And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:3-5

Right now the Holy Spirit dwells in us, acting as our connection to God on a very personal level. But, when we die, everything is going to be new and different. We will be in new bodies, in a new environment. Right now God needs to live in us, acting as our defense against that world and our connection to the spiritual world.

In heaven, there will be no sin, so there is no need for God to live in us for our protection. As described in the Bible, God sits in a very defined position—described as a king sits on a throne in New Jerusalem (the new “temple”). At the same time, God always will be omnipresent, a quality we will never have, even in heaven. He is not restrained by one place and we won’t have to travel to the throne to talk to him.