Revelation 21:3
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Since the beginning of Creation, God desired to have fellowship with man and to dwell with him. In the Garden of Eden, God walked daily with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day and they would have sweet fellowship with each other. We don't know how long this time of fellowship lasted; we just know that for many days Adam and Eve were able to dwell with God at the cool of the day until sin entered into the equation. It was when sin entered into the equation that God could no longer dwell with man.
However, God still desired to dwell with man. His desire led to the Tabernacle in the wilderness when, once again, God had a place where He could dwell among man. No, this was not like the Garden of Eden, but God got His desire to dwell with man as they came to sacrifice to Him. God so desired to dwell with man that He made sure His tabernacle was situated in the center of the Israelite encampment in the wilderness.
Then, Jesus came and died for the sins of mankind. God’s desire to dwell with man was settled at Calvary. When Jesus died, the vail was rent in twain, and God allowed His Holy Spirit to dwell inside of the believer. This is what 1 Corinthians 6:19 teaches when it says, What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,… Now God’s desire is fulfilled again that He tabernacles with the man that is saved.
All of this looks forward to the day in Heaven, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. One day in Heaven, God will forever dwell with His children. Never again will the tabernacle of God be taken away. God looks forward to that day just as the believer should look forward to it.
However, until then, God tabernacles with man through His Holy Spirit. The word tabernacle simply means dwelling place. In other words, the tabernacle of God means the dwelling place of God. God so desires to be close to you that He gave you His Holy Spirit to dwell inside you to help you through your walk of life. What are the benefits of God tabernacling with man?
The first benefit is that He will care for your heartaches. Verse 4 says, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. This all happens after God dwells with man. My friend, the Holy Spirit tabernacles inside you to help you with every heartache. God could have chosen to give you someone else to care for your heartaches, but He dwells inside you so that He can care for every heartache you face. He wants to be the One to wipe the tears from your eyes. He wants to be the One who takes the pain away. He wants to be the One who comforts you in sorrow. Oh, the tabernacling of God inside of the believer means you have access to all comfort you need for every heartache.
The second benefit is that you have the power of God at your disposal to use for His work. Don't waste that power! God dwells inside you so that you work WITH Him and His power to do something mighty together.
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