God Dwells Among Us: A Biblical Theology of the Temple (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology)

In preparation for a sermon on 1 Peter 2:5, I was looking for a book that reviewed the thread of God's expressions of His presence with mankind. I read this book and Hays' book, The Temple and the Tabernacle, which I will review separately. The authors of God Dwells Among Us begin, appropriately enough, in Eden and continue the theme of Eden throughout the book, seeing God's presence with us as expressions of His presence as relating to His initial presence with man at creation. Each chapter takes a new era of God's presence and expresses it along this theme. Chapter 1 is "Eden as a Temple," making the case that the garden of Eden was a temple wherein God was present with man. Sin broke that fellowship and created a distance between God and man. Chapter 2, "Expanding Eden" establishes the purpose and mission of mankind to expand God's presence through His image-bearers' obeying the command to be fruitful and multiply and connects that to gospel proclamation, ultimately expanding God's presence with man through reconciling individual image-bearers through the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ. Chapter 3, "Eden Lost," connects God's presence to the covenant with Abraham and the patriarchs, wherein they were to multiply and bless the earth, again ultimately through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Chapter 4, "Eden Remixed" is a look at the tabernacle and its construction, and the authors identify some interesting parallels between the construction of the tabernacle and the creation account, showing that God's presence in the tabernacle is an ongoing expression of His intent to dwell with man. They argue that "the tabernacle is a small model of the entire cosmos and points forward to a huge worldwide sanctuary for God's presence in the new creation." Chapter Five, "Eden Restored," the authors argue that the restoration of Israel after exile points to the restoration of Eden, a reuniting of God with man as intended at creation. Chapter Six, "Eden Rebuilt," is the height of the book in my opinion. It is here the authors show how Jesus Christ Himself, God and Man in one Person, is the presence of God with men, "one greater than the temple," the Word Who became flesh "and dwelt (tabernacled) among us." He is Immanuel, God with us. Chapter Seven is "Eden Expanding." In this chapter, the authors show how God's presence with man is now grown in intimacy and in number as Christ builds His church. The church is now the temple of the living God. Chapter Eight, "Eden's Ministry," explores the role of Christians as priests of God, working to expand His presence on earth. This fit very well with the broader text of 1 Peter 2:1-10. I disagree with their allegorical interpretation of Revelation, but expected that and wasn't put off by it. Those arguments are not necessary to make their valid point that the church is a priesthood with responsibility to protect the holiness of the temple (the church itself) and to expand God's presence through faithful witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Chapter Nine, "Eden Completely Expanded," looks forward to the New Heavens and New Earth, connecting that with the intent of Eden, God's near presence with a people, a kingdom and family of image bearers having been reconciled to Him through the death and resurrection of the Son. The last two chapters conclude with the question of "Why Haven't I Seen This Before?" in Chapter Ten and a connection to missions in Chapter 11, "Concluding Practical Reflections." The book has a set of helpful study questions, along with the usual indices and bibliography.Why read this book? Understanding life, including all of your own life, all of history, really answering all of the "why" questions, requires a knowledge of God and His overarching purpose. We have to understand that God is sovereign and good, and so all that He does (which is all that happens) is for His glory. He gains glory as we learn more about Him in His perfection, and see that He is always good. One means of achieving His good purpose (His own glory) is by creating a race of image-bearers who can themselves glorify Him and cause the rest of creation, including the angels, to glorify Him as they learn of Him through us. His relationship to man becomes the key thread that unites all of history. If God's glory is the moral of history, God's relationship to man is its motif. Understanding how God relates to man, how He has expressed His presence and has moved forward in His intent to create the perfect history to create His people/kingdom/family, is the key to understanding not only the Christian Scriptures and theology, but is in fact the key to understanding anything of lasting importance. This book, as a systematic overview and study of the various Biblical texts that explore God's presence with man, is a valuable and useful work in handing you that key.

Essentially a Biblical Theology of how the Garden of Eden lays the blueprint for worship and mission throughout all of scripture. Lots of connections I hadn't heard before, and tons of scripture references used as support. Occasionally seemed like logical leaps were made, but I can pretty safely assume I was just too dense to fully grasp what was being said.

How can we better rest in God’s presence? In God Dwells Among Us, G. K. Beale and Mitchell Kim give a biblical theology of the temple.Purpose and Place of WorshipIn the first chapter, Eden is presented as a temple and the dwelling place of God. We long for life and purpose, and it is here where we find satisfaction and rest in our Creator. The Tree of Life and the River of Life remind us of the abundant life that can only be found in our Heavenly Father. We find our purpose and place of worship in Eden.Our call to be fruitful and multiply is actually a call to more worship. As we increase the presence of God’s image-bearers, he is further glorified throughout the globe. Abraham’s offspring and the small sanctuaries that would be built are a fulfilling of our original mission.A “Remixed” TempleI was fascinated by the idea that the temple is “remixed” in a context of sin. As a model of the cosmos, it represents God’s global sanctuary. God’s work of restoration and expansion would find fruition in Jesus. The old temple system would be destroyed, and His resurrection would inaugurate a new order, bringing salvation to Gentiles and the birthing the Church.I was most moved by the call for Christians to serve as priests in the new temple of God. As the dwelling place of God, we hear his powerful Word, participate in worship, and witness to the world. We await our final consummation in the new heavens and earth, when we will see our Savior face to face.The Dwelling Place of GodThis book helped me see how the cosmos, the temple system, and the church relate as the dwelling place of God. I see the importance of the church in the world. And I see the power of God in the person of Jesus, who promised he would never leave us.I received a media copy of God Dwells Among Us and this is my honest review.

Book was in great shape and was shipped on date promised.