Closer Than We Realize

Living each day in and as the presence of God

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Throughout this series, we have watched God steadily move closer.

He descended upon Mount Sinai. He travelled with Israel in the tabernacle. He established his dwelling among them in the temple. Then, in Jesus, God came to live among us in human flesh.

Matthew introduces Jesus as Immanuel, which means “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23).

When the curtain tore, the way into God’s presence was opened.

But God was not finished moving closer.

Before his death, Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would not simply be near them. He would live within them.

But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

John 14:17b (New Living Translation)

Through the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus would remain with his followers, guiding them, transforming them and empowering them to represent him in the world.

After his resurrection, Jesus sent his disciples out with a promise that would have sounded familiar.

When God sent Moses back to Egypt, he told him, “I will be with you.” Now Jesus was sending his disciples into the world with the same assurance:

And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:20b (New Living Translation)

Matthew’s Gospel begins with Jesus being called God with us and ends with Jesus promising, I am with you always.

But Jesus was about to ascend. How would he remain with them?

Through the Holy Spirit, who would not merely dwell among them, but within them.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere.

Acts 1:8a (New Living Translation)

God’s dwelling would no longer be centred in a particular building. His people would become his dwelling.

Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

Ephesians 2:20–21 (New Living Translation)

This is true of us personally, but it is also something we share collectively. Paul writes, “All of you together are the temple of God” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

God dwells within each of us by his Spirit, but none of us represents him fully on our own. We are being joined together into a living temple, with Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

The temple continues in human form. The Church is not another physical building, such as the tabernacle or the temple.

Wherever the people of God (the Church) go, into homes, workplaces, neighbourhoods, conflicts, interruptions and ordinary routines, the God who dwells within us is already present. Through his Spirit, he guides us into truth, transforms us into the likeness of Jesus and empowers us to bear witness through both our words and our lives.

No mountain to climb. No sanctuary to visit. No curtain to wait behind.

God is closer than we realize.

The question is no longer simply, “How can we enter God’s presence?” It is also, “How will the presence of God within us become visible through us today?”