“In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22, KJV). The Greek word for habitation as used here means “a permanent residence.”
Every Christian knows that God doesn’t dwell in manmade temples or buildings. God has no physical residence — no nation, no capital, no mountaintop. He doesn’t reside in the clouds or sky, the darkness or daylight, the sun, moon or stars. Of course, the Lord is everywhere, his presence filling all things. But according to his Word, God makes his home in the hearts and bodies of his people. Every believer can boast with confidence, “God lives in me.”
God began to abide in us when we first gave our heart to Jesus. He testifies, “I am in My Father … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:20, 23).
Long before the world was created, the heavenly Father and his Son were together in the glory of heaven, living in great bliss. Jesus had not yet walked in the flesh, with all its burdens and trials, and knew nothing of human sadness. Then came the plan of the New Covenant, which Proverbs 8 reveals. The Father asked Jesus, “Will you take on human flesh and become the sacrifice that redeems fallen humankind?” God chose to dwell on this tiny sphere called Earth and he chose man as the place he would inhabit here. “Rejoicing in His inhabited world … my delight was with the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:31).
Jesus knew he would no longer enjoy the blissful, face-to-face communion he had with his Father, yet he took delight at the thought of sweet communion with us! He fully understood the awful prospects — the crown of thorns, the hatred and rejection, the cross — yet he counted the cost and said, “I delight to do Your will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8).
Jesus anticipated spending a lifetime with you and having sweet fellowship with you daily. Proverbs 8:34: “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.” You are the delight of Jesus’s heart! He eagerly awaits your presence and longs to bless you, as one of his beloved children.