We read this in Exodus, what comes to mind.  God wanted a Sanctuary for Himself to dwell with His appointed people.  A portable Tabernacle

Exodus 25:1-9 The LORD told Moses, (2) “Tell the Israelis to take an offering for me, and you are to accept my offering from every person whose heart moves him to give. (3) This is the offering that you are to accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze; (4) blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen and goat hair; (5) ram skins dyed red, dolphin skins, and acacia wood; (6) oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for aromatic incense; (7) onyx stones, stones for setting on the ephod and the breast piece. (8) Let them make a sanctuary for me so I may dwell among them. (9) This is how you are to make it: according to all that I’m showing you, according to the pattern for the tent and the pattern for all its furnishings.”

The Lord wanted to Tabernacle among the people so He could dwell among them.  The people made a Tabernacle at first and then a Temple later.  Among them, not in them as we have.

When The Lord created the world, it was very good and in His goodness,.

Genesis 1:31 Now God saw all that he had made, and indeed, it was very good! The twilight and the dawn were the sixth day.

He wanted to share this goodness with others and in order to do this God needed to create something, which could receive His goodness.

This something, to receive God’s goodness, was man and women, who has the ability to live his life in accordance to God’s will.

Genesis 2:7 So the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground, breathed life {Spirit in man} into his lungs, and the man became a living being.

Remember Exodus 25:8; make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them.

Basically, the words “Make Me a Sanctuary” is not an ultimate commandment, or a statement or order that cannot be opposed, but more of a request so God can dwell among them.

It is an attitude concern, if you build something for me, then I will dwell among you and will give you instructions on how to build it.  The Tabernacle and Temple has detail building instructions in the Scriptures.

Exodus 35:5 ‘Take from among yourselves an offering for the LORD. Everyone whose heart is willing is to bring it as an offering for the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;

Exodus 35:21 and every person whose heart moved him and all whose spirits prompted them, brought an offering to the LORD for constructing the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

Deuteronomy 7:6-8 because you are a holy people to the LORD your God. The LORD your God chose you to be his people, his treasured possession from all the peoples on the face of the earth.”

(7) “It was not because you were more numerous than other people of the earth that the LORD committed himself to you and chose you. In fact, you were the least numerous of all the peoples.

(8) But the LORD loved you and kept his oath that he made to your ancestors. The LORD brought you out with great power from slavery, from the control of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

This is was done only if they were inspired to do so out of the generosity of their own heart, something which really cannot be compelled, even by God.  A free will or free moral agency we have.

God created our world because by His pure desire to do so, having Israel called upon to create a world for God to reside in, within our world.  Man’s will is coming together with God’s will, and the desire to build Him a house because we have free will to do so or not to do. 

Solomon  prayer to the Lord about the Temple construction.

1 Kings 8:27 and yet, will God truly reside on earth? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built!

Interesting question.

Creating for God a space from which God can reside, Jesus can come in and leave at will.

Shekinah or Glory of the Lord fills the Tabernacle, which is also in us

Exodus 40:34-35 The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of the LORD filled the tent. (35) Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the Glory of the LORD filled the tent.     Shekinah is another name for the Glory of the Lord

Tent or Tabernacle

Shekinah or Glory of the Lord fills the Temple, which is also in us 

2 Chronicles 5:13-14 the trumpeters and musicians played in union, praising and giving thanks to the LORD. They praised the LORD loudly and sang, “He is good, and his gracious love is eternal,” accompanied by the trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments.) As they did this, a cloud filled the Temple, that is, the LORD’s Temple, (14) and the priests were unable to complete their duties because of the cloud, since the glory of the LORD had filled God’s Temple.

Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

Ezekiel 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the Temple and stood over the cherubim.

Deuteronomy 23:14 For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.

God created the world so that God could fill that world with His Presence.

The problem is that Adam ate the one fruit of the one tree in the Garden of Eden he was told not to eat, because of free will.

Genesis 3:17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

Adam could have lived in peace, but decided not to.  Israel is a blessing to all nations on the earth, showing man and God can dwell as one.

Wondering:  Food from the ground, not from trees??

Genesis 28:14 Your descendants {Israel} are going to become like the dust of the earth and spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

This is what was covered in the Old Testament.  What about today.

Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you {or among you}

Luke 17:20-21 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with a visible display. (21) People won’t be saying, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ because now the kingdom of God is among you.”

Jesus said to the Pharisees, among you, to a Christian, it would be within you.  Why, because of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

2 Corinthians 6:15-18 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial {heathen good}? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  (16)  What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”  (17)  Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”  (18)  And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Ephesians 2:19-22 That is why you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, (20) having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the Messiah Jesus himself being the cornerstone. (21) In union with him the whole building is joined together and rises into a holy sanctuary for the Lord. (22) You, too, are being built in him, along with the others, into a place for God’s Spirit to dwell.

1 Peter 2:5 you, too, as living stones, are building yourselves up into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, so that you may offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus, the Messiah.

Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

Proverbs 20:27 A person’s spirit is the lamp of the LORD; it searches throughout one’s innermost being.

Only “man” has the “spirit of man” The spirit of man makes us truly human and allows us to have understanding, and to think and reason at the higher human level instead of at the lower level of animals.

Humans are created in God’s image, are created physical, while God is spirit, humans are created after God’s likeness, not only in our ability to think, reason and create, but also in our shape and appearance.

Humans do not look like fish or insects or four-legged animals. Humans look like our Eternal Father.

The Holy Spirit is only available to humans and to no other living thing. The Holy Spirit is made available to those whom God calls, who repent, are baptized, have hands laid on them to receive the Holy Spirit.

Only humans can be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit in us, Spiritually, we are able to obey God and keep His laws, showing our love for Him.  Humans to show our love for love of God is to keep His commandments.

When people die, we are not conscious, and our spirits are not immortal. God does keep our spirit {spirit in man and the new creation} while we “sleep” in death, preserved for the judgment or change at Jesus Return.

As humans, with the spirit in man in them and or able to receive the Holy Spirit, we can be born or changed into the Family of God.

This is not available to animals. This is only available to humans.

God had made the Holy Spirit available to Adam, because of Adam’s rebellion and taking of the forbidden fruit, God had driven Adam out and closed all access to the tree of Life, symbol of His Holy Spirit until a future time.

Jesus explains to us

John 3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 16:13-15 Yet when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own accord, but will speak whatever he hears and will declare to you the things that are to come. (14) He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (15) All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said, ‘He will take what is mine and declare it to you.’

Revelation 21:3-4 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See, the tent of God {Tabernacle} is among humans! He will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. (4) He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be death anymore. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.” 

Our bodies are a temporary tent, tabernacle holding the Holy Spirit

The good news about all of this, Jesus is physical and spiritual at same time

1 Corinthians 15:52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not under the control of the human nature but under the control of the Spirit, since God’s Spirit lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he does not belong to him. 

Romans 8:10-11 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.  (11)  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

These verses explains how we are physical and spiritual at the same time.

We know a spirit of mankind exists in mankind.

1 Corinthians 2:10 But God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God.

2 Corinthians 1:22 who has placed his seal on us and has given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.  (we are sealed)

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!

We are still human, but we are different from those in the world, because we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and have Jesus living in us and we are called saints of the Most High.

John 14:20 At that time you will know that I am in my Father, that you are in me, and that I am in you.  (Jesus lives in us)

We have just covered that the old nature (spirit in man) needs to be replaced with a new heart. It cannot be fixed.  Then we are God’s children. 

Ezekiel 36:26 “I’m going to give you a new heart, and I’m going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I’ll remove that rock-hard heart of yours and replace it with one that’s sensitive to me.

New Heart – New Spirit

Not to repair the heart, but replace it with a new heart 

John 1:12-13 However, to all who received him, those believing in his name, he gave authority to become God’s children, (13) who were born, not merely in a genetic sense, nor from lust, nor from man’s desire, but from the will of God

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not under the control of the human nature but under the control of the Spirit, since God’s Spirit lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he does not belong to him.

What are we seal with?

Ephesians 1:13-14 You, too, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed in the Messiah, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, (14) who is the guarantee of our inheritance until God redeems his own possession for his praise and glory.   (sealed with the promised Holy Spirit) 

Just meditate on these facts that God lives in you this week.

If you prayerfully remind yourself that you are a temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you, it will transform the way you look at yourself. And it will transform the way you see God’s purpose for your life.