Where Does God Dwell? Could He Live Inside of You?
Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. Imagine the scene, a toddler runs to the door as her father walks in from a day at work. She runs to him, grabs his leg and smiles her biggest smile up at him. He picks her up in his arms and twirls her around as they both giggle as they anticipate the fun they will share through the evening.
It’s not too hard to imagine on earth, but to Old Testament practicing Jews, it was shocking to call God “Abba” (which translate to Daddy or Father), and could be construed as heresy. They considered the name of God so holy that they wouldn’t even say it, in fear of offending the One they served.
When Paul wrote in Romans 8:15-16 that the adopted sons and daughters of God “cry out, Abba, Father,” he was literally turning the name of God into a household word: one of proximity and familiarity.
Why was he able to do that? Because after Pentecost, everything shifted dramatically! It all comes down to the million dollar question, “Where Does God Dwell?”
Where does God Dwell?
I like to start at the beginning of the story! As Genesis begins we find a garden paradise and two people God created living in the Garden walking with God. This is the world God created for humanity to live within as it was a set apart place where God dwelled. Adam and Eve had uninterrupted access to him.
God dwelled in the Garden.
When Adam and Eve made their fateful choice to eat from the wrong tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God lovingly evicted them from the Garden. It was at this point, he changed strategies and began to move to reveal himself to one specific family.
How do I know this? Read the first eleven chapters of Genesis and you will find four genealogies: two of them (5,10) whole chapters! Once God encounters Abraham in Genesis 12, the genealogies stop because God has identified the family he wants to reveal himself. He begins with an instruction and a promise for Abraham:
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.”
The final 37 chapters of Genesis are written specifically about Abraham and his descendents--so God dwelled with Abraham’s family throughout several generations as God revealed himself to them.
Next we jump to the Israelites being enslaved in Egypt. Exodus tells us that God heard their groaning and he responded by raising up Moses to be a Reclamation Agent who stared down his worst fear and went before Pharaoh, demanding he release God’s people. We know the story, miracle after miracle took place, until the fateful night the angel of death moved and Pharaoh let God’s people go.
God dwelled in a cloud and a pillar of fire.
As they went through the desert, God revealed himself in a cloud and a pillar of fire. The people recognized God in the cloud and fire and they often stood at the base of the mountain as Moses went up into the cloud to meet with God. He once spent 40 days with God on the mountain. One time Moses, 3 priests and 70 elders of Israel went up the mountain and ate a meal with God. (It’s in the Bible, I promise, go read Exodus 24!)
It was up on the mountain that Moses was given the instructions for which to build the Tabernacle of God. It became the movable presence of God. When it was all complete, the presence of God became so strong within the Tabernacle, the priests could not enter it.
God dwelled in the Tabernacle.
Once the Israelites finally entered into the Promised Land and each tribe was assigned their territory, won it from the existing nations, and settled their land, sights began to move towards a more permanent structure. King Solomon built the Temple, and once again when they inaugurated it, the presence of God was so strong upon it that the priests couldn’t enter it.
God dwelled in the Temple.
Four hundred years of silence from God took place at a certain point in Israel’s history, but when that period was over, signs and wonders happened quickly. The priest Zechariah had an angelic encounter in the Holy of Holies. Joseph had repeated dreams with messages from angels. Mary had an encounter with an angel and the Holy Spirit, resulting in her “heavenly pregnancy.” Shepherds experienced an angelic concert. Mysterious wise men came from a great distance bearing gifts for the infant king. It seems God was now willing to come to earth through his son, Jesus, being birthed as a helpless baby in a stable on a starry night.
God now dwelled in Jesus Christ.
Thirty-three years go by and Jesus is crucified, dies and 3 days later he is resurrected. He appears numerous times to his disciples after his resurrection and before he ascends to heaven, he gives them an important instruction: Wait!
Don’t do anything until you receive the promise I have for you. It will be bigger than you ever dreamed. It will go beyond anything anyone has experienced for all of history.
What was the surprise? On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and the others who were waiting and preparing for “the moment when God chose to dwell in them!”
What? God now dwells in people.
Who? The disciples turned apostles. The 120 others who waited in the upper room with them. The three thousand who heard Peter’s sermon and turned towards Jesus, even getting baptized.
You might say, “Well, of course, it would happen to them. They were prepared after all they had personally experienced Jesus.”
Acts doesn’t stop there however. In time, God opens the door for even the heathen Gentiles to experience God dwelling in them. Acts 10:45 tells us: “The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.”
Where does God dwell now?
Amazingly, astoundingly, God dwells in US!
That’s right, God deposited himself in us when we believed. We are created in his image (Genesis 1:27). We are the tabernacles that carry his presence. We are mirrors which reflect his glory. God makes his home in us and us in him.
1st Corinthians 6:19:
“Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary.”
Ephesians 2:22:
God is transforming each of you into the Holy of Holies, his dwelling place, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in you.
How does this change our lives?
Truly, a myriad of ways. Instead of asking God to come to us, go to him in your spirit, connecting as the Holy of Holies!
Recognize that you bring God wherever you go, and intentionally release him into that space.
Move in confidence knowing that because he dwells in you, he will answer your prayers for wisdom, healing for yourself and others, changing atmospheres from darkness to light.
Perhaps, even, consider whether “going to meet God in church” is a fruitful process for you. Instead of listening to someone “feed you” God’s truth, go to a park or your favorite place, pull out your Bible and commune with God as you listen to him teach you.
Connect with Jesus in the ordinary things of life and ask him how he sees it from his vantage point.
Begin to do the things he does….because after all, before he ascended to heaven, he told his disciples, “You are going to do even cooler, greater things than you are witnessing now because I live in you and you live in me!”
We are in a new season, transitioning from the long held church season into the exciting time of the Kingdom Age. Don’t miss out on the reality of how God wants to live life with you--so much that he has moved in and is building you a whole new life. Will you make space for him to do just that?
Do Something:
Read Unboxing God: Reclaiming Faith in a Post-Church Culture and take up the opportunities presented within it!
Join the New Strategies for New Seasons 4 week class(on Zoom) I am starting Wednesday nights, February 20th. Check it out here!
Contact me for a brainstorming time for your next steps!
We live in a historic, exciting time of history and the good news is that we are never, ever alone because God has made his true home in us….his cherished ones!