DAY 279: WHERE DOES GOD DWELL?

After Jesus was taken up to heaven, the apostle John received a magnificent vision of glory. He said, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light” (Revelation 21:22-23, NKJV). In other words, the only temple in heaven is Jesus himself.

Now that God’s temple is in glory, sitting at his right hand, where does the Lord dwell on earth? We know that no building can contain God. As God himself says, “Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you will build me? And where is the place of my rest?” (Isaiah 66:1). Paul echoes this in the New Testament, “God, who made the world and everything in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24). If we look for God’s dwelling place in some building, we’re not going to find it.

Paul gives us our answer: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Lord lives and rests in the bodies of his created humankind.

Once we place our belief in Jesus, we become God’s very dwelling place. This was demonstrated most visibly at the Upper Room. The Holy Spirit fell on the disciples there, filling them with himself. He claimed their sanctified bodies as God’s temple where the Father would come and live. The Spirit would help them to mortify and destroy the works of their sinful flesh, and he would give them power to live victoriously. Their bodies became God’s temple, a dwelling place not built with hands.

Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). In other words, you belong to God, and he wants you to be his resting place.

Dear believers, give God glory by opening up your heart to the truth that you are his temple on earth.

In those days, yes, the Temple was called God's house.

But these days, under the new covenant, God lives within believers.

Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

2 Corinthians 6:16 For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Sorry if you do not believe in the words of Jesus. I have been there I have no doubt he IS THERE.

Of course we believe in the words of Jesus! There is nowhere you can escape from the presence of God! But, you know that the SAME Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of the accounts of Jesus' words and acts in the Gospels is also who inspired Paul to write what he did in his letters to the believers across the world, right? Jesus didn't have a steno handy to record everything He said. In fact, He told His disciples:

All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you. (John 14:25,26)

And like Metmom said, the temple in Jerusalem no longer exists, instead believers are indwelt with the Holy Spirit - God's presence within us. There is no longer a sacrifice in the temple - by Jesus' death on the cross, the veil of the Temple separating the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom and the presence of Almighty God was now within the believer. But of course that isn't the ONLY place He is. The whole earth and the heavens are filled with the presence of God.

Paul Before the Areopagus said:

For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. (Acts 17:23-25)

Even Solomon, when he set out to build the temple, acknowledged:

Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself. So he conscripted 70,000 porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.

Then Solomon sent word to Hirama king of Tyre:

“Do for me as you did for my father David when you sent him cedars to build himself a house to live in. Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever. The house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him? (II Chronicles 2:1-6)

Almighty God doesn't dwell in a partial piece of a wall that once surrounded the temple. The temple, as said, was the place where the sacrifices could be made and which contained an inner, sacred place (the Holy of Holies) that represented the presence of God and could only be accessed by the High Priest. There is no longer a sacrifice for sins - Jesus said, "It is finished". Do you believe Jesus' words? The wall of enmity between us and God was broken down.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace. (Ephesians 2:13-15)

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.