Have you ever found the Bible to be difficult to comprehend? Sixty-six books, spanning across multiple centuries, written by many different authors. Summarizing the expanse of Scripture can seem daunting. However, all of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, can be summarized as the unfolding of God’s desire to dwell with His people. Once you see this thread, all of Scripture will make more sense, and our longing to be with Him will grow.

Near the end of Revelation, the final book of the Bible, John records a vision he received from the Lord: “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God” (Revelation 21:3). This is a beautiful promise that God makes to His people, but to fully appreciate its richness, we must start at the first book of the Bible, Genesis.

In the beginning, God created man and woman in His image and declared creation to be very good (Genesis 1:26–31). God created them to dwell with Him in close relationship, but their sin separated them from God, and they hid themselves. They were removed from the garden, and God placed cherubim at the gates to guard the entrance so that they could not get back in (Genesis 3:24). Sin separated them from God, and His desire to dwell with His people seemed hopeless.

God Dwells Among His People

But God did not stop desiring to dwell with His people. Generations after humanity’s banishment from the garden, God would call one man, Abraham, and grow his descendants into a people for Himself. God delivered those people, known as the Israelites, out of the hands of Egyptian slavery and led them to Mount Sinai. At its base, He told them to make a sanctuary “so that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). The Holy God who delivered a sinful people intended to be among them. He did not stop pursuing them. What a marvelous reality.

Exodus 40:34 tells us that His glory filled the sanctuary, known as the tabernacle, when it was finished. Yet the Israelites could not simply walk into His presence whenever they desired, for they were still sinful people, and a holy God cannot be approached without a sacrifice for sin (Leviticus 16:2). Notably, the tabernacle’s Most Holy Place, where God’s presence rested above the ark of the covenant, was closed off with a curtain embroidered with cherubim, the same kind of heavenly beings God set to guard the entrance to the garden (Exodus 26:31). The high priest could enter the Most Holy Place once per year to make atonement for the people but only by offering a sacrifice for himself and his household (Leviticus 16:3–34). God had drawn near to His people, but they still had barriers to cross to approach Him because of their sin.

Later in Israel’s history, God’s glory filled the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem just as He had filled the tabernacle. But a temple in place of a tabernacle did not repair humanity’s pattern of sin. Israel continued to fall into patterns of sin and rebellion. Eventually, God allowed foreign nations to take over and destroy the temple as judgment upon Israel for their sin, and the people of God were taken into exile. As this happened, you can imagine the people wondering if God’s promise that He made in Genesis to dwell with His people was fractured. Had humanity’s sin broken God’s promise beyond repair?

As the prophets entered the biblical storyline, they answered this question with an emphatic no. Through Ezekiel, God promised to cleanse His people, to give them new hearts, and to put His Spirit within them (Ezekiel 36:25–27). Then, He promised that His dwelling place will be with them (Ezekiel 37:26–28). Even after God’s very location of dwelling was destroyed, He always intended to dwell with His people. Notice that this promise is all about what God will do. If you’ve ever wondered if God will keep His promise with you or if you’ve done enough, remember His promise to be near rests fully on His nature and not your good works.

God Comes to Us Through Jesus

The Gospel of John begins by expressing that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Through Jesus, God did much more than send another messenger proclaiming that He would come near. God the Son came Himself.

God had promised His presence through the tabernacle, temple, and the prophets. In each of these moments, God drew near to sinful, rebellious, and broken people, people who promised they would never sin again yet continually broke that promise. But God still pursued, and His pursuit came to a climax as Jesus entered the stage of human history. He ate with the sinners and tax collectors. He touched the diseased who no one wanted to even look at. He pursued the weary and called the weak to come to Him. In each of these encounters, they show us the heart of a God who pursues people.

As the Son of God, He came to show not only the compassion of God but to restore the separation between God and man that sin established. First Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God.” We do not come to God ourselves—Jesus brings us to Him. When Jesus died on the cross, the Most Holy Place’s curtain, bearing the embroidered cherubim, was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50–51). The curtain had previously marked limited access to God, but Jesus’s death made a way for us to draw near by eternally paying the price for our sin (Hebrews 9:26–28). We now have full access to the presence of God and can approach Him with confidence (Hebrews 4:14–16).

Regardless of the season or circumstances you are in, you can approach the throne of God boldly. He invites you to come to Himself.

God Is With Us by His Spirit

In John 14, as Jesus talks with His disciples, He promises them that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to be with them forever. After His death and resurrection, Jesus kept that promise. Scripture tells us that anyone who receives Christ through faith will receive the Holy Spirit—God Himself dwelling within us (Ephesians 1:13).

At Pentecost, that promise became reality. God poured out His Spirit on believers (Acts 2:1–4). The Spirit did not fill a building; He filled human hearts. Through the New Covenant, the place where God’s presence resides shifted from a physical address to the believer. The Apostle Paul makes it even more personal by writing, “Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). We are temples of the Holy Spirit.

You do not need to travel to a physical location to find God’s presence. If you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives inside you today! Furthermore, as we come together as the local church, we are corporately being built together as “living stones” into a spiritual home where God dwells by His Spirit (1 Peter 2:5). What a beautiful depiction of God’s desire to dwell with us.

Despite this reality, there are still days when we struggle to sense His presence. Grief can make prayer very difficult. Long seasons of waiting can make us impatient. In those moments that are stronger than any emotion we feel, Scripture gives us a foundation to stand on. Christ has brought you to God, and His Spirit is with you. Romans 8:26 says that the Spirit helps us in our weakness, even when we don’t know what to pray for. So come to Him with your grief and in your weariness. You can trust Him.

One Day We Will See His Face

The Spirit dwelling inside you is a wonderful gift. But as we return to where we started, the book of Revelation, we learn that isn’t the end of the story.

In Revelation 21, John beholds the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. He looks around the glorious city and notices something unexpected: “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, ESV). No temple. No building. No mediator. No curtain. Because nothing will stand between God and His people.

In the new heavens and new earth, the unmediated presence of God and the Lamb will fill every square inch of creation. The garden of Eden will be restored and expanded. God will wipe away every tear, and sorrow and death will be no more, and we will finally see His face. Tracing this thread across the pages of Scripture uncovers a truth each of our hearts needs: God wants to be with you.

Today, remember that you are not alone. You are not abandoned. You are not too far from grace. The God who designed the cosmos, filled the tabernacle with His glory, and sent His Son to die for your sins now lives within your heart by His Spirit. One day you will see Him face to face. Until that day, you can bring Him your heart because He wants you near.

If you liked this article, check out the related resources linked below!

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Author Bio

Matt Duckett serves as the Lead Pastor at First Southern Baptist Church Lawrence in Kansas. He is passionate about seeing lives transformed by the life-changing message of the gospel. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Sarah, and their two sons. He enjoys coffee, reading, and quality time with his family.

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