I often think about my early childhood days. I was born in rural Alabama. My father was a share crop farmer, which means we lived on and farmed land owned by someone else. At end of the of harvest season, the crops were harvested and a portion was given to the landowner as payment for housing and land use. During that period of my life, the term “dwelling place” would be used to entice farmers to move from one location another. We would be asked what kind of “dwelling place” (house) we had on our farmland, or there were times we moved from one part of the country to another to find a better place.
According to Webster’s, the term “dwelling place” refers to “a residence of some continuance … to settle down in residence.” In a recent study of the names given to describe Jesus throughout the Scriptures, I found several instances where He bears this name, “dwelling place.”
A look at the Old Testament reveals the foundation of this name given to Jesus by God Himself: “‘I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people’” (Leviticus 26:11–12 NIV).
Later Solomon asks, “But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (2 Chronicles 6:18 NIV) In other words, the thought of the all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe coming to dwell among humanity was beyond comprehension for Solomon. However, as we read on, it becomes clear that was and is God’s plan!
Let’s turn to the New Testament!
John writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Paul asks the Corinthian church: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple [dwelling place] and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV, emphasis added)
And again in his second letter to the Corinthians: “For we are the temple [dwelling place] of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people’” (2 Corinthians 6:16 NIV).
It’s clear Jesus was always meant to be our permanent place of residence! It’s also clear that God planned for us to be the dwelling places of His Spirit. Psalm 84:1 says: “How deeply loved are your dwelling-places” (CJB). As we dwell in this Advent season, let’s have faith in this promise: we are God’s beloved, chosen habitation on earth.
As believers God has chosen to live in us and calls us His deeply loved dwelling places. He calls us lovely. If we need a reminder of how deeply loved by God we are, let’s remember that He lives in us. We need only look at Scripture to see the purpose of God from the beginning was to make men and women who believe His dwelling place.
