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Man - The Dwelling Place of God by
A. W. Tozer
Table of Contents
1. Man: The Dwelling Place of God
2. The Call of Christ
3. What We Think of Ourselves Is Important
4. The Once-born and the Twice-born
5. On the Origin and Nature of Things
6. Why People Find the Bible Difficult
7. Faith: The Misunderstood Doctrine
8. True Religion Is Not Feeling but Willing
9. How to Make Spiritual Progress
10. The Old Cross and the New
11. There Is No Wisdom in Sin
12. Three Degrees of Religious Knowledge
13. The Sanctification of the Secular
14. God Must Be Loved for Himself
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15. True Faith Is Active. Not Passive
16. On Taking Too Much for Granted
17. The Cure for a Fretful Spirit
18. Boasting or Belittling
19. The Communion of Saints
20. Temperament in the Christian Life
21. Does God Always Answer Prayer?
22. Self-deception and How to Avoid It
23. On Breeding Spotted Mice
24. The Unknown Saints
25. Three Faithful Wounds
26. The Wrath of God: What Is It?
27. In Praise of Dogmatism
28. What Men Live By
29. How to Try the Spirits
30. Religious Boredom
31. The Church Cannot Die
32. The Lordship of the Man Jesus Is Basic
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33. A Do-It-Yourself Education Better Than None
34. Some Thoughts on Books and Reading
35. The Decline of Apocalyptic Expectation
36. Choices Reveal - and Make - Character
37. The Importance of Sound Doctrine
38. Some Things Are Not Negotiable
39. The Saint Must Walk Alone
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MAN: THE DWELLING PLACE OF GOD
Introduction
THE SUPREME INTEREST in the life of A. W. Tozer was God: He who spoke and brought
the world into being, Who justly rules over men and nations, yet deigns to make man His
dwelling place. He believed that all that really matters is for man to be in right relationship
with God, that his first duty-and privilege-is "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." For this
reason he delighted to speak to men of God's majesty and wonder and grace and he ever
sought to instruct and exhort Christians to let this be the purpose of their lives. He grieved
that they should be content with less.
Nothing he preached or wrote was merely academic or theoretical. What he said about God
came out of many hours spent in His presence and with His Word. What he wrote about men
was what he knew of his own heart and observed in others. With the Spirit's anointing came
discernment; perception and clarity issued out of a disciplined mind. A broad knowledge
averted dullness, and a lively wit brought freshness.
The chapters in this book deal with many aspects of one subject: the relationship of God and
man. They are above all practical and all who read them will profit.
4
Man: The Dwelling Place of God
DEEP INSIDE EVERY MAN there is a private sanctum where dwells the mysterious essence
of his being. This far-in reality is that in the man which is what it is of itself without reference
to any other part of the man's complex nature. It is the man's "I Am," a gift from the I AM
who created him.
The I AM which is God is underived and self existent; the "I Am" which is man is derived
from God and dependent every moment upon His creative fiat for its continued existence.
One is the Creator, high over all, ancient of days, dwelling in light unapproachable. The other
is a creature and, though privileged beyond all others, is still but a creature, a pensioner on
God's bounty and a suppliant before His throne.
The deep-in human entity of which we speak is called in the Scriptures the spirit of man. "For
what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" (I Cor. 2:11). As God's self-knowledge
lies in the eternal Spirit, so man's self knowledge is by his own spirit, and his knowledge of
God is by the direct impression of the Spirit of God upon the spirit of man.
The importance of all this cannot be overestimated as we think and study and pray. It reveals
the essential spirituality of mankind. It denies that man is a creature having a spirit and
declares that he is a spirit having a body. That which makes him a human being is not his
body but his spirit, in which the image of God originally lay.
One of the most liberating declarations in the New Testament is this: "The true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God
is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23, 24).
Here the nature of worship is shown to be wholly spiritual. True religion is removed from diet
and days, from garments and ceremonies, and placed where it belongs - in the union of the
spirit of man with the Spirit of God.
5
From man's standpoint the most tragic loss suffered in the Fall was the vacating of this inner
sanctum by the Spirit of God. At the far-in hidden center of man's being is a bush fitted to be
the dwelling place of the Triune God. There God planned to rest and glow with moral and
spiritual fire. Man by his sin forfeited this indescribably wonderful privilege and must now
dwell there alone. For so intimately private is the place that no creature can intrude; no one
can enter but Christ; and He will enter only by the invitation of faith. "Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20).
By the mysterious operation of the Spirit in the new birth, that which is called by Peter "the
divine nature" enters the deep-in core of the believer's heart and establishes residence there.
"If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," for "the Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8:9, 16). Such a one is a true
Christian, and only such. Baptism, confirmation, the receiving of the sacraments, church
membership-these mean nothing unless the supreme act of God in regeneration also takes
place. Religious externals may have a meaning for the God-inhabited soul; for any others
they are not only useless but may actually become snares, deceiving them into a false and
perilous sense of security.
"Keep thy heart with all diligence" is more than a wise saying; it is a solemn charge laid upon
us by the One who cares most about us. To it we should give the most careful heed lest at any
time we should let it slip.
6
The Call of Christ
TO BE CALLED TO FOLLOW CHRIST is a high honor;
