- God will Dwell among us
Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
“And the word became flesh and dwelt among us [John 1:14].” Jesus dwells among us; the Holy Spirit dwells in us. God promises to dwell among us and He does. Here the Lord promises to dwell among the people of God. God will dwell in the sanctuary, which the people will put together and build from materials contributed by the believers. This sanctuary is the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of the Lord God Almighty in the midst of His people.
There was a specific place on the earth where the Lord from heaven will live on earth with His glorious presence. That place was on the mercy seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant in the inner Holy of Holies inside the Tabernacle and its courtyard. Everyone knew where God was located on earth, where to find Him, where to worship Him, and how to approach Him in prayer and praise. Then the Presence moved into the permanently situated Temple in Jerusalem built under Solomon. Then the Presence moved into the human body of Jesus of Nazareth when He was conceived, born, lived, died, and rose again. Then the Presence passed into the believers in Christ, those into whom the Holy Spirit comes to dwell by faith in the Gospel, which He creates in the human spirit.
Now everyone can know where God lives on the earth, in the body of Christ, the hearts of believes everywhere. When those faithful gather together in Jesus’ name to hear the Gospel they build a “sanctuary” (a church building) where those who house the Lord come together in the house of the Lord. The Lord is not “there” in the same way when they leave the building, but He goes with the people whose hearts have received Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the promise is true: the Lord dwells with us, among us, and in us wherever we are. And we can find Him all the time. If we could only remember what kind of glory, kingdom and power dwells in us where we are. We make a sanctuary in the heart by believing in Christ. Faith makes a place for the Lord to live on earth. Heaven has truly come down to us, where we are on the earth. Believe Him, see Him, praise Him, pray to Him, and listen to Him.