Where Faith Becomes Lived, Not Contained

We Are His Temple, But He Is Still God

From the very beginning, God’s desire has been nearness.

In Genesis, we do not see a building. We see a garden. We see God walking with humanity in the cool of the day. Presence is natural. Relationship is unmediated. No veil. No priesthood. No barriers. Humanity was created to live with God, among God, and before God. That was the design.

Sin fractured that intimacy. Adam and Eve were driven from the garden, not because God withdrew His desire to be near, but because unredeemed sin cannot coexist with unshielded holiness (Genesis 3). What follows in the biblical story is not God abandoning His original intent, but God graciously responding to human brokenness.

The tabernacle and later the temple arose within that context. The tabernacle and temple exist because of sin, not because God suddenly needed a house. Scripture is clear that God cannot be contained by structures made by human hands (1 Kings 8:27). Yet God still chose to dwell among His people through provisional means (Exodus 25:8; Exodus 40:34–35). These were not endpoints. They were tutors. They taught holiness, reverence, and the cost of access in a broken world.

Over time, something subtle and dangerous happened. The people began to trust the symbol instead of the God who filled it. The temple became a guarantee rather than a signpost. Prophets warned that worship had drifted from Yahweh to the structure itself (Jeremiah 7; Isaiah 1; Amos 5). Their actions revealed their theology. They valued proximity without obedience. Ritual without repentance. Presence without transformation.

This behavior matters because the New Testament does not discard temple language. It fulfills it.

Jesus does not redefine God’s intent. He reveals it fully. He identifies His own body as the true temple (John 2:19–21). Through His death and resurrection, the barrier created by sin is dealt with at its root. When the veil is torn (Matthew 27:51), it is not God escaping a building. It is access being restored. The restriction was never the goal. The restriction was His mercy.

Because of Christ, the Spirit now dwells in people, not stone (1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 2:19–22). What Eden prefigured and the temple anticipated is now reality. We have full access to God through Jesus (Hebrews 10:19–22). Not partial. Not mediated by lineage or location. Full!

But here is the warning that must be heard.

The same danger that existed then exists now.

Just as Israel began to trust the temple more than Yahweh, believers today can start to emphasize indwelling more than the Indweller. We can focus on being the temple rather than pointing to the God who dwells within. Gifts become identity. Calling becomes a platform. Presence becomes possession.

Paul addresses this directly. Temple language in his letters is never used to elevate the self. It dismantles self-ownership. “You are not your own” is the point (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). The Spirit’s presence increases responsibility, not status. Nearness intensifies accountability.

This is where modern spirituality often drifts. We celebrate gifting without surrender. We speak of anointing without obedience. We proclaim access while resisting authority. The attention subtly shifts from God’s glory to our experience of Him.

That is self-worship dressed in sacred language.

The temple was never meant to draw attention to itself. It existed to bear witness to the glory within. When the structure eclipsed the presence, judgment followed. The same principle applies now.

If we are His temple, then our lives should not point to how special we are, but to how worthy He is.

The gifts of God are real. They are generous. But they are not proof of maturity. They are evidence of grace. Maturity shows up in humility, love, and obedience (1 Corinthians 13; Philippians 2).

The Spirit does not dwell in us to magnify us. He dwells in us to glorify Christ.

God has always desired to dwell with His people. That has never changed. What has changed is the barrier. What has been fulfilled is access. What must remain guarded is reverence.

We are His temple.

But He is still God.