Jesus Our Immanuel

Introduction

The Virgin Birth

We are told in Matt 1:20-23 as the angel speaks to Joseph, who was ready to divorce Mary quietly so as to put her to shame, that the child in Mary’s womb was supernaturally conceived in her by the Holy Spirit

What is lost if we deny the virgin birth of Jesus?

Well, to answer that, let’s consider what the virgin birth signifies

I would start by saying that denying the virgin birth compromises the entire Christian message

How could this be?

Well, let’s consider why it was necessary for Christ to be born of a virgin

The first reason why the virgin birth was necessary is that it ensured that Christ was born sinless and without the legal guilt of original sin

We believe in the doctrine of “original sin” which simply means that all of us have inherited a sin nature

We don’t become sinners because we sin, we sin because we already are sinners

We also inherit the legal guilt of sin

This means that from point of conception in our mother’s womb, we have a sin nature and are legally guilty/condemned before God

So, if Christ was born as a true human being, how could he be born without this sin nature and legal guilt?

This is vital because if Christ himself was legally guilty of sin before God, he could not be our spotless and sinless sacrifice to atone for our sins

In Scripture, there is a clear principle that we inherit our sin nature from our first father, Adam

Romans 5:12 CSB

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.

Romans 5:18 CSB

18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone.

What this is telling us is that because Adam is our representative before God, we are guilty before God because of his sin

Yet, because of the virgin birth, Christ does not inherit a sin nature from Adam but is born as a “new man” free from the guilt of sin

This means Christ is able to be our new representative so that all who trust in him are no longer judged in Adam as sinners, but in Christ who lived the perfect life that we could not live and was without sin, so that we are seen by God as righteous as Jesus Christ

God With Us

What about the name “Immanuel”?

Matthew tells us that it means “God with us” which clearly shows that Jesus is God in the flesh come to dwell wit us

Yet, what does this name symbolize and signal to God’s people?

We so often talk about the name Immanuel as a warm and cozy kind of thing

While there is truth that the name “God with us” ought to comfort us, we don’t want to neuter the name to a mere emotional experience

If we put the name Immanuel, which is only used in Matthew’s Gospel, in the context of the passage it is found in, it is clear that this name is meant to signal victory over the enemies of God’s people

Who are our enemies?

Our sins

The world

The devil

Jesus’ name means “The Lord saves” because he is God in the flesh who saves us from our sins

Jesus tells us that he has overcome (defeated) the world

Jesus overcomes the temptations from Satan (unlike Adam) and defeats him by disarming him on the cross so that he can no longer accuse God’s people

In the context of the prophet Isaiah, it is because of the promised child Immanuel that Isaiah can look at the oncoming attacks of foreign nations that will almost destroy God’s people but still have confidence that they will not succeed

Isaiah 8:9–10 CSB

9 Band together, peoples, and be broken; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for war, and be broken; prepare for war, and be broken. 10 Devise a plan; it will fail. Make a prediction; it will not happen. For God is with us.

Jesus as our Immanuel means that we will be victorious over the evil forces of this world, over our sins, and over our ultimate enemy, death

The fact that Jesus is our Immanuel also signifies that the church will be victorious in the mission that Jesus entrusts to her

Look at the Great Commission

Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”