Emmanuel God with us
Notes
Transcript
For our brief meditation this evening, let us look at a familiar text from Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
This is quite a familiar verse to those of us who have grown up in Church. Especially, during Christmas time there is a heightened awareness of this verse as we come across it in songs, sermons, and scripture readings.
As familiar as this verse is - the question should be asked - What necessitated this promise from God? or Why did God make this promise?
To answer that question, we must go back to the Garden of Eden, to the dawn of all human history.
When God created the first human pair, Adam & Eve. He created them for His glory. He created them to be His children, to love Him, to enjoy Him, to enjoy His love, to enjoy His goodness, to enjoy loving providence, and to enjoy His loving fellowship for eternity. The Bible says that God walked and talked with them everyday. He delighted in them, and was a Father to them. They were His beloved Children, the work of His hands, created in His own image.
However, due to the disobedience of our first parents, that relationship was broken and they were removed from the presence of God. They could no longer have fellowship with God on account of their sin. God being Holy - could no longer have communion with them, be with them, or walk with them.
Sin separated us from God. And sin brought the curse of death along with it. But our God who is Holy, Just, and Righteous, is also a God of Mercy, Grace, and abundant Love.
Sin brought the curse, the curse of decay, disease, and death. But even as God pronounced His righteous judgment on our first parents, He promised hope. A hope of redemption, and reconciliation. And this reconciliation was to come through the seed of the woman.
In Genesis Chapter 3: 15 we read:
Genesis 3:15 (NASB95)
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
And this promised “Seed of the woman” is what the rest of the Bible all about. There are several prophecies in the OT regarding this “Seed of the woman”.
This “Seed of the woman” will come to defeat Satan, deliver us from the bondage of sin, break the curse, redeem fallen humanity, and reconcile them to God.
Isaiah’s prophecy tells us a little bit more about this promised deliverer who is to be born of a woman.
Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
And as we come to the New Testament, Matthew quotes this prophecy from Isaiah and identifies the little baby boy who was born of Mary, laid in a manger, as this promised seed that was born of a virgin - and that He is Emmanuel, God with us.
Throughout the Old Testament, we see God dealing with the people of Israel, teaching them His Law, guiding them, providing for them, and leading them. In fact, In Exodus we read:
Exodus 33:14 (ESV)
And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
We see here that God promised to be with Moses, and the People of Israel. That His presence will go with them.
However, there was a marked separation between God, and His sinful children. They could not approach Him directly. There was a veil that separated them from His Holy presence, on account of their sin.
EMMANUEL - GOD WITH US
Beloved, God’s dealing with fallen sinners changed with the birth of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
Behold Him, lying in a lowly manger - as a helpless babe. He became like one of us. We could see Him, touch Him, and know Him. And that’s what the Apostle John writes about the Lord Jesus in:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
This Holy God whom no sinful eye can behold, condescended - Jesus
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
God became man, and walked with us, talked with us, healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind the deaf, and the mute, made the lame to walk, and even raised the dead.
He is indeed Immanuel God with us.
EMMANUEL - GOD FOR US
But He is not just God with us - He is also, Immanuel God FOR us.
He did not come just to be with us, He came FOR us. What do I mean by that? As the Seed of the Woman, he came to crush the head of the old serpent, the devil - by giving His life as a ransom for us on the cross of Calvary. He came to do what we on account of our sinful nature, which we inherited from our first parents, Adam & Eve, - could not do. He came to become our substitute, sacrifice, and Savior. By living a sinless life, keeping all of God’s Law, and dying on the cross - He purchased our pardon so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting, eternal life. That’s why He is Immanuel GOD FOR US.
And finally, He is
EMMANUEL - GOD IN US
To those of us who have believed in Him, He has promised His presence with us always. Although we do not physically see Him today - He still indwells us in the form of the HOLY SPIRIT, the third person of the Trinity.
As Jesus was preparing his disciples for his imminent departure from this earth following His crucifixion and resurrection - He gives this blessed assurance:
John 14:16-17
John 14:16–17 (ESV)
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Beloved, if you are a believer in Christ - you have God Himself dwelling in you. He is none other than the Holy Spirit. He has many titles, but two of my favorite are HELPER, and COMFORTER.
To the Christian - our source of strength, and joy, is God the Holy Spirit who indwells us. The promise that God made to Joshua of old saying: Joshua 1:5
Joshua 1:5 (ESV)
I will not leave you or forsake you.
is made real in the life of the believer by the indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit.
The christian life cannot be lived in our own strength. That is why we are given the Spirit to empower us to live a life that is pleasing to God. And not only a life that is pleasing to God, but also to give us strength in our weakness, comfort us as we go through life’s disappointments, sorrows, sickness, and a myriad other things.
The christian is not promised a smooth sailing, but a safe passage to the heavenly shore.
And it is all because of our God who keeps His promises. The promise of the Seed of the woman, fulfilled in Jesus Christ - has opened the way for sinners to be reconciled to Him, and enjoy everlasting life for all of Eternity.
This life with all its hardships, and sorrows, is only for a brief period. But because of IMMANUEL - THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, in us our hope of glory, we can sing joyfully:
Vs.1
In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
Vs.4
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Emmanuel, GOD WITH US, FOR US, and IN US.
A Merry Christmas to you all.
