something lustily is to put all your heart
into it. To be so full, life throbs
through your veins like the wings on a dragonfly. To be so pumped up you have no choice but to
overflow.
I am not talking about married people stuff here (sanctify your mind). Think about your relationship with God. Should it not be lusty, lustful, lust filled? Should you not be eager to connect with your God? Should you not daydream about Him, make up sonnets and poems for Him? Should you not be receptive to Him and eager to surrender completely?
Should your surrender not be ecstasy?
The human experience of the conjugal union is perhaps,
without the use of psychedelics, the closest human correlate to the joy of
divine union. This should not be
obscure writings in the annals of history, e.g. the experiences of St Theresa
of Avila. Nor should it be the product
of mass hysteria when people are beside themselves in group gatherings and go
down under the ‘baptism’ of the Holy Spirit.
This should be very personal and intimate experience for every Christian of their God, with their God. How
can you claim to know Him if you have never experienced Him?
“For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…”- Acts 2:15-17
The disciples acted like drunk men, David danced ecstatically
before His God, Solomon wrote songs.
There is a level of joy in God that is sorely missing from the body of
Christ today. We seek to prove ourselves
righteous by shutting down our enjoyment of life, becoming lifeless, joyless,
bible thumping drones dragging ourselves through life, in no way attuned to the
atmosphere of heaven.
Jesus drank, supped with publicans and pharisees, allowed
himself to be anointed in fragrant oil by a prostitute, even turned water into
wine.
"Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took
a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines
and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: 'Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed
gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.'" - Exodus
15:20-21
How often do you offer celebration of life, as a celebration
to your God? One thing the children of
Israel did very well is they celebrated life. Every victory was cause to celebrate
for days, even weeks on end. The Judaic calendar is chock full of
festivals and celebrations, every sabbath is a celebration.
Dear Christian friends, be lustful toward life. Drink it in, savor it, enjoy it, celebrate
it. Be rapturous, be eager, yearn for
life. Expect life to be rewarding,
fulfilling, satisfying, seek after it, pursue it. Expect to be satiated in life. Expect to be satisfied, full and overflowing.
Concupiscence is simply a strong anticipation of satisfaction. We should be satisfied in life, life should be full and pleasurable. Our relationship with our God should be full and pleasurable. It should be satisfying, satiating, thrilling, surprising, delightful. Each day with our God should be a wonder.
To enjoy life and to enjoy God are not mutually exclusive
things. God desires our joy more than
anything and our greatest joy is the
joy we find in our God and the joy we share with or God.
I am not encouraging a lascivious no-holds-barred lifestyle. I am encouraging you to celebrate life, and live it to the fullest. Take God along for the ride and make it a really good one.
This is the essence of concupiscence.
“My love speaks and says to me, ‘Get up, my love, my beautiful one, and come with me. For see, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone. The flowers are coming through the ground. The time for singing has come. The voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land. The fig tree has its fruits. The flowers on the vines spread their sweet smell. Get up, my love, my beautiful one, and come with me!'”
- Song of Solomon 2:10-13
©Spirit Speaks by Vibrance Ministries 2025, all rights reserved.
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