On the Indwelling Trinity

Hilary of Poitiers (c.300-368) speaks:

...where is the Lord’s seat and eternal dwelling place now? What precisely is that temple which is fit for his habitation?

It is the one of which it was said: You are a temple of God; and the Spirit of God dwells in you.

To this, the same Prophet bears testimony: your holy temple, wonderful in its proportions. The holiness of men, their judiciousness and self-re­straint – that is the temple of God.

The house, then, must be built by God. Any house made by the works of men will not endure; neither can any based on the maxims of this world stand its ground; neither can our vain labours and useless worry have any lasting effect.

The construction and the maintenance must be otherwise. The beginnings must not be made on water and shifting sands, but foundations laid on the Prophets and the Apostles.

Then living stones must serve to build it up; the cornerstone to keep it in place and hold it together; the interlocking pieces making up the whole man, built on the scale of Christ’s body, to be adorned by the beauty and elegance of spiritual graces.

What is built by God, that is to say his teachings, will not fall down. Israel, once made captive after the abundance and prosperity of the nations, will now secure the building of this house.

This house is itself growing, into more houses, so as to build up the faithful at every turn and to beautify and extend that blessed city in each one of us.