Jesus, The Tabernacle of Glory by Larry Sparks

Day 11 of the “What Child is This?” Advent Devotional

And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us. (John 1:14, AMP)

Jesus carried something in human flesh that, up until His coming, had not been done before. In the Old Testament, a physical structure was created to house the Glory of God. Whether it was the wilderness tabernacle, or Solomon’s temple, the Presence of God remained, with constancy, in a handmade structure. This was never God’s original design, though.

Later on in the Old Testament, we start to see that God’s vision is higher than some building project. Even though David thought it would be a wonderful idea to build God a house, God responded back, Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? (see 2 Sam. 7:5).

God actually did build Himself a house, but the construction process did not involve David, Solomon, or any person’s participation.

Read how God ultimately responds to David’s noble intention of building Him a house, “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12-13).

In one respect, Solomon was a seed of David (being the biological son of David), whose kingdom was established and he ended up building God a physical temple. However, Solomon simply was a prophetic shadow for the One Who was to come. The great fulfillment of God’s building project is revealed in our text, John 1:14.

The Word of God took on flesh and tabernacled among humanity. What does this mean? I love the language John uses here, for he is making a powerful announcement of prophetic fulfillment. In the Old Testament, the tabernacle was the structure that housed the Shekinah Glory of God.

When we talk about the “glory,” this is no mere concept or ambiguous spiritual jargon. The glory of God was visible. It manifested as a cloud and as fire. This fiery Presence of Almighty God was, in a way, hosted by the tabernacle, but not with any permanence. It was merely a shadow that would require substance. Jesus was the substance. Likewise, the temple was a picture that also demanded fulfillment.

Jesus was the One who fulfilled David’s dream of building God a house. God became incarnate in human flesh, yes. But also, God revealed to you and I what His house was always meant to look like—a people possessed with His very Spirit.

Jesus was and is the Incarnate God. He is the ultimate revelation of God to humanity because He is God! However, He is also the great revelation of God’s divine building plan for humanity. A tabernacle of bricks and mortar never sufficed; Jesus made it abundantly clear that the one structure that the glory was always meant to dwell in was the one structure handcrafted by God Himself—man. You and I.

Advent Prayer