The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfections and glory. There I’ll be when troubles come. He will hide me. He will set me on a high rock out of reach of all my enemies. Then I will bring him sacrifices and sing his praises with much joy.
Psalm 27:4-6 Living Bible (TLB)
In the middle of this Psalm, the Psalmist speaks of living constantly in God’s presence. That would have meant living at the Tabernacle (and later in the Jerusalem Temple), not because you had to, but because you wanted to be there with all your heart. In Luke we read that Anna, a widow in her 80s, did exactly that, worshiping, fasting and praying.
But this was before the birth of Emmanuel: “God with Us.” And that changed everything. Because now, we are the temple. God lives in us:
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.
1 Corinthians 6:19 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Think about it for a minute: God has chosen to dwell in us because He wants to be with us, to light us from the inside out!
For God, who said, “Let brilliant light shine out of darkness[*],” is the one who has cascaded his light into us—the brilliant dawning light of the glorious knowledge of God as we gaze into the face of Jesus Christ.
We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 The Passion Translation (TPT)
[*Genesis 1:3]
In the days before He died, Jesus predicted the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, which happened in 70 AD. But because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, God has made a new contract with us – and has permanently changed “residences.”
God with us, in us, for us. I wonder, do we see ourselves differently when we really understand what that means?
Today on planet Earth, may you experience the wonder and beauty of yourself as Abba’s Child and temple of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. Brennan Manning