A People of His Presence
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
1 Peter 2:9 NASB
From beginning to end, the Bible tells the redemption story of God’s chosen people. A four-part pattern is revealed within the biblical narrative: creation to the fall, redemption, and finally, re-creation. Throughout this glorious story, God’s people are always identified as those who have access to his presence among them. In Genesis, the original design for this special relationship between God and humanity is revealed through Adam in the Garden of Eden. The Bible defines a sanctuary as the place or location where God’s people have access to his presence. Eden served as the first sanctuary where God’s presence dwelt with his creation unhindered, unrestrained, and unlimited. After Adam’s fall [Gen 3], sin causes a shift in this relationship and a separation between God and his people. The rest of the Old Testament focuses on the hope for the redemption of God’s people through the coming Messiah; it also anticipates a future era when God’s presence would be restored back among his people without limitations, distance, or separation thus culminating in a total re-creation.
Only through Jesus as the new Adam [1 Cor 15:45–48] is the relationship between God and humanity fully restored. After his death and resurrection, God’s presence dwells not just with his people, but within his people, as they gather in community through God’s new chosen vessel: the church. The early church understood their faith through terminology associated with the temple: the temple of God is now formed when Jews and Gentiles gather together in community and for worship. It is important to note that this temple is not isolated to a single building or location but is found wherever God’s people gather together.
In addition to Jesus’ inauguration of a new temple, he also inaugurated the New Covenant. In his book The Tabernacle of David, scholar Kevin Conner states, “One cannot have a covenant without a sanctuary and a priesthood.” Through Jesus as the eternal High Priest [Heb 7:23–25] and the perfect sacrifice through his own life, believers enter this new priesthood with complete access to the presence of God at any time, without limitations [Heb 10:19–24]. In the New Covenant, sacrifices are no longer of blood but of praise, worship, doing good, obedience, joy, prayer, and honorable conduct [Heb 13:15–19]. The previous walls and barriers from the old temple structure are removed, and all believers enjoy unhindered access in close proximity to God’s presence. The sanctuary accompanies believers wherever they go as God’s people worship him and carry his presence from within.
Jesus’ life culminated as the meeting place between heaven and earth and thus ushered in a new Kingdom, the New Covenant, and a new temple. Paul alluded to this new temple filled with the glory of God in 2 Corinthians 6:16–18 [cf. Ez 37:27–28]. Now, the temple is located within believers as living stones that are being built up together to create God’s temple [1 Pet 2:5]. Paul’s letters further reflect this new, corporate temple: “Do you not know that you (plural) are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you [1 Cor 3:16]?” “…For we are the temple of the living God…[2 Cor 6:16]” “…for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you (plural) are [1 Cor 3:17].” Bottom line: we need each other! This temple is not built by any one person but is built only when we gather together corporately. In Ephesians 2:19–22, Paul further discusses the building of a new temple with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and Jesus as the cornerstone. This new structure would ultimately culminate through the church composed of many “temples” as believers come together carrying the Spirit of God and demonstrating the Kingdom of God.
Today, the location of God’s presence is no longer limited to a single location as in the Old Testament but is available to all who receive him through Christ. The temple is now manifested when believers gather together forming the church. As a result, believers may now approach the throne of God with boldness and confidence knowing that he will offer mercy and grace [Heb 4:16]. The church serves as the agent of God’s Kingdom to manifest his presence, first within the community and then to the ends of the earth. As this redemption story continues to progress, it will one day culminate in the full re-creation of Eden at the second return of Christ. Until this day, the mandate for God’s people still continues: multiply and fill the earth with the glory and presence of God. This is the call for all believers as carriers of God’s presence from within. Just as with Adam, our identity and purpose come only through a life lived in and from the presence of God. We are called to live as a people of his presence still today.