God lives where?
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47
Question: “Where is God?”
Pastor and Author Jerry Cook repeatedly asks this question to congregations. Hearing him ask it recently in a College chapel service made me start to think…
Diests are content to leave God in heaven. He’s “up there” somewhere, but probably unconcerned with what’s happening on earth.
Humanists freeze Jesus on earth. They think we should remember the nice things He did and said when He was here. He’s a really good man to follow, they say, but not much more than that.
Some Catholic and Orthodox believers keep Jesus on the cross. What a wonderful reality that He died for our sins and we’d have no place in God’s family if it weren’t for the cross. I preach about the cross every Sunday. But that’s not where we find God now.
Many Evangelical Christians live with a constant focus on fioricet medication the resurrection and ascension. Jesus is alive! He’s back in heaven with the Father, building us a home. Mansions and feasts are waiting for us in the sweet by-and-by, in the sky, when we die.
But none of that really answers the question, does it? Where is God?
He’s right here!
At Pentecost the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in and through His people. In Colossians Paul puts it this way: “Christ in you, the Hope of Glory”. In Corinthians we find all believers are given the One Spirit to dwell in us.
Though He is manifest in these places, we don’t just find God in the cosmos, among creation, on the cross, or in some celestial future home—we discover that God is fully present and active in the daily lives of those who have been reborn by and filled with His Spirit.
And that is the point of Acts 2:42-47; it’s not so much a model given for us to follow as it is an exciting account of what spontaneously started to happen when 3,000 people were radically transformed by the Spirit. When God lives in you, you can’t help responding in ways that reflect God.
Too often we take the book of Acts and try to build a structure and strategy that will help us to look like the early church. Instead, let’s wholly engage the wonder that God lives in us, and then fully participate in whatever happens as a result of that awesome reality.