The Dwelling Place of God is with Man
Revelation 21:1-7
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the fifth Sunday of Easter is the epistle reading Revelation 21. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 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.” This passage that I just read to you from our reading in Revelation is glorious because it tells us that God comes to us and dwells among us.
It has been revealed to us in the Bible that it is God’s desire to dwell among us. We see that through the pages of Scripture. God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. God spoke to them and dwelt with them. When God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, He showed them that He was with them by appearing as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The Lord dwelt with the Israelites throughout their history, first in the tabernacle and then in the temple. The Lord was with them guarding them and guiding them and forgiving them. It is God’s desire to dwell with His people. We see this most clearly through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came down from heaven to walk among His people. Jesus was God dwelling with His people in the flesh. He preached and taught the Word of God; He healed the sick and took care of the poor. Jesus came and dwelt among us in order to save us.
It is a wonderful thing for God to dwell among His people. Unfortunately people don’t always want to dwell with Him. I gave examples in the Bible of God dwelling with people. But there are also many examples of people not wanting God to be around. God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden but when they sinned they did not want God to be with them. When God called for them they ran away from Him and tried to hide from Him.
When the Lord delivered the Israelites from slavery and appeared to them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night what did they do? They turned away from Him and built a golden calf to worship. They preferred to be in the company of a lifeless golden calf then be in the company of the one true God. Later in their history when God’s presence was there with them in the temple they once again turned away from the Lord. They instead worshiped false gods and took part in all of the sinful practices of the pagan nations around them. When Jesus walked the earth there were people in the crowds who rejected Him. The religious leaders hated him. They hated Him so much that they plotted to kill him.
It is God’s desire to dwell with human beings. Unfortunately human beings don’t always want to dwell with God. The reason for this is sin. Sinful people don’t want a holy God to be with them. We will be tempted to think the same thing. Because of our sin we don’t always want God around us either. Because of our fallen nature we don’t like to be confronted by God. Instead we like to justify our actions like Adam and Eve did in the garden. We justify our sinful actions by blaming others like our parents or maybe our spouse. We like to focus on what other people do wrong far more then we like to focus on what we are doing wrong. When we are confronted with our sins we defend them. We tell ourselves that our sins are not nearly as bad as others. We might even talk ourselves into thinking our sin was actually the right thing to do. Because of our fallen nature there are times when we don’t really want God around confronting us on what we are thinking, saying and doing.
God wants to dwell with us but we don’t always want to dwell with Him. Like the Israelites who built the golden calf, we will be tempted to turn to other gods. We will be tempted to put our trust in money and status. We will be tempted to put our work and our leisure time before the Lord. We will be tempted to think that having the things of this world are far more important than being in the presence of God. We see an example of this when we skip church. There are times when we rather partake in the things of this world then hearing God’s Word and receiving the body and blood of Jesus. And so there are times when we defend our sin and there are times when we will be tempted to turn to the false idols of this world. Because of our fallen nature we don’t always want to dwell with God. But a life without God is a life without hope. A life without God is meaningless. A life without God leads to death and hell.
But praise be to God that He does want to dwell with us. He wants to dwell with us right now and he wants to dwell with us for all eternity. It is the Lord who reaches down to us in order to have fellowship with us. He comes to us in His Word and confronts us with our sins. He cuts us to our core and opens our eyes to the truth. We see our sins for what they are for they are rebellion against God. So we do indeed lament our sinful words and actions and we are troubled by some of the thoughts that run through our head. God comes to us in His Word and calls us to repentance and brings to us His grace. God dwells with us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ death and resurrection means life and salvation for all of us. There is no need to justify our sins because through Christ Jesus we are moved to confess them. We do indeed confess our sins before God and each other knowing that the Lord forgives us. To know that God dwells among us is good news because He is gracious to us. All we need to do is look to Jesus and see His love for us. It is God’s desire to dwell among us and so He does. He speaks to us and guides us in His Word. He delivers us from the slavery of sin, forgives us, preserves us, shelters us and has fellowship with us. There is no need to turn to the false gods around us because the one true God is our creator and redeemer.
God always dwells with His people. He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He delivered the children of Israel from slavery and He showed Himself self by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. He protected His people and was present among them in the tabernacle and the temple. He was seen most clearly through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came down to the earth and dwelt among us. Our Lord continues to dwell among us right now. The Lord comes to us through His Word, in Baptism and in the Lord’s Supper. He comes to us to guide us, comfort us and encourage us. He comes to us to strengthen us and sustain us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are indeed able to see God through the eyes of faith.
When the time is right we will see God face to face with our own eyes. This will happen when Jesus visibly returns. At that time this current age will end, and the Lord will usher in the new heavens and a new earth. Remember what was said in our reading. “Then I saw a new heaven and new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” What this is saying is that we will be with God in His full presence living in the new heavens and the new earth for all eternity. It means that God will dwell with us in a new and pristine world.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 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. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” We will be in the full presence of God living a perfect life where there is no more pain, suffering, sin and death. And we know that it is all true because of Jesus. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus we have been adopted into the family of God. Through Christ we have been given an eternal inheritance as sons.
Let me conclude with the words and promises of the Lord. “And He who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Also He said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Amen.