Present Presence

“The Temple was an advance sign of what God intended to do with and for the whole creation. When God filled the house with his presence, that was a sign and foretaste of his ultimate intention, which was to flood the whole world with his glory, presence, and love.” ~ NT Wright, After You Believe, 84

Washing dishes—eschatological foretaste.

Pain—eschatological banner.

You. I. us.

Flaming cherubim—the Garden blocked. Adam and Eve cast out. Not only no longer able to eat from the tree of life, but unable to be in the garden-temple of God in which God walked in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8). Presence gone.

Flames and clouds—Mt. Sinai descended and covered in a cloud of glory. God’s presence and glory descended, choosing a people with whom he would dwell in their midst. Presence present. (Exo. 19)

Cloud descends on the altar—Solomon’s temple, filled with the glory of the Lord. Cloud so thick the priests cannot stand up under it. Present presence. (1 Kings 8)

Burning coals, fire, cherubim—the glory leaves the temple before Ezekiel’s eyes. Separation searing. (Ezekiel 10)

Then….. The temple is rebuilt but no fire. No burning. No glory cloud. The temple may be rebuilt, but it is never the same. The older priests and Levites wept at the discrepancy, the lost glory (Ezra 3:12). Yet, yet God who is always working, always moving history towards its fulfillment in Christ and then Christ’s ultimate glorification, God hints through Haggai:

“Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?.... And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts…. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts” (Hag. 2:3, 7, 9)

Then…. Hidden. The only burning and smoke was the oil lamp in the stable when Mary was heaving. The only trembling was the body of a quaking virgin in birth pains. Angels but only to a field of shepherds. But listen to this humble carpenter’s words—presence preeminently present:

“I tell you, something [or someone] greater than the temple is here” (Mat. 12:6).

Jesus cleanses the temple, “’Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he [Jesus] was speaking about the temple of his body” (Jn. 2:19-21).

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt [literally: tabernacled] among us, and we have seen his glory…” (Jn. 1:14).

“For in him [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9).

Flames of fire—anointing the disciples’ heads on Pentecost. The promise of the Old Testament now true. The promise, power, of presence.

“I [the LORD] will dwell among the people of Israel and be their God” (Exo. 29:45).

“And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Lev. 26:12).

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and dwell in your midst” (Zech. 2:10).

Me, you. The dwelling place of God together. As a body of Christ, we are the new temple. Where is God? With us, in us, his love manifested in his corporate body. In his body, his people, the unity of that final new heavens and new earth is shown. The peace among one another. A love that is from outside of this world. A justice ethic that echoes God’s future kingdom and not this world. A care for the poor that foreshadows a world of no pain, poverty, need.

NOW.

In us.

(Yes, not realized perfectly. But a reality that is true.)

Evangelism—we the presence of God that we carry around. As we touch and speak, God touches and speaks and moves through us. Your neighbor doesn’t meet just you; he or she meets God in you. What responsibility, privilege.

Washing dishes, raking leaves, chores, daily work—a foreshadow of a clean world, a new heavens and earth that is characterized by service as a reflection of the Servant God. Honoring work in dignity, restoring work to the Garden of Eden privilege to work and care for the garden. Each act of dishes can foreshadow.

Pain—Hope in pain, testifying that there will be resurrection life. My suffering, your suffering, caught up as a banner of hope-in-pain, faith-in-dark. Just as the Old Testament temple contained a sacrifice which pointed to something yet unfulfilled, our sacrifice of praise, hope, joy in the trials points to new heavens, new earth, a God who is moving all things towards its final consummation.

Present presence

In us

Temple,

Foreshadow.