Promises Kept Week 3

Promises Kept – Lesson #3
God with Us – From the Temple to the Incarnation

Lesson Overview and Main Theme:
Throughout Scripture, God continually reveals His desire to dwell with His people. In the Old Testament, His presence was centered in the Tabernacle and the Temple—holy places where heaven and earth met. In the New Testament, God’s presence becomes personal and embodied in Jesus Christ, “Immanuel,” God with us. This study explores the shift from a place to a Person, and what that means for believers today.

Opening Prayer:

• Is it more important to worship God in a specific location or will any place do?
  • OR
• Can you feel God’s presence better in certain locations?

Reading the Scriptures:

• Matthew 1:18-25

Lesson and Discussion questions:
1. The Old Testament: God With Us through the Temple

• From the Garden of Eden forward, Scripture shows God’s intent to be near His people.
• After the Exodus, God commands the construction of the Tabernacle: “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exod. 25:8).

• The permanent Temple in Jerusalem replaced the portable Tabernacle as the symbol of God’s dwelling.
• God’s glory filled the Temple (1 Kings 8:10–11), confirming His nearness.
• Yet access was limited:

• Only priests could enter the Holy Place.
• Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies—and only once a year.

• The Temple system revealed God’s desire to be with His people and the reality that sin separated them from His presence.
• Sacrifices, priests, and rituals were necessary to maintain fellowship.

2. The New Testament: God With Us through Christ (Matthew 1:18–25)

• Read Matthew 1:18–25 aloud.

• Matthew reveals something radical: God is coming not to a building, but as a person.

• Matthew identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14.
• “Immanuel” is not just a title; it is a declaration of a new reality.
• God’s presence is no longer confined to the Temple but is now embodied in Jesus.

• God is approachable (John 1:14).
• God is physically present with His people.
• God’s presence is not restricted to one place or one people but is available to all who believe.

• He forgives sins directly (Mark 2:5).
• He declares His body the true Temple (John 2:19–21).
• At His death, the Temple veil is torn, symbolizing open access to God (Matt. 27:51).

Help participants see how Jesus fulfills everything the Temple symbolized—sacrifice, mediation, and God’s presence.

3. God With Us Today

• After Jesus' resurrection and ascension, God’s presence continues through the Spirit dwelling in believers (John 14:16–17; 1 Cor. 3:16).

• Believers now collectively and individually serve as God’s dwelling place.
• God is not distant. He is not confined to buildings. He lives with and within His people.

• We are never abandoned.
• We can approach God confidently.
• We are called to reflect His presence to the world.

Journal or share with a trusted person moments when you felt God’s nearness or needed the assurance of His presence.

Discussion Questions:

1. In the Old Testament system, what did the Temple communicate about God’s holiness and accessibility?
2. How does Jesus being “Immanuel” reshape our understanding of God’s nearness?
3. What differences do you see between God dwelling in the Temple and God dwelling in Christ?
4. How does the reality of God’s presence through the Holy Spirit comfort or challenge you today?
5. What changes when we understand ourselves as the “temple” of God's presence?

Closing Prayer Time

• Guide the group in a closing prayer, asking for the class to feel His presence.

Closing Thought

• In Jesus, God moved from dwelling in a building to dwelling among—and ultimately within—His people. Christ, our Immanuel, assures us that God is not distant but forever present with us.