Immanuel - God with Us

Introduction

Aside from being a name of God, Immanuel is his very nature. He is God with us. There’s a wealth of information in Scripture indicating his caring involvement in our entire lives.

One of the most well known verses concerning Immanuel is found in:

Isaiah 7:14 NIV84

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

The very nature of Immanuel is infinite and personal. We see the supernatural aspect of God providing a sign. But we also see intimacy of God as the virgin will be with child, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:20).

“God with us” is spoken numerous times in the Scriptures. It is a desire of God’s heart to dwell with us. We see this from the Garden of Eden and down through history, even is our fallen state. Here are a few honourable mentions:

In Matthew 28: 19-20, Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)

We see in John 14:21, Jesus says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.” (NIV)

In John 15:4-5, Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit…unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit; because apart from me you can do nothing.” (NRSV)

And in Revelation 3:20, Jesus says,“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me.” (NRSV).

The goal of