Immanuel, God With Us

Immanence and Providence of God

Matt. 1:18-25 | Mary’s Song of Praise: Luke 1:39-55 | The Birth of Jesus: Luke 2:1-21 | Jesus, the Word made Flesh: John 1:1-5, 14 | Philippians 2:5-11 | Gal. 4:4 | Rom. 1:1-3

INTRO

This coming week we will celebrate the birth of our Lord who, as these verses which we have just read, took on flesh and participated in human experience as part of God’s great plan of redemption. Now, this plan of redemption might not make perfect sense to you, but we will take a moment to explain why this is such a big deal. In our explanation for why the birth of Christ is so important, and why we celebrate this moment, we will reflect on two aspects of this tremendous event: the Immanence of God and the Providence of God.

Christ in His birth demonstrated the radical commitment of God to mankind and His desire to commune with us. (Immanence)

Christ in His birth gives us hope that just as God worked providentially on our behalf to bring about the coming Messiah, He will continue to do so in the future. (Providence, the Anthem of Hope)

In Him We Have Our Being

Goals of Communion

Gen. 3:8, Lev. 26:12 (God walks with His people) - The goals of communion shone by God

The Reality of God’s Sustaining Power Over Creation (Through Christ)

Heb. 1:3, Acts 17:28, Col. 1:17 - Christ actively sustains creation by his power

Gen. 2:7, Job 27:3 - the breath of God in the nostrils of men

(Job 12:10, Dan. 5:23) life of everything and all breath in his hand

David’s Reflections on the Presence of God

Ps. 139:7-12 - I cannot flee from your presence. You know where I am. (Gen. 16:13)

When God’s People Have Felt Distance and Separation

(We Might Not Be Hidden to God, But God Has Felt Hidden To Us)

Job 23:8-9, Ps. 89:46

(Could also build in Eph. 2:1 —> This is not an “imagined” category)

God’s Promise to Commune With His People in the New Covenant (Corporate Exile)

Eze. 37:27-28, Is. 7:14 —> Is. 42:6, 49:8 (God gives His servant as a covenant to the people and as a light unto the nations)

NOTE:

Jesus’s coming as “Immanuel” is significant on two levels:

(1) Jesus’s coming signals God’s commitment to follow through on the words He spoke through the prophets.

(2) It gives us a glimpse into the manner in which God responds to evil and wrong in the world.

Jesus as High Priest (Heb. 2:17-18, 4:15-5:2)

Providence, the Anthem of Hope

Rom. 8:28 | One of the things which is highlighted throughout the telling of the Immanuel story is the providence of God.

That is to say that while we could rightly talk about the sovereignty and governance of God in all things, such a statement would say nothing about the fact that life has direction and that God has steered history with goals in mind.

The word “providence” is interesting too because in English it is connected to the word “provide.” Both “Providence” and “Provide” are built off Latin which means something akin to “seeing to something ahead of time.”

One of my reflections this week was on how the Scripture calls Abraham a friend of God. (Is. 41:8) —> God literally says in Isaiah, Abraham is my friend! That makes me think about Abraham and the nature of his relationship with God. It is in this vein of providence that I also thought about Gen. 22:7-8 when Abraham was taking Isaac up Mt. Moriah to be sacrificed and Isaac asked: “where is the sacrifice?” To this, Abraham responded: “God will provide.” In the Hebrew, the word here is again, built off of the verb: “to see.” God will see to it that a sacrifice is given.

God With Us and God For Us

All of these words combine in a powerful way. As you reflect on the nativity of Christ this week and God’s provision of His Son, I think it would be good to be reminded that Christ came to restore union between us and God. So, because Christ was given as a covenant to all who have faith in Him, we as believers may partake in communion with God through His Holy Spirit and we may be reminded that God is both with us and for us.

Conclusion - Call to Discipleship

Luke 1:38 and Matt. 28:18-20

Mary responds to the Angel of God by saying “I am a servant of the Lord.” She uses the same word that Paul would later introduce himself by (Rom. 1:1).

The attitude of Mary was faith as the angel approached her.

Maybe you need to have the same conversation with God this morning. Have you prayed to God in such a way to say: “You are my Lord, and I am your servant?”

Ephesians 1:3-14 - God doesn’t withhold blessing from His servants. Let Christ be your hope and joy this Christmas.