The word "tabernacle" and unbelievers

[kb1275]

I have not studied languages yet, and I know that Jesus "tabernacled among us".

Would it be an accurate portrayal for an unbeliever to say that sin "tabernacles" in unbelievers? I suppose I'm interested in a word study, of sorts, for "tabernacle" and if that concept would apply to someone who does not know God.

Hope this is the right forum for the thread. Thanks!

 

[Charles Johnson]

"Tabernacle" here means "pitch / dwell in a tent."


Christ is said to pitch a tent because this earth isn't his home, or ours, as it were. He is a man from heaven and his time on earth was short, more comparable to pitch a tent than building a permanent house.

Some other parallels can be drawn between the tabernacle and Christ's incarnation:

1) The tabernacle went with God's people. So does Christ.

2) God dwelled in the tabernacle. In Christ, God dwells in human flesh.

3) The tabernacle was distinct from God. Christ's human nature is distinct from his divine nature.

4) The tabernacle hid God's glory from the eyes of the people. Christ's flesh hid his divine glory, so that many did not recognize him as God.

5) In the tabernacle, sacrifice was offered to God. Christ, in his flesh, offered a sacrifice to the Father, atoning for our sins on the cross.

 

[MW]

The word association is off because the idea of the tabernacle in relation to Jesus is to evoke something sacred. Sin has no association with the sacred. The purpose of the Levitical laws was to emphasise the complete separation of the tabernacle.