Immanuel: God with us
Prophecy is fulfilled ...
I had such an experience recently that I would like to share here in case it might encourage others. There are things or concepts about the Christian faith that I understood and accepted intellectually. But this time, it was like the Holy Spirit showing me to make certain truths about Jesus my very own. Let them sink deep into my spirit. My hope is that you will be blessed by reading this today.
Scriptures
Isaiah 7:14 (NLT) - "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Galatians 4:4 (NLT) - "But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law."
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)."
Note: Don Stewart, in a post for blueletterbible.org explains that Immanuel is not a personal name, as in Jesus, but rather a role that Jesus was to fulfill: "It is not that Jesus ever bore the name Immanuel but that it indicates His role, bringing God's presence to man." Don Stewart
The humanity of Jesus
I Timothy 3:16 (NLT) - "Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory."
Hebrews 2:14-18 (NIV) - (14) "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them , fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
Jesus is the builder - the constructor
Matthew 16:18 (NLT) - "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Jesus is fully God and man
John 1:3 (NIV) - "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
John 1:14 (NLT) - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
He is "with" us
Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) - "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 18:20 (NIV) - "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Revelation 3:20 (NIV) - "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."
It came unexpectedly
A couple of things from a video series by Brenda Weltner on the Book of Revelation grabbed my attention, which started the ball rolling. I will summarize here and you can watch the entire Weltner lesson on YouTube.
From Brenda Weltner's video series: God "formed" Adam. God "made" (constructed) Eve. Adam and Eve are types and shadows of the bridegroom (Jesus) and the bride (the church). When God said it was not good for Adam to be alone, which is why He made Eve; it it like saying it was not good for Jesus to be "alone." Weltner on Revelation
I really 'got it' this time!
After hearing Weltner's comments about Adam and Eve, things started to click, fall into place. Why would Jesus ever feel alone? After all, He is God and has no need of anything or anyone. And, I've always wondered, why would the Lord want to fellowship with us frail and imperfect humans? Really.
However, in His humanity, Jesus wants to fellowship with other humans, with us. He is a part of them and they are a part of Him. He is fully God and He became fully human (the formal term is the "Incarnation)", and that is forever. The role of Jesus as "Immanuel" includes His identity with humanity.
In order for Jesus to live among us, He first had to redeem us (salvation); He had to destroy the power of sin and death over us. The account of the torn curtain in the Temple at Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified also took on a greater significance for me.
Jesus allowed His body to be brutally tortured, and ultimately, He died on the cross so that we could have access to the Holy place, so that we could approach the Lord. The Temple curtain symbolized His body. Through His suffering, death, burial and resurrection, Jesus makes us "good enough." By faith in Him, we receive forgiveness for our sins, and we can fellowship with Him, the King of Glory.
Matthew 27:50-51 (NIV) - (50) "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split
Hebrews 10:19-20 (ESV) -"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,"
Run with it
I've said repeatedly before that the study of Revelation, which began for a second time about a year-and-a-half ago, has drawn me closer to the Lord. However, it was not until this moment that I understood the extent of God's love toward us, and why on earth He bothered with humanity.
Jesus is coming back, we know that from His prophetic words. He is coming back for His people. Jesus wants to hang out with us! The invitation is open to anyone, young and old, men and woman, boys and girls, of every nation, tribe, language and culture. No one who calls on Jesus for salvation will be excluded.
John 3:16 (NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Revelation 22:17 (ESV) - "The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say,
“Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires
take the water of life without price."
May Almighty God bless all of you
Shalom!
Diana Washington-Valdez/Faith Today Christian Ministries
Exalting the Name of Jesus!
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YouTube user: dwvaldez (Diana shares)
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