“30 Pictures of Jesus” 30 Day PlanНамуна

Today we see Jesus as the Temple.

From the beginning, God’s purpose has been to live with his people. In Eden, the garden was more than paradise—it was the first temple. Humanity walked with God in the cool of the day, enjoying his presence face to face. To live with God in a place was the definition of blessing, joy, and peace. That is what we were made for.

When sin entered, humanity cut themselves off from the garden-temple. Being exiled from God’s presence was the deepest loss. Ever since, the story of Scripture has been God making a way to dwell with his people again. In the exodus, God brought Israel out of slavery and called them his “treasured possession… a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5–6). He came to dwell with them in the tabernacle, and later in the temple, so that his presence could rest among his people. From the beginning, God’s plan has always been to make a people his home.

Peter says this story reaches its fulfillment in Jesus. He is the cornerstone of God’s true and final temple (1 Peter 2:6). In him, God himself has come near in a body. And through his Spirit, he has joined us to himself so that we become “living stones” built into a dwelling place for God (1 Peter 2:4–5).

This means the temple is no longer a building to visit but a people to belong to. God’s nearness is not measured in miles but in union with Christ. Wherever Jesus’ people are gathered, there the temple is. Wherever his Spirit fills his people, there God dwells.

This is good news. The longing of Eden—to live with God in his place—has begun to be fulfilled in us. The promise of Exodus—to be God’s treasured possession and dwelling place—has come true in the church. And one day, when Jesus makes all things new, the whole earth will be God’s temple, and we will live with him fully and forever. That is paradise restored.