Emmanuel, God with Us

INTRODUCTION

Matthew 1:23 AMP

23 Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel—which, when translated, means, God with us.

Emmanual, sometimes rendered Immanuel, both are taken from the same Hebrew word “Ἐμμανουήλ (Emmanouēl)”, taken from the root word “עָמַס (ʿā·mǎs)”; meaning to take a burden too heavy for one to carry, and place it upon another who could.

We would not need “God with us”, lest we were without God.

But why were we without God? To answer this question, we need to look back to the beginning.

New Living Translation Chapter 1

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings* in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,* and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27 So God created human beings* in his own image.

In the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

Let’s look deeper in the creation of humanity.

New Living Translation Chapter 2

15 The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19 So the LORD God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man* to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took out one of the man’s ribs* and closed up the opening. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.

“This one is bone from my bone,

and flesh from my flesh!

She will be called ‘woman,’

because she was taken from ‘man.’ ”

God created the earth after his standards. God created humanity after His standards and image. These standards, laws if you will, are the foundation of the universe. All things subsist because of these things. God’s laws, moral or physical exist above and before creation. There is no difference in the eyes of God between the laws of morality and gravity.

God is the moral standard of the universe.

Man, as created by God was “good”, because God could not create anything that was not good.

But to be made in His image, also meant to be a free moral agent, a self-aware, self-determining entity, with the power of choice. If we could not say no to God, our yes meant nothing.

And Adam made a bad decision. A decision not to trust. There were 2 trees in the garden, the tree of Life and the tree of knowledge. Adam chose knowledge over life, self direction over faith and relationship.

Anyone who had children has experienced this. “WHY!”

Man became disintegrated from God, sin entered creation.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 2632 חַטָּאָה

2632 חַטָּאָה (ḥǎṭ·ṭā·ʾā(h)): n.fem.; ≡ Str 2402, 2403; TWOT 2726b, 638e—LN 88.289–88.318 sin, wickedness, i.e., what is an offense to a moral standard (Ex 34:7; Isa 5:18+)

A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible 264. ἁμαρτάνω

264. ἁμαρτάνω hamartanō, ham-ar-tan´-o; perh. from 1 (as a neg. particle) and the base of 3313; prop. to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize),

To violate the standard of the universe.

New Living Translation Chapter 3

20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.* 21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

22 Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings* have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

We now have God’s dilemma; How to Be Just and Yet Justify Sinful Man?

There could be no mercy lest there was judgement.

And further, as humanity, in it’s sin-damaged, soul disintegrated state, though pardoned, would continue to sin.

The answer? Someone must pay the price for sin; the death penalty. Someone must stand in the gap between God’s righteousness and humanity’s sinfulness. This will justify God’s rebirth of the second Adam described in Romans 5:12-14.

Romans 5:12–14 TPT

12 When Adam sinned, the entire world was affected. Sin entered human experience, and death was the result. And so death followed this sin, casting its shadow over all humanity, because all have sinned. 13 Sin was in the world before Moses gave the written law, but it was not charged against them where no law existed. 14 Yet death reigned as king from Adam to Moses even though they hadn’t broken a command the way Adam had. The first man, Adam, was a picture of the Messiah, who was to come.

The Passion Translation: New Testament Chapter 5

17 Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished.e Behold, everything is fresh and new.f 18 And God has made all things new,g and reconciledh us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God. 19 In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world,i not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God.j 20 We are ambassadorsk of the Anointed One who carry the message of Christ to the world, as though God were tenderly pleadinga with them directly through our lips. So we tenderly plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Turn back to God and be reconciled to him.” 21 For God madeb the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us,c so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.d

Colossians 1:15–20 TPT

15 He is the divine portrait, the true likeness of the invisible God, and the firstborn heir of all creation. 16 For through the Son everything was created, both in the heavenly realm and on the earth, all that is seen and all that is unseen. Every seat of power, realm of government, principality, and authority—it was all created through him and for his purpose! 17 He existed before anything was made, and now everything finds completion in him. 18 He is the Head of his body, which is the church. And since he is the beginning and the firstborn heir in resurrection, he is the most exalted One, holding first place in everything. 19 For God is satisfied to have all his fullness dwelling in Christ. 20 And by the blood of his cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself—back to its original intent, restored to innocence again!

Isaiah 59:21 AMP

21 As for Me, this is My covenant or league with them, says the Lord: My Spirit, Who is upon you [and Who writes the law of God inwardly on the heart], and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your [true, spiritual] children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from henceforth and forever.

Quoted in Hebrews 8:10

Ezekiel 36:26 NLT

26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Acts 7:48–50 TPT

48 “However, the Most High God does not live in temples made by human hands, as the prophet said: 49 ‘Heaven is my throne room and the earth is but a footstool for my feet. How could you possibly build a house that could contain me?’ says the Lord Yahweh. ‘And where could you find a place where I could live? 50 Don’t you know that it is my hands that have built my house, not yours?’

Romans 8:3–4 TPT

3 For God achieved what the law was unable to accomplish, because the law was limited by the weakness of human nature. Yet God sent us his Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave his body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin. 4 So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit!

The Passion Translation: New Testament Chapter 5

17 Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished.e Behold, everything is fresh and new.f 18 And God has made all things new,g and reconciledh us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God. 19 In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world,i not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God.j 20 We are ambassadorsk of the Anointed One who carry the message of Christ to the world, as though God were tenderly pleadinga with them directly through our lips. So we tenderly plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Turn back to God and be reconciled to him.” 21 For God madeb the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us,c so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.d

Ezekiel 22:30 NLT

30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

Today, God is again looking for a man or woman who will stand in the Gap as Jesus did.