God's Dwelling Place

Jesus is the Greater Tabernacle in whom the presence and glory of God permanently reside and are manifested to his followers – John 1:14.

The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the place where the glory of God is seen, the True Tabernacle in which His presence abides forever. The worship of men desired by the Father is not limited to dedicated buildings or geographic locations. From now on, the worship of God takes place “in the spirit and truth,” and we experience the majesty and nature of God in the “face of Jesus Christ.”

The declaration that the ‘Logos’ became flesh echoes the incident at Mount Sinai when God inscribed His ten “words” on the stone tablets that were housed later in the Tabernacle, “the Tent of Witness.” The Word of God now “tabernacles among us” in Jesus of Nazareth. “We beheld his glory, the glory as of an only-born from a father, full of grace and truth” – (John 1:14-18).

[Tent at Night - Photo by Raghav Yadav on Unsplash]

The Greek verb translated as “tabernacled” in the Gospel of John is ‘skénoō’ (Strong’s Concordance - #G4637), meaning “to tabernacle, to pitch a tent.” It is related to the noun ‘skéné’ or “tent,” the same Greek noun used for “tabernacle” in the Greek Septuagint version of the Book of Exodus.

Thus, God “dwells” among His people in His Son, Jesus Christ. Yahweh commanded Israel to “construct a Sanctuary for me that I may dwell among them.” What the Ancient Tent prefigured is now reality in Jesus Christ, the “Word made flesh” - (Exodus 25:8-9, 33:7-11).

The presence of God was manifested in front of the Tabernacle in the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. Just as God revealed His presence among the people of Israel, so He now makes His habitation among His New Covenant people in and through Jesus of Nazareth - (Exodus 40:34-35, Numbers 9:15-23).

This same Jesus is “full of grace and truth,” according to John 1:14. This statement continues the imagery from the story in Exodus. Moses asked Yahweh to show him “His glory.” However, no man could “see His face and live.” Therefore, God placed him in “the cleft of a rock” as He passed by, permitting him only to see His “back” for the briefest moment as He descended in the cloud and passed before the Great Lawgiver, all while proclaiming:

• “Yahweh, Yahweh, a God of compassion and grace, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and faithfulness” - (Exodus 33:17-23, 34:1-6).

Today, the glory and nature of God are revealed in Jesus. Rather than momentarily glimpsed from a distance, we see the full glory of the Father in His Son and not just His “backside,” for the Nazarene is “full of grace and truth.” God manifests His unfiltered glory, grace, and truth forevermore through His Son:

• “Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me! If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him and have seen him” – (John 14:6-7).

• “Seeing it is God who said, Light will shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” – (2 Corinthians 4:6).

No longer is God’s presence restricted to man-made structures. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything that the original Tabernacle and the later Temple foreshadowed. The glory of God reflected in Jesus is full, visible, and available for all men to behold, both now and forevermore. This “Tabernacle” will never be upgraded or replaced.

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SEE ALSO:

• The House of God - (Jesus is the true and only way of access to the Father, the Greater Bethel, and the House of God – John 1:47-50)

• His Glory Revealed - (Ever since the Word became flesh, the glory of God is manifested in Jesus of Nazareth and beheld by everyone who believes in him – John 1:14)

• True Worship - (Jesus revealed that the presence and worship of God are no longer limited to geographic locations or man-made structures – John 4:20-24)

• Onde Deus Habita - (Jesus é o Tabernáculo maior em quem a presença e a glória de Deus residem permanentemente e são manifestadas aos seus seguidores - João 1:14)