A long read, but very good ~ IMMANUEL, EMMANUEL (GOD WITH US): Whether spelled with an “I” (Hebrew = ‘Immanu =with us + El = God) or with an E (Greek = “Emmanouel”), Jesus is our IMMANUEL. So let us come aside from the hectic pace of the season for a moment and meditate on the great Name Immanuel, the Name which was Foretold, which was Fulfilled and which will endure Forever. IMMANUEL WAS FORETOLD - The Name Immanuel occurs only three times in the Bible, but the great truth of GOD WITH US saturates the Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. We first see Immanuel as God with Adam, the “LORD God walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day (Ge 3:8), Creator communing with creature, until that awful day when sin entered into the world and death (symbolic of separation entered) through sin (Ro 5:12). Thereafter Gods interactions with man were generally more remote (Jehovah descended upon Sinai with fire, a mountain that could not even be touched! Ex 19:18, Heb 12:18-19), less personal (pillar of cloud by day and fire by night Ex 13:21-22) and less accessible (Only the Levitical high priest could enter into Jehovah’s presence and only once per year - Lev 16:31-34). And yet because of His great lovingkindnesses, God “set eternity in our heart” (Eccl 3:11), giving every person a deep yearning to intimately know Him, for “that which is known about God is evident within us.” (Ro 1:19) But it is not enough to know that God is “up there” or “out there” somewhere. We want to know that God has come down to where we are, that He knows where we live, that He knows our name, that He cares about us, that He has “walked this lonesome valley” we walk. We want to know that we are not alone in the universe. Even wise Solomon asked will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? (2Chr 6:18) In His great grace and mercy, God answered through the prophet Isaiah who foretold that “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” (Isaiah 7:14). And so our hearts sing “O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear.” IMMANUEL WAS FULFILLED – The young boy looked into the sky and asked his mother, Is God up there? When she assured him that He was, he replied, Wouldnt it be nice if He would put His head out and let us see Him? What the boy didnt understand was that God has let us see Him—in Immanuel. We dont have to guess what God is like. Nor do we have to wonder if Hes alive. Matthew described His miraculous birth writing “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet Isaiah: Behold (pay attention!), the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name EMMANUEL,” which translated means, GOD WITH US. (Mt 1:22-23) Not God without us! Not God against us! But God with us! While Emmanuel in Isaiah 7:14 was a sign of Gods deliverance of Israel from temporal trouble, the Name Immanuel in Mt 1:23 is a sign of Gods deliverance of sinners from eternal trouble! The Father sent Messiah to earth as a Man and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14), the mystery of godliness, Who was revealed in the flesh. (1Ti 3:16). As someone said “God did not send Christ to us. God came to us in Christ.” Immanuel, the Infinite became Finite, the Divine became Human, while remaining fully God and fully Man, veiling His Majesty (2Pe 1:16) in Meekness (Mt 11:29KJV). The King of glory became the servant of men (Php 2:7-8, Mk 10:45). Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (2Cor 9:15)! Little wonder that as John Wesley lay dying in 1791, he roused himself, opened his eyes, and exclaimed “The best of all is, GOD IS WITH US!” Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep in Jesus, His Immanuel! Indeed, as Spurgeon (CHS) affirmed, Jesus Christ is IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendor. There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuels veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains, Lose all their guilty stains. (William Cowper) The Gospel of Matthew opens with Behold!...IMMANUEL...GOD WITH US (Mt 1:23) and closes with Lo! I AM WITH YOU always, even to the end of the age! (Mt 28:20) Warren Wiersbe writes What a tremendous assurance - “I am with you always!” In Mt 1:23, Jesus was called “IMMANUEL, God with us, and in Mt 28:20 He reaffirms that Name. He is with us through His Spirit, in His Word, by His providential care, and with His divine presence. This is the promise that has encouraged and enabled messengers of Christ down through the years. Indeed, Immanuel was God FOR us before He became God WITH us, and it was because He was FOR us that He became God WITH us. GOD WITH US allowed Jesus to be crucified as the God-Man, so that He could be GOD IN US, the hope of glory (Col 1:27). And if He is GOD IN US, then He is also GOD FOR US as Paul affirms asking What then shall we say to these things? If GOD IS FOR US, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Ro 8:31-32) Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity, Pleased as Man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel. Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King! (Charles Wesley) IMMANUEL WILL ENDURE FOREVER - From Genesis to Revelation, from the garden of Eden (Ge 2:15) to the paradise of God (Rev 2:7), God is IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US. John testifies to the surpassing richness of the future grace to be revealed to us (Eph 2:7, 1Pe 1:13) writing And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is WITH MEN, and He shall dwell WITH THEM, and they shall be His people, and GOD HIMSELF SHALL BE WITH THEM. (Rev 21:3) Jesus descended to be GOD WITH US so that as a Man He might be pierced through FOR US (for our transgressions). (Isa 53:5) After His resurrection Immanuels wounds remained visible to His disciples on Earth (Jn 20:20, 27) and will remain visible to His bondservants in Heaven. Standing in heaven, John writes I saw between the throne...a Lamb standing, as if slain (~His scars!) (Rev 5:6) It has been said, “the only man-made thing in heaven will be the scars of the Savior.” “The first Heaven and the first earth” will pass away (Rev 21:1), but the Lamb’s scars will never pass away, marks that will forever testify of His unfailing covenant love. Spurgeon says Wonderfully true is this fact: when you and I come to the closing scene of life we will find that Emmanuel, “God with us” has been there. He felt the pangs and throes of death. We will be raised in His likeness, and the first sight our opening eyes will see is the incarnate Lamb of God, God with us. We will see Him as Man and as God, and throughout all eternity He will maintain the most intimate relationship with us. As long as ages roll, He will be “God with us.” Both His human and divine life will last forever, and so will our life. He became Immanuel on earth that He might be our Immanuel throughout eternity, God with us, we with Him, bound fast by the unbreakable union of the everlasting, new covenant in His blood, forever sealed by the marks on His glorified body! As Immanuel, Jesus entered time as a Man to die in our place, and arose a Man to be eternally our Immanuel. Hallelujah! Let us joyfully sing “All hail to Thee, IMMANUEL, we cast our crowns before Thee; Let every heart obey Thy will, and every voice adore Thee. In praise to Thee, our Savior King, the vibrant chords of Heaven ring, And echo back the mighty strain: All hail! All hail! All hail IMMANUEL! (D R Van Sickle) APPLICATION: In our daily experience, when trials unexpectedly assault us, do we run to the Strong Tower of Jesus, our IMMANUEL that we might be safe (literally lifted up [above the fray!])? (Pr 18:10, cp Ps 91:14) I fear many of us (myself included) are too often like the children of Israel who showed their lack of faith asking Is the LORD among us or not? (Ex 17:7) We need to take up the shield of faith (Eph 6:16) and remind ourselves that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever (Heb 13:8) and that He has promised I will absolutely never, not ever, leave you, no, never, not ever forsake you. (Heb 13:5-five negatives in Greek! Cp Josh 1:5) Indeed, what we need even more than deliverance from trouble is the sure knowledge that Jesus is our IMMANUEL in the midst of the trouble. The secret of peace is not a plan or program but a Person, IMMANUEL, God with us (cp Ps 20:7). David testifies those who know (intimately, by experience) Your Name (IMMANUEL) will put their trust in You. (Ps 9:10) Knowing and trusting in His Name IMMANUEL is Gods antidote for fear. When Israel feared the giants in the land God had promised to give them, Moses reminded them the LORD is WITH US; do not FEAR! (Nu 14:9) When danger threatens or calamity strikes, we can be assured of Immanuel’s personal presence and power to comfort and calm. In our valley times, we would do well to remind ourselves of Davids affirmation that Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I FEAR no evil, for (explains why no fear) YOU ARE WITH ME, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Ps 23:4) In Isaiah God tenderly exhorts us Do not fear, for I AM WITH YOU; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isa 41:10, cp Dt 20:1, Isa 43:5). Enabled by the Spirit of Christ, let us put our faith in His Name IMMANUEL and put our fears to rest! And when fear knocks at our door, may God grant us the grace to send faith to open it. Adams likeness, Lord, efface, Stamp Thine image in its place: Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in Thy love. (C. Wesley) IMMANUEL SUMMARIZED: If GOD be WITH US, we are in ennobling company, even though we are poor and despised. If GOD be WITH US, we have all-sufficient strength (2Cor 12:9), for nothing can be too difficult for the Lord (Ge 18:14). If GOD be WITH US, we are always safe, for none can harm those who walk under His shadow (Ps 57:1). Oh, what a joy we have here! Not only is GOD WITH US, but He will be WITH US— with us as individuals, with us as families, with us as churches. Is not the very Name of Jesus, Immanuel—GOD WITH US? Is not this the best of all, that GOD is WITH US? Let us be bravely diligent and joyously hopeful. Our cause must prosper, the truth must win, for GOD is WITH THOSE who are WITH HIM! (CHS) PRAYER: Let us consider echoing Spurgeons prayer Blessed Immanuel, we gladly obey You! In You our darkness ends and from the shadow of death we rise to the Light of life. It is salvation to be obedient to You (Jn 3:36ESV). It is the end of gloom to the one that was in anguish to bow himself before You. May God the Holy Spirit take of the things of Christ and show them unto us, and then we shall all cry— “Go worship at Immanuel’s feet! See in His face what wonders meet! Earth is too narrow to express; His worth, His grace, His righteousness.” to which we add O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Amen Immanuel, God is with us! by Michael Card youtube/watch?v=y-cTyDtqpmU A sign shall be given, A virgin will conceive A human baby bearing undiminished Deity The Glory of the nations, a Light for all to see And Hope for all who will embrace His warm reality. Refrain IMMANUEL, OUR GOD IS WITH US And if GOD IS WITH US, who could stand against us? Our GOD IS WITH US, IMMANUEL. For all those who live in the shadow of death A Glorious Light has dawned For all those who stumble in the darkness Behold, your Light has come. Refrain So what will be your answer? Will you hear the call Of Him Who did not spare His Son but gave Him for us all On earth there is no power, there is no depth nor height That could ever separate us from the love of God in Christ. Refrain For more detailed discussion of Immanuel-Emmanuel see preceptaustin.org/immanuel-emmanuel.htm
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:56:59 +0000
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