The Closeness of God
John 15:26-27 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
The Word of God paints the most beautiful story of how God has moved closer and closer to mankind in order to show them His love and forgiveness. Consider at the fall when Adam and Eve chose to sin against God, the gulf and separation between them and God which had occurred. After that, we see God moving closer and closer to mankind. For example, He spoke to Noah, Abraham, and Moses. With Moses, God moves closer and speaks to him face to face (Exodus 33:11). The people of Israel did not want to speak directly with God because they were afraid (Deuteronomy 5:25-27). God moves closer to the people to be among them on the ark of the covenant within the tabernacle and then the temple (Exodus 25:22). Still, God wanted to be closer and bring about His plan of salvation.
We see indicators of the Trinity throughout the Old Testament such as the Son of God being with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed’nego in the fire (Daniel 3:25). Also, God’s Holy Spirit filling Bezalel (Exodus 31:1-5) so that he could have knowledge and understanding of artistry and craftsmanship. There are even more than these, but you might think that the culmination of God’s closeness is when God the Father sends His only Son to the world. Not only did we have the Son of God in the flesh and living among us for a time, but a more profound closeness was to come. Jesus knows that those who believed on Him would benefit from the Holy Spirit who would indwell within them, leading them, guiding them, and inspiring them.
It is truly remarkable to see God’s plan when we look back to see how mankind chose to move away from God, but God kept moving closer to us even when the Israelites were afraid of His presence or when they crucified His Son on the cross. He has never abandoned His love for mankind. He never broke His promise. He always wanted to save us from the sins we enslaved ourselves to. Not only does He offer us salvation from our sins through His Son Jesus, but He wants to be close to us. The greatest closeness we can have on this earth is to believe on Him and receive His Spirit to be with us, in our bodies that He created, in our temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). What a mighty God we serve!