Page 18 - Contact Spring 2021

The Presence of How many of us have tried to imagine what it
the Spirit
If there’s one thing that I’ve discovered in life
(especially in the past year), it’s that nothing
can replace the presence of others. Phone calls,
emails, WhatsApp, and zoom are all wonderful
tools for keeping in touch, but they don’t even
come close to approximating the presence of
the ones we love. It could be argued that the
central storyline of the Bible is of God’s
presence among his people. When God created
the heavens and the earth, he did so in order to
dwell with those he created in his own image.
Of course, we all know that humanity rebelled
against their creator, and the most awful
consequence of this was that they were
banished from God’s presence (Gen. 3:23-24).
The rest of the Bible tells the story of how God
would do whatever it took to dwell with
his people once again. He established a
relationship with Abraham and called his
descendants to be the special people of his
presence. As they made their journey to the
promised land, God travelled with them in a
pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night
(Ex. 13:21). And yet, if you were to ask the
Israelites where God’s presence was most
acutely felt among them, they would have
quickly answered, ‘the tabernacle’. It was upon
the tabernacle that God’s glory descended
(Ex. 40:35), and when the people moved into
the promised land, that same glory descended
on the more permanent temple in Jerusalem.
However, the sin of God’s people caused his
glory to depart once more (Ezek. 10:15-19;
11:23) and he would not return until we read
those incredible words in John 1:14, ‘the Word
became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among
us…’ In taking on our flesh, God was more
intimately present with his people than ever
before.
would be like to have Jesus’ physical presence
among us? Surely our Christian lives would be
greatly enhanced if Jesus walked among us.
That’s what we might think, but notice what
Jesus says to his disciples in the upper room
when he is preparing them for his departure:
‘I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage
that I go away, for if I do not go away, the
Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I
will send him to you’ (John 16:7). The Helper
(‘paraclete’ – counsellor, comforter) is the Holy
Spirit who would not only come to be with the
disciples but would be in them (John 14:17; 2
Cor. 1:22). Elsewhere Jesus describes him as
‘another Helper’; in other words, one just like
himself, and one who will be with us forever
(John 14:16). If you want to know where God
dwells today, it is ‘with’ and ‘in’ his people.
In fact, Paul refers to the church as God’s
temple (1 Cor. 3:16), not only corporately
but also individually (1 Cor. 6:19-20). If you’re
trusting in Christ, you are God’s temple, God’s
dwelling place. Not only is such knowledge too
wonderful to comprehend, but it should also
radically change the way we live our lives!
The Peace of
the Holy Spirit
In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul writes, ‘Do you
not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
You are not your own, for you were bought
with a price. So glorify God in your body.’ To
know that my body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit doesn’t exactly fill me with what the
Eagles called, a ‘peaceful easy feeling’. In some
ways the thought is terrifying! God is holy
and I’m not, so how can he dwell in me? Paul
helpfully answers that question in Romans 8,
‘Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus, because through
Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me
free from the law of sin and death’ (vv. 1-2).