The Spirit Makes Us God’s Dwelling Place

by Laura Springer, Th.M., Ph.D.

Key Passage(s): Ephesians 2:11-22

Supplementary Passage(s): Isaiah 28:16; 1Corinthians 3:10-17

 

God’s dwelling place has never been bricks and mortar. He has always dwelt among his people. But once Jesus came, lived, died, rose, and ascended, something changed: where God once dwelt with his people, he now dwells in us. The community of those who trust Jesus is and is becoming the dwelling place of God.

 

This dwelling place is built on the foundation of the good news of Jesus, written down in the words of Scripture. It is held up by and measured against Jesus himself, for he is the cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Corinthians 3:10-17). The Spirit who dwells within us also works in and with us to build us from the inside. So, if a church intends to look and act like God's dwelling place, we who are the church must choose to live by the Spirit, tending our lives toward him, submitting to him, and partnering with him.

 

Tend toward the Spirit. Let us tend toward the Spirit by reminding ourselves that he is God with us, forming us to become the church Jesus saves us to be. Let us remember that the Spirit teaches us Jesus through the Bible and our brothers and sisters. Let us learn Jesus with all that we are in the company of our sisters and brothers in Christ. Let us learn to recognize the Spirit’s voice by slowing down to listen and testing each prompting against the Bible and in conversation with our fellow believers.

 

Submit to the Spirit. Let us submit to the Spirit’s tools and methods and set ours aside. Let us submit to his design for the structure of the whole and for how each individual believer functions in the context of the unity that is in Jesus.

 

Partner with the Spirit. If the dwelling place is to be a sound structure, we who are its living stones must submit to the Designer. Let us partner with the Spirit and one another to develop and live out our calling as the dwelling place of God in the world.

God the Spirit: The One who Makes Us One

by Laura Springer, Th.M., Ph.D.

Key Passages: Ephesians 4:1-6

Supplementary Passages: John 17

For the past several weeks, we have been physically separated. We have been gathering in virtual space, worshiping God, hearing the Word proclaimed, and chatting with one another, but we all know that this is not enough. It makes our hearts hurt. Why?

Separation makes our hearts hurt because to be Christian is to be in a relationship with God, and that relationship always takes place as persons-in-community. The face-to-face gathering is a core practice that lives out our identity in Christ. To neglect or be barred from meeting in person can cause damage, whether it is caused by “Safer at Home” orders or contention.

Now, contention and distance happen; these are part of life under the sun. But these need not, indeed, must not create division. Why? Because our unity is not a feature of our liking one another or enjoying the same things. Our unity, our life together, whether gathered or dispersed, belongs to and is sourced in the Spirit. Our unity is decidedly not our own. It is God’s.

This unity is possible because “There is one body… one Spirit… one hope… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…” (Ephesians 4:4-6 ESV). We are in Jesus by the Spirit, so we are one.

But we must never let the fact of our unity lull us into complacency, for God calls us to work hard to support this unity by partnering with the Spirit because our unity is actually God’s unity.

Working hard at unity while partnering with the Spirit is how we live a communal life worthy of the call to relationship with God. All believers, not a select few, are responsible for maintaining the unity of the Spirit by working diligently to support what binds us to God and one another.

God designed the gathered church as a physical, face-to-face community. So, gathering on the church campus and in life groups feels right because it is right. Gathering in virtual space feels a bit off. Yet, virtual gatherings are real, for they live out our soul-to-soul relationship with one another and God. Let us allow the experience of our current separation and participation in virtual gatherings to increase our yearning for the face-to-face life in the Spirit of the gathered church.