A Dwelling Place For God

 “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”   Ephesians 2:22

The final verse in Ephesians 2 is packed with meaning. But what does it mean when it says "dwelling place of God"? Many of us have been taught that God resides in a supernatural place far from Earth, where He conducts His business. But is God really like a corporate business magnate, living in an ivory tower and only giving out orders to His minions? This portrayal of God is unfortunately common.

God appeared to Moses through a burning bush and delivered the law. Mount Sinai was also where Elijah found refuge in a cave and God spoke (or whispered) to him to encourage him. These two motifs depict the divine locations where God chose to reveal Himself to man. Some people believe that God is dispassionate, aloof, and unconcerned about human affairs or the state of the world. Nothing could be further from the truth found in Scripture. Let us take a deep dive together and explore where God lives and why He chooses to live there.

The Old Testament presents two powerful metaphors that shed light on the sacred spaces where God chose to reveal Himself to humanity. The first metaphor is the Garden of Eden, a vibrant and abundant space teeming with life, water, trees, and fruits. The second metaphor is the towering mountain of Sinai, the places where God resides.

God's choice of a garden was not a coincidence. The garden represented us, with the flowing water, the trees, and the fruits all symbolizing various aspects of life. The water represented the mercy and grace of God flowing through us to water the earth with the flow of God's spirit. The trees, especially the Tree of Life, brought life and immortality when connected to it. The fruits represented new life growing in us and the sweetness of the spirit, the very nature and image of God Himself. God walked in the garden in the cool of the evening, communing with His creation, relishing, and taking joy in all He had made. The garden was a sacred space for God's purposes alone, reminding us of the beauty and importance of God's creation and His connection to it.

Mount Sinai, a high mountain, was the chosen place where God revealed Himself in a new way when building a nation. God chose Moses, a reluctant servant but fully trained in the ways and practices of Egypt, to lead the Jews out of bondage. Despite being a Jew by heritage, Moses was an Egyptian through and through, having witnessed the Jews' sufferings under the heavy hand of the Pharaohs. God revealed to Moses that the Jews were a chosen nation, and he was the one to lead them. With Israel's population growing, they needed a leader, and Moses was to be their guide in the ways of God. Moses' commissioning began on Mount Sinai, where God revealed His purposes for this new nation. Moses' return to Egypt marked the beginning of the realization of God's plans.

God's creation of a people is much like his creation of a garden. However, instead of just a garden, he also used a mountain as a metaphor for his people. The mountain also represents strength and stability, constantly reaching higher towards God's abode. It serves as a symbol of an eternal progression toward the divine. Both the garden and the mountain are depictions of divine origins and purposes, The mountain and the garden stand out for their unique character and composition.

When Paul had a revelation that the metaphors were not just referring to gardens or mountains but rather representing something more profound, it was like a lightning bolt from the sky. He saw that these metaphors pointed towards the place where God wished to reside - the human heart. But the human heart is known to be deceitful and desperately wicked. Therefore, God chose to become human to demonstrate that we can come to Him through the sacrifice He made on the cross and the victory He won over the deceiver, thus making us His sacred space just by loyally believing Him. This transaction came at a tremendous cost and with great suffering, but God was glad to do it. He knew that we were His family and needed His intervention to bring us home.

We are God's sacred space where He resides. This is true for all of us. Together, we have become a steadfast and unwavering mountain of the Lord, majestic and beautiful in our own right. Our well-watered garden is also where the Lord abides. Our roots go deep into the soil of His word, like strong trees planted by flowing streams of water. We bear the fruit of the spirit in due season.

Let's remember that we are all part of this sacred space and that our strength and beauty come from the collective faith of Christ. As we root ourselves in God's word, we will continue to bear the fruits of the spirit and inspire others to do the same.

May we all remain steadfast and unwavering in this faith, and may God continue to connect with us by the Holy Spirit and make us one body, together as a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. A garden and a mountain that all may come and taste and see that the Lord is good.

Stephen Barnett