The Presence-Centered Kingdom, Part 5: The Church as God’s Dwelling Place
The Church — The Presence-Centered Community of the Kingdom
“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” — Matthew 18:20
When Jesus gave us this principle, He summarized God’s vision for the gatherings of His people in every era. The principle is simple, He wants to be with us where we are, so that we will long to be with Him wherever we are. This simple framework should define our families, our small groups, our house churches, our corporate gatherings, and our mega-churches. When we gather, two or more, in His name, He is in our midst. And when He is in the midst, His desire and will are most important. He has active longings for each of our gatherings. When we gather, it is, therefore, essential that we acknowledge His attendance and defer to His desires.
What was lost in Eden, recovered in Israel, and embodied in Christ is now to be the common practice of Spirit-filled people who will ultimately carry His presence into every corner of the earth. The incarnation made God’s dwelling human; Pentecost made it corporate. And the Great Commission made it viral.
A People Filled with the Spirit
When the day of Pentecost came, heaven touched humanity in a new way. “A sound like a mighty rushing wind filled the house… and tongues of fire rested on each one of them” (Acts 2:2-3). That fire was not symbolic. It was the same manifest glory that had hovered above the mercy seat. In that moment, the disciples became a living temple and individually living arks of the covenant. The Presence that once resided between cherubim now rested within believers.
Luke tells us that immediately they began to speak “the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11). Worship erupted, nations were drawn, and three thousand were added. The Church was born in the atmosphere of glory that started in a simple gathering of prayer. The temple was no longer stationary; it was walking the streets of Jerusalem.
The New Sacred Zone
Jesus had already defined this new reality: “Where two or three gather in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” The sacred zone of the New Covenant is not geographical—it is relational. Stop and consider the wonder: God’s presence now manifests wherever the body gathers in Jesus’ Name.
In Acts 4, when the believers lifted their voices in one accord, “the place where they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”
In Acts 5, the manifest presence of God became so tangible that sin was instantaneously judged, just like in the Holy of Holies in Moses’ tabernacle. “Great fear came upon the whole church”: the apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people because the glory of God was in the midst.
The same glory that once dropped the priests at the dedication of Solomon’s temple now filled homes, courtyards, and public squares. Holiness was no longer contained by walls; it was carried by human vessels.
The Corporate Temple
Paul crystalizes this truth clearly:
“You are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” — Ephesians 2:19-22
The Church is not a metaphorical temple; she is a living one. Every believer is a stone, every gathering a construction site of divine habitation. In Solomon’s day, the temple was built with quarried stones fitted together in silence. Today, the Holy Spirit fits living stones together through love, humility, and unity.
Peter echoes the same vision:
“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” — 1 Peter 2:5
The Church is simultaneously the priesthood and the temple—the ministers and the dwelling. The Presence that once required priests to draw near now has made priests of us all.
Presence and Mission
A Presence-Centered Church is not withdrawn from the world; she is sent into it.
Just as the tabernacle of Moses was surrounded by the tribes, the gathered Church becomes the center from which God’s kingdom radiates. When believers gather to minister to the Lord, they become conduits through which His glorious power flows to the nations.
The early Church understood this dynamic. From their prayer meetings they shook cities.
Presence leads to power, and power leads to witness.
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses…” — Acts 1:8
A powerful witness is the overflow of a presence-filled habitation. When God fills a people, He touches the world through them.
The Church as a Mobile Habitation
The Church is the continuation of Christ’s own body on earth. As the Father once walked with Adam, dwelt among Israel, and lived in Christ, He now abides in the collective body of believers.
Through the Spirit, the habitation has gone global. The glory that was once located in Jerusalem now fills every nation through the church. Wherever the people of God gather in faith and love, the same Presence that filled the temple rests there.
Conclusion: The Dwelling Continues
The story of divine habitation did not end at the cross or even at Pentecost; it continues every time the Church gathers in Jesus’ name. We are the living continuation of the Presence-Centered Kingdom—sons and daughters carrying the same Spirit that rested on Jesus, the same glory that filled Solomon’s temple, the same fire that fell in the upper room.
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.” — Revelation 21:3
Until the ages to come, when God’s dwelling is complete and heaven and earth are one, the Church remains His living temple on the earth—a people gathered around His presence, embodying His kingdom, and revealing His glory to the nations.
Next in the Series:
Part 6 — The Restoration of David’s Tabernacle: The Church as the Habitation of Glory
How the prophecy of Amos 9 and its fulfillment in Acts 15 reveal the Church’s global call to host the Presence through worship and prayer, and carry that Presence to every nation.