9.7 But how can a Holy God indwell sinful man?

Under the Old Covenant, God dwelled in a physical tabernacle. A holy God could not indwell sinful man. But under the New Covenant, God indwells the believer. We are now called the temple of the Holy Spirit.

(1 Cor 6:19-20)
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

But how could a Holy God indwell sinful man? The Jews could not even mention the name of God on their lips. They did not even dare to come near Mt Sinai. They could not even enter the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, let alone think of God indwelling man. God’s presence was locked up in the Holy of Holies under the Old Covenant.

1 Cor 6:20 says that we were bought at a price. Jesus had to purchase our eternal redemption through His precious blood. His blood washed away all out sins, and He imputed His righteousness to us. 2 Cor 5:21 says that Jesus became sin for us so that we can become the righteousness of God in Christ. It was because of the gift of righteousness that God could pour out His Spirit to indwell man.

Yesterday, we said that the Holy Spirit could not be poured out until Jesus has been glorified (John 7:39). When Jesus had died and resurrected, He went to heaven to present His redemptive blood to Father God. His perfect blood was accepted as the sacrifice for sins forever, and He sat down at the right hand of God.

(Hebrews 10:12)
But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…

Then having been exalted, He received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, which He poured down on the Day of Pentecost.

(Acts 2:33)
Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

Today, God’s presence is no longer locked up in the Holy of Holies. The veil has been torn apart, and God’s presence is in you and me – the living temples of the Holy Spirit – the true dwelling place of God (Eph 2:22). This is your privilege in the New Covenant.