God's Eternal Desire: Dwelling Among Us from Eden to New Jerusalem

The primary difference between Christianity and any other religion is that God desires to be with humanity, and not only that, but even more significantly that he becomes human in his incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ. This notion of dwelling among us is punctuated throughout redemption history. Here are six ways in which he does so until finally when he will make his dwelling permanent and eternal.

1. Garden of Eden

“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8).

It’s not explicit from Genesis 3:8 that God walked with Adam and Eve or that he dwelt among them. However, the implication is sufficient enough to suggest that God may have fellowshipped with the couple. Genesis certainly implies that Adam fellowshipped with God. Chapter 3 is where we get the theology of original sin and the fall, the separation of humanity from God’s presence. And yet, despite Adam and Eve’s sin, God continues his project to reconcile humanity to himself and dwell among them.

2. The Tabernacle

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34–35).

Many centuries after the Fall, God makes a way to dwell among his chosen people, the ancient Israelites. He instructs Moses to build a tent, a tabernacle, and then he would dwell in the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant would be placed. In this way he could dwell among his people, limited though it was.

3. The Temple

“And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:10–11).

The problem with the Tabernacle was that it was a temporary portable structure. God desired to have a permanent structure, and so King Solomon was tasked to build the temple for the worship of God. The temple demonstrated that the Israelites had finally settled in the promised land. Solomon’s Temple was an elaborate and prestigious building that also became the center of religious and political authority. Here too we see that God filled the temple with his holy presence in the same way he filled the Tabernacle. Over the centuries the people of God disobeyed, and so God silently left his temple until finally it was destroyed by invading armies. It was to be rebuilt but God’s presence would never inhabit it again until he would later visit it in the person of Jesus Christ (Luke 2:46–49; 19:45–47; John 2:13–16; 7:14–15; 8:2).

4. Jesus’s Incarnation

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Finally, God incarnates himself by sending his beloved Son to dwell among us. Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9b). Here we have the wonder of it all, God himself moving outside the confines of the temple, even though he makes frequent visits to it. Jesus Christ came to teach us and show us how to live in the will of his Father, but more than that, he came to give his life as a sacrifice so that he may overcome our sin and its power, undoing the sin of Adam and Eve and reconcile humanity to God (John 3:16; Romans 5: 10–11, 18–19; 2 Corinthians 5:18–19, 21; Hebrews 9:28; Colossians 1:20–22). As a result of the sacrifice, Jesus died on the cross, but rose again in resurrected life and ascended in glory to his father (Acts 1:9; 6:56). Yet, Jesus had predicted his ascension and had promised that he would send the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–17;  Acts 1:4–5).

5. Pentecost

“And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2–4).

And so the presence of God descends upon his people in the person of the Holy Spirit, his presence still remains with you and I, this time he indwells us. We are his temple (1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 6:19–20). It’s a sobering thought that the same God who dwelled in the Holy of Holies now dwells in you and I. Talking about the Holy of Holies, did you know that it was the shape of a perfect cube? (1 Kings 6:20).

6. The New Jerusalem

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God’” (Revelation 21:2–3).

Near the very end of Scripture, John uses powerful imagery which I take to be metaphorical, of the new Jerusalem descending from heaven upon earth and here we are told that God will once again dwell among us. Revelation 21:16 also tells us that this new Jerusalem is the shape of a perfect cube, representing the Holy of Holies, so that the entire city will be filled with his presence.

If you have ever wondered what God’s desire is for humanity, it has always been to dwell with us. As the Westminster Confession proclaims, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” And there in the heavenly city, we will certainly do that.

image: Renata Sedmakova / Shutterstock.com