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INNER CIRCLE: This Is Where God Lives

INNER CIRCLE: This Is Where God Lives

Last updated on: September 4, 2026 at 8:11 pm by Keith Giles

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INNER CIRCLE: This Is Where God Lives 2026-09-04T20:11:10+00:00 Keith Giles

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Ephesians 2:21-22

“In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

I honestly believe it’s one of the most tragically misunderstood concepts in modern Christianity today: the idea that God is “out there” and we are “down here.”

Nowhere is this misunderstanding more prominent than in the teaching that Jesus is “coming soon” and that “one day soon we will all be united with Christ in Heaven.”

Not only are these doctrines categorically false and a complete contradiction to what Jesus and Paul both explicitly teach, but they are also the reason why so much of Christianity – and therefore so many Christians – are completely irrelevant and powerless in our world today.

Nowhere does Jesus teach that we have to wait to live in the presence of God. In fact, Jesus expressly teaches in the Gospel of John, that he and the Father have “made their home” in us! See for yourself:

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (John 14:23)

So, where does God live? In us. When does this happen? In this life. When do we begin to experience this reality? Once we accept what Jesus tells us is true and begin living accordingly.

In other words, as the Apostle Paul phrased it: “Christ in you (is) the hope of glory!” (Col. 1:24-29).

Christ is already living within us. Christ is the One in whom we live, move and have our being. We are all filled with the fullness of Christ because Christ is the One who fills everything in every way. There is nowhere we can go to escape the presence of God.

And so, when Christian pastors, teachers, and evangelists continually preach a gospel message that we are separated from God, or that we need to wait for some future event for Christ to return, or that God is “up there, out there, somewhere,” we are being told a vicious lie that undercuts the true message of Good News to all people, everywhere: The Immanuel of God is with us (Matt. 1:23) and this presence of God will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:4), and nothing will ever separate us from the love or the presence of God (Rom. 8:38-39).

So, when the Apostle Paul writes here in his epistle to the Ephesians that they are being built into the temple of God to become the dwelling place where God lives by the Spirit, he is simply reiterating this same gospel truth that Jesus plainly taught us: “The Kingdom (Dwelling) of God is within you!” (Luke 17:21)

Let there be no doubt. Christ is already here. God’s presence is pervasive. The Spirit of the Divine has come to make their home in us, among us, and within us all. We are not waiting for Christ to come. We need not look to the heavens for God’s presence. The Divine is closer to you than your own heartbeat and as near to you as your own breath.

Breathe deep the breath of God. Rest in the eternal presence of the Divine Spirit within you.

You and I are forever connected to the Divine Source of all Being in the Universe. Our breath is God’s breath. Our consciousness is God’s consciousness. Our being is God’s being.

Nothing can ever change this.

My latest book is HARD VIDEO, a new Science Fiction novella that asks, “Why don’t we make reality a place we don’t need to escape from?” and the answer just might disturb you, or at least, make you think twice about the device in your hand. Available now on ePub and Paperback wherever books are sold.

Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, Coast To Coast with George Noory, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.” He co-hosts the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.

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