StriperAddict
Senior Member
YOU ARE THE HABITATION OF GOD:
Years ago there was a song that Bette Midler made popular. It encapsulated the belief of many people in the world today – that God is a distant bystander watching us from far away. I used to believe that about God, that He had no real interest in my life except to check-in every once in a while to see if I was still being bad. Hearing the Good News changed all that. God was not distant; in fact, He cared so much that He came and did something about the separation issue.
It fascinates me, this thought that Christ now dwells in me, that the Trinity would much rather be so up close and personal that they choose to make their home in us instead of some musty, dusty building or temple made by human hands. How fitting that the temple they dwell in is not a temple designed and created by man, but one originally designed and created by themselves. Who better than them to know what sort of dwelling place best suits them, and who better to build it! We know that Scripture tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and that Christ dwells in us, and because Jesus and the Father are one that means the Trinity – all of them – have made their home in us.
In 2 Cor 13:5 the apostle Paul asks the Corinthian believers a question: “Or do you not realize (this) about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?”
And in 1 Cor 3:16 we read, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
The wonderful truth is this – in what Christ has done, God is not a distant God, and we do not worship Him from afar. You and I are His children and we bear His image. He made us holy and righteous through the work of Christ on the cross. He gave us eternal life and resurrection power flows in our lives through the power of the empty tomb (Rom. 6:1-6), and He now lives in us.
We are no longer flawed image-bearers under the dominion of sin which caused separation; we are new creations, image-bearers who have been given even more wonderful benefits than Adam and Eve knew. We are, wonder of wonders, made into a fitting place for God to dwell, we are the temple and dwelling place of God! And, that’s not pride saying that, it’s truth!
Religion will try and tell you and I that we must do a heap of work to make ourselves a fit place for God to dwell, that we must clean up this and that, and stop doing such and such. But the truth is when God dwells in you and you are made a new creation, much of that stuff that religion says we must work hard to rid ourselves of simply falls away because it’s no longer who we are, and it happens as we grow in our understanding of our new identity. Our mind is renewed and we are transformed. Instead of being sin-focused, trying to resist and stop certain things, we become focused on living from our righteousness and holiness, letting those newly engrafted things within us grow, mature and bear their fruit.
We are growing in the ability to think as Christ thought, say what Christ said, and do what Christ did. It’s a growth process that takes place and comes into maturity over time. (See John 15:1-8; 17:26; Rom 8:10,29; Eph 3:19; 5:1; 2 Pet 1:4; 1 John 2:6,24,27,28; 3:24; 4:16.)
What does it mean that we’re now the dwelling place of God? How does that outwork in our lives? Simply put it is to know that we are loved, to become a living manifestation of love, and to show others God that loves them. That can be done in a multitude of ways. We get to show others what it looks like to be loved by the Trinity, indwelt by them, set free by them, provisioned by them, and gifted with eternal resources that bring freedom and life. How mind-blowingly awesome is that!
What If?
Lyn Packer
Years ago there was a song that Bette Midler made popular. It encapsulated the belief of many people in the world today – that God is a distant bystander watching us from far away. I used to believe that about God, that He had no real interest in my life except to check-in every once in a while to see if I was still being bad. Hearing the Good News changed all that. God was not distant; in fact, He cared so much that He came and did something about the separation issue.
It fascinates me, this thought that Christ now dwells in me, that the Trinity would much rather be so up close and personal that they choose to make their home in us instead of some musty, dusty building or temple made by human hands. How fitting that the temple they dwell in is not a temple designed and created by man, but one originally designed and created by themselves. Who better than them to know what sort of dwelling place best suits them, and who better to build it! We know that Scripture tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and that Christ dwells in us, and because Jesus and the Father are one that means the Trinity – all of them – have made their home in us.
In 2 Cor 13:5 the apostle Paul asks the Corinthian believers a question: “Or do you not realize (this) about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?”
And in 1 Cor 3:16 we read, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
The wonderful truth is this – in what Christ has done, God is not a distant God, and we do not worship Him from afar. You and I are His children and we bear His image. He made us holy and righteous through the work of Christ on the cross. He gave us eternal life and resurrection power flows in our lives through the power of the empty tomb (Rom. 6:1-6), and He now lives in us.
We are no longer flawed image-bearers under the dominion of sin which caused separation; we are new creations, image-bearers who have been given even more wonderful benefits than Adam and Eve knew. We are, wonder of wonders, made into a fitting place for God to dwell, we are the temple and dwelling place of God! And, that’s not pride saying that, it’s truth!
Religion will try and tell you and I that we must do a heap of work to make ourselves a fit place for God to dwell, that we must clean up this and that, and stop doing such and such. But the truth is when God dwells in you and you are made a new creation, much of that stuff that religion says we must work hard to rid ourselves of simply falls away because it’s no longer who we are, and it happens as we grow in our understanding of our new identity. Our mind is renewed and we are transformed. Instead of being sin-focused, trying to resist and stop certain things, we become focused on living from our righteousness and holiness, letting those newly engrafted things within us grow, mature and bear their fruit.
We are growing in the ability to think as Christ thought, say what Christ said, and do what Christ did. It’s a growth process that takes place and comes into maturity over time. (See John 15:1-8; 17:26; Rom 8:10,29; Eph 3:19; 5:1; 2 Pet 1:4; 1 John 2:6,24,27,28; 3:24; 4:16.)
What does it mean that we’re now the dwelling place of God? How does that outwork in our lives? Simply put it is to know that we are loved, to become a living manifestation of love, and to show others God that loves them. That can be done in a multitude of ways. We get to show others what it looks like to be loved by the Trinity, indwelt by them, set free by them, provisioned by them, and gifted with eternal resources that bring freedom and life. How mind-blowingly awesome is that!
What If?
Lyn Packer
