The Presence of God
It is an undeniable fact from the Scriptures that God is omnipresent. However, the Scriptures do have much to say about the location of the presence of God to the believer.
In the previous Learning Activity (8D) we looked at a number of New Testament verses of scripture that indicated to us that in the New Covenant God lives in the believer. In this Learning Activity we will attempt to show the reader that much of the confusion that exists today in the church over the presence of God is due to an ignorance and inability on the part of the believer to rightly divide the Old Covenant from the New Covenant in the believers study of the Scriptures.
To begin our study we will look at God’s presence under the Old Covenant. After establishing what that consisted of we will then turn our attention to God’s presence under the New Covenant (in which we live today!) in order to contrast and compare. If you are unfamiliar with the terms “Old Covenant” and “New Covenant” you will find Learning Activities on these two biblical periods of time elsewhere on this web site.
THE PRESENCE OF GOD DURING THE OLD COVENANT
1. Exodus 25:8
2. In the verse above, where does God say that He would live?
3. Exodus 29:43, 45
4. In the two verses above, where is it that God said He would meet with the children of Israel and dwell among them?
5. Numbers 11:16, 17
6. In the two verses above, where did God say He would talk with Moses?
7. Numbers 12:5
8. In the verse above, where did God appear?
9. Deuteronomy 31:15
10. In the verse above, where did God appear?
11. 1 Chronicles 6:48
12. How does the verse above describe the tabernacle?
Each of the preceding verses is written and applicable to the Old Covenant era of biblical time. The New Covenant had not yet replaced the Old Covenant.
13. Where would you describe the location of the presence of God under the Old Covenant?
THE PRESENCE OF GOD DURING THE TRANSITION TIME WHEN THE OLD COVENANT WAS PASSING AWAY AND THE NEW COVENANT WAS COMING IN (See Learning Activity #29 for more information on this time period).
14. Matthew 16:18
15. In the verse above, whom did Jesus say would build His church?
16. John 4:21, 23
17. In verse twenty-one, Jesus told the Samaritan woman there were two places where God fearing people would NOT be going to in the future to worship. Where were those two places?
18. In verse twenty-one, when did Jesus say this change in the place of worship would take place?
19. In verse twenty-three, how did Jesus describe what this change in worship would consist of?
20. In verse twenty-three how does Jesus further clarify when this change in worship would take place?
THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN THE NEW COVENANT
21. Acts 7:48
22. What did Stephen say about where God dwelled in the verse above?
23. Colossians 1:18
24. In the verse above, who is it that is the head of the church?
25. Hebrews 8:2
26. The verse above speaks of a sanctuary which is the “true tabernacle.” Who does this verse say erected this “true tabernacle?”
27. In the verse above who is it that does NOT erect the “true tabernacle?”
28. Hebrews 9:11
Using the verse above, answer the following questions.
29. Who is the high priest in the New Covenant?
30. What is being referred to by the words, “good things to come?”
31. What is the “greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands” referring to?
32. Hebrews 9:24
33. What were the holy places of the Old Covenant?
34. Given the above information, what do you think of the following statement as it applies to New Covenant times: “Church buildings are the house of God.”
35. Would you judge the following statement to be true or false: In the New Covenant God’s presence is found in the believer and that presence of God is present anywhere that the believer happens to be.
36. Would you judge the following statement to be true or false: Under the Old Covenant God’s presence was to be found primarily in man-made tabernacles and temples while under the New Covenant God’s presence is primarily found in temples made of flesh.
37. What is your evaluation of the following prayer by a Christian in a prayer group setting: Father, we invite your presence to come amongst us as we seek your help in our situation.
Click on Self-Check below to check your answers.