Fear No Fear

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14. MEV). Jesus DWELT among us. That word is eskēnōsen (skay-no’-o). Strong’s tells us it means to dwell as in a tent, encamp, or to have tabernacle. Jesus came to TABERNACLE with us. We know from the Old Covenant that the tabernacle was the physical place that God came to interact with us and enabled us to come and interact with Him. The Way of the tabernacle was the prescribed path they used to approach God and was made of of three zones moving from the outer courtyard to the inner sanctuary. In Christian thought (not Jewish), the door to the Holy Place was named the Truth and the passage through the curtain into the Most Holy Place was named the Life. But Jewish thought did call the path the Way. It represented the progressive return from wilderness to unhindered communion with God. There were the daily sacrifices of the courtyard where the people accepted God’s grace. There were the daily practices in the Holy Place that represented daily prayer, growth, and the knowledge of God. And there was the rare entrance by the High Priest (and Moses) into the Most Holy Place where direct communication happened. This was tabernacling with God. Accepting His Grace, looking to Him for nourishment and knowledge, and intimate communication with Him. They did it in a physical way to prepare their hearts for the spiritual reality of life in Jesus. Jesus in us makes US God’s tabernacle. His presence lives within us as Holy Spirit. We have communication with Him DIRECTLY – no need to bang on Heaven’s gates or go through an intermediary. And we can rely on Him to be our Source of all things. We can turn on His joy through our thanksgiving. We can get strength from Him. His Fruit are available for us to plant in our hearts. We can grow and learn and get more and more intimate with the Lord. Jesus loves us too much to stay apart from us. Jesus loved us into intimate communication and living with God. He is our Way. We are His tabernacle. Joined in love to be a unit. We rely on Him, He provides for us. He shows us His glory, we worship Him as loving, obedient children. What a great place to live and have our being!