Where does God dwell today? Does He dwell in the heavens? Is the earth His dwelling place? God who created all things, who is over all, in all, and through all – where does He dwell?
In the book of Isaiah we see something marvelous being revealed concerning God’s desire to dwell not in the heavens, not on the earth, and not necessarily even in the tabernacle or the temple. God desires to have as His dwelling place a group of people into whom He can enter and dwell.
Here is what Isaiah 66:1-2,
Thus says Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, And the earth the footstool for My feet. Where then is the house that you will build for Me, And where is the place of My rest?
For all these things My hand has made, And so all these things have come into being, declares Jehovah. But to this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor And of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.
In the whole universe, God desires to gain a house through His work of building so that both God and man can have a resting place. In the Old Testament we see that God dwelt among His people in the tabernacle and later in the temple.
Actually, He didn’t dwell in the tabernacle or the temple itself; He dwelt among His people. When the condition of the children of Israel before God was normal, God dwelt among them, and the temple was filled with God’s presence and God’s glory.
When the people of God were in a desolate condition, forsaking God, God removed His presence from their midst(yet He still sought to bring them back to Himself in many ways). So the tabernacle and the temple were a symbol, a sign, of God dwelling among His people. Just as the heavens are not God’s dwelling place, so also the house on the earth is not His dwelling place.
In the New Testament we clearly see that God dwells in our spirit! When the Lord Jesus as the life-giving Spirit comes into us at our regeneration, we are being joined to the Lord as one spirit and in our spirit we become the dwelling place of God! We are being built up as a dwelling place of God in spirit, and we are growing into a holy temple in the Lord (Eph. 2:21-22).
When we are in our spirit, living by our mingled spirit, we are the Body of Christ – the church.
On the one hand, we are a holy temple in the Lord – we are the universal Body of Christ, growing with the growth of God, being fitted together with other believers. On the other hand, we are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit – locally, where the Lord practically put us, we are being built up in the place where God can dwell and God can rest!
Praise the Lord, God desires to dwell in such persons who are open to Him and allow Him to enter into them and dwell in them! As He dwells in us, we become His dwelling place! He comes into us by coming into our spirit – the dwelling place of God is our spirit!
The building of God is not in our mind, emotion, soul, or heart – it is absolutely a matter of our spirit! Our spirit is the place where the building of the church is. This is why we need to exercise our spirit, pay attention to our spirit, and be in our spirit all the time!
[enjoyment inspired from the Life-Study of Ephesians, and, the Building Work of God (both by brother Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallization-Study of Isaiah(2); continued from, Where does God dwell today? He desires to dwell in people open for Him to enter in!]
Lord, make us such people – open to You to allow You to come in and enter in! Come into us, Lord, and build up Your dwelling place in us! We want to exercise our spirit to be one with You! Thank You that he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit! Gain Your dwelling place in man, Lord! Gain Your temple in Your church! More exercise of our spirit! More growing in life! More enjoyment of the riches of the divine life unto the building up of the Body!
