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God Makes His Home Among His People

God Makes His Home Among His People

Last updated on: September 4, 2026 at 5:00 pm by Rick Rice

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God Makes His Home Among His People 2026-09-04T17:00:47-04:00 Rick Rice

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In my last post (What Does It Mean to Say “Home Is Where the Heart Is”?), I said that God’s plan was always to dwell among His people. In Revelation 21, John tells us that in God’s eternal Kingdom, He will dwell among His people forever. What else does Scripture tell us about God’s desire to make His home among us?

“Have them construct a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them”

In Exodus, God leads the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. Along the way, they stop at Mount Sinai. God descends upon the mountain and meets with Moses, and gives Moses the Law. But that’s not all that God did. He also told Moses to collect items from the people to construct the tabernacle: “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Tell the sons of Israel to take a contribution for Me; … Have them construct a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them’” (Exodus 25:1, 8).

“So that I may dwell among them.” What an incredible thought! God wants to be among His people! And in spite of their stumbles, and even outright rebellion, He did exactly that. When Moses and the people had finished the tabernacle, and he had done everything exactly the way God told him, God showed up: “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34).

God Makes His Home Among His People to Lead Them

But God did not show up among the Israelites just to “hang out.” He wanted to be among them to lead them. The most obvious example of that is the pillar of cloud and fire by which God led the Israelites on their journey. “Throughout their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. For throughout their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel” (Exodus 40:36-38).

The cloud and fire revealed God’s presence to the people. They came to recognize God’s leading, and they followed. They understood that God was not far off, but was right in their midst. So even when the cloud and fire were stationary, the people still knew that God was with them.

In the same way, God is with His people today. He doesn’t lead by cloud and fire (at least not that I’ve experienced). Instead, He leads by His Holy Spirit, who lives in us. We know that God is with us, even when we don’t see Him moving. We come to recognize the ways that He speaks and leads because we know that He is with us.

“God With Us” Makes His Home Among His People

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son form the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and called out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, “He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.”’ For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; God the only Son, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:14-18).

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us – the Incarnation. God-with-us Emmanuel. Interestingly, the Greek phrase John uses is, “the Word became flesh and tabernacles among us.” In the Old Testament, the tabernacle was a physical structure which God inhabited. Jesus Himself is the tabernacle which God inhabits among His people in the New Testament. In John 2, Jesus referred to Himself as “this temple.” John makes it clear that “He was speaking about the temple of His body” (John 2:21). And as John noted in the passage quoted above, Jesus came to reveal God’s glory and His character to us. “God the only Son, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained Him” (emphasis added).

God In Us – the Holy Spirit

Jesus came to reveal God, to be God with us. While He was among us, He taught us that the Holy Spirit would soon come to be God in us. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17, emphasis added).

The Holy Spirit – God in us – functions just like God in the tabernacle in the Old Testament. He leads His people, and His presence reminds us of His goodness and faithfulness to us. Throughout chapters 14-16 of John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how the Spirit will work in us.

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you (John 14:26)
When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, namely, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, He will testify about Me (John 15:26)
But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me; and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged” (John 16:7-11)
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you (John 16:13-14)

God Makes His Home Among His People

In the beginning, God dwelt among His people. Sin fractured our relationship with God, but God did not just wash His hands of us and walk away. Instead, He provided ways for us to be reconciled to Him. That work culminated in the coming of Jesus, who is the ultimate revelation of God’s presence with us.

And as Jesus Himself told us, God’s purpose is to be with His people. “Do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be” (John 14:1-3, emphasis added). The aim of God’s Kingdom – the thing that makes it “Heaven” – is that we will be with God forever!

My next post will consider Scriptural examples of how God leads His people. I’ll also discuss how that differs from the way that people lead themselves.

How have you experienced “God with us, God in us” in your life? What do you think about the idea that the core of heaven is
being with God forever? I welcome your comments and questions!

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September 9, 2026 God Makes His Home With Us. We Follow as He Leads Us.

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