Emmanuel
Matthew 1:23
Intro: Not that I think that there is something wrong with the name of our church, after all…it doesn’t get much better than First Baptist Church, right?
In fact, when I told people I was going to be the pastor at First Baptist Church I did have a few people say “Oooh…First Baptist, huh?”
But if I were to start a church from the ground up and had to choose a name I think the name I would choose is Emmanuel.
As you see in our verse tonight it is translated as “God with us.”
And is that not the essence of the church, the Body of Christ, that God is with us?
Just a little technical background on this word “Emmanuel” to show you how it is one of those words that has stood the test of time.
This word in Greek is: Ἐμμανουήλ
And comes from the Hebrew: עמּנוּאל
Which is taken from the Hebrew words for God, אל
And “with us” עם, ‛im as found in Isaiah 8:10
BTW…Isaiah comes from the same Hebrew word for “Salvation” which is the same Hebrew root for Jesus.
And we are told that Jesus would be called Emmanuel.
Even that phrase “He shall be called” takes significance here.
AT Robertson in his Word Pictures commentary points out about the Greek word “Kalesousin” is “He shall be called” and he says: “But surely the Language of Isaiah has had marvellous illustration in the Incarnation of Christ. This is Matthew’s explanation of the meaning of Immanuel, a descriptive appellation of Jesus Christ and more than a mere motto designation.”
The root used “kaleo” means to call but can also related to a surname…a family designation.
So this child which will be called Emmanuel is not just of God, but is of the family of God…of the same essence and DNA makeup if you will, of God.
100% man because He is born of a virgin woman, but 100% God because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit of God.
Emmanuel…God with us.
This evening I want us to take a look at what it means for us to have Jesus come into our world as “God with us”, Emmanuel.
First of all…
1. God with us in the flesh
Read 1 Tim. 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
In Christ the impossible takes place…the union of two natures which are polar opposites: the human and the divine.
It is a mystery that is revealed in Christ, God with us.
I love how the KJV starts this verse: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness
Paul was in essence saying, “Yeah, some might have issues with this…but there is none here, I know in whom I have seen and I know in whom I have believed in for my salvation”.
It is God manifested in the flesh…to God essentially considered, or Deity in the abstract, but personally.
The verb Paul uses there “manifested” is “ephanerōthē ”, and was also used by Paul in speaking of the incarnation of Christ in Romans 16:26 and Col. 1:26 (in reference to the Gnostic teaching against the incarnation).
Paul also uses this same verb in Col. 3:4 (When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.) in reference to the 2nd coming.
The point is, Jesus was not just a man, not just a teacher, not just a prophet...He was and is Emmanuel.
Paul isn’t the only one to point this out about Jesus, the Apostle John did in John 1:14.
Jesus is the pre-existent Logos…God’s eternal Word and the 2nd party of the Triune God who was present at creation; and now we see Him in the flesh.
And in seeing the Son we are seeing the Father; and the Son is the only source of salvation according to John 14:6 and Acts 4:12.
So, Emmanuel, “God with us” means that we have God in the flesh; but it also means that we have…
2. God with us as a Redeemer
Read Acts 20:28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He has purchased with his own blood.”
That last phrase…purchased in His own blood has the Greek verb “peripoieomai” which means to acquire or purchase.
The original meaning is, “to make (ποιέω) to remain over and above (περί): hence to keep or save for one’s self; to compass or acquire.”
Which means that we are indebted servants to Christ the redeemer, the one who paid the price for us by His own blood.
The word “with” is “dia” where we get the word “diameter” from…and it means through.
It is only through the blood of Jesus (God with us) that we are redeemed with God the Father.
1 Peter 1:18-19 tells us, “Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”
In the Greek that last statement is actually reversed, it says in a very rough translation, “the valuable blood of the lamb, flawless, and (used as a source of emphasis) the unspotted blood of the Christ”.
This is yet another reminder that Christ was born with a purpose, and it was to die.
That is one reason I like to offer the Lord’s Supper on Christmas Eve because it is a reminder of the blood that was offered and spilt for the remission of our sins; redeeming us and reconciling us to God.
And that takes us to our third truth tonight…
3. God with us to reconcile
Read 2 Cor. 5:19, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
Think back to the Garden in Genesis, God said “Eat what you will, but not from this tree”…and up to that point God walked with man.
But when Adam and Eve sinned and God removed them from the Garden, that walk with mankind ended.
But God set the ball rolling even then for a reconciliation so that man could once again walk with God.
That way is Jesus Christ, and it is in the form of the Holy Spirit living and residing in us.
Because of God with us…we can have the Spirit of God living in us.
Man’s spirit died in the Garden, but in Christ we are given a new Spirit; God’s Spirit which is eternal life.
We can once again have a relationship with God because of Emmanuel, God with us.
And then 4th we have…
4. God with us in all fullness
Col. 2:9 says, “For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
I’ve been reading through the books of the Torah, or the Law during my personal Bible study…just finished Exodus and now I’m on Leviticus.
Moses is someone we often look up to for having a great relationship with God…we often think “Wow, what if I could go up to the mountain top and experience God like that.”
And my response is, “Why do you want to have something so little?”
You see, we have in Christ God in all fullness…and we don’t have to physically go up to the mountain top for that.
The John Gill commentary says this, “all the perfections of God are in Christ, as eternity, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, immutability, independence, and necessary existence, and every other, or he would not be equal with God; nor could all the fulness of the Godhead be said to dwell in him, should anyone be wanting; yet this is a fulness possessed by him, that does not spring from, nor depend upon the Father’s good will and pleasure; but what he naturally and necessarily enjoys by a participation of the same undivided nature and essence with the Father and Spirit:”
He is not a lesser created being, Christ is in the very essence God in the fullness.
John the Apostle points this out when he said, “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17)
We don’t look to Jesus and find ourselves wanting…because He is fullness of God because He is God.
# 5…
5. God with us as an example
Phil. 2:5-6, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:” (Philippians 2:5-6)
Jesus teaches us a humility that we need in order to have a proper and right relationship with God restored by Him.
We are called to humble ourselves, and He shows us how.
Jesus did not think too highly of Himself…obviously.
He was born in a barn and spent His first few hours on this earth in a feeding trough.
He was then on the run for the next couple of years while Herod sought to kill Him, only to be raised in the home of a carpenter…a common manual laborer; the profession He would also take.
When His ministry began He went from town to town, using whatever transportation He could find and eating whatever was offered…not exactly what you expect for the King of Kings.
And finally, He died as a “cursed man” according to Hebrew scriptures and tradition, between two common thieves.
He humbled Himself to allow all of this…and we are to humble ourselves and say “I’m really not all that…in fact, I’m nothing.”
And according to James, when we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, then He will lift us up.
When we humble ourselves and realize that we need God…that is when we can and will be saved.
Jesus is our example for life.
Next, “Emmanuel” means…
6. God with us as a companion
2 Cor. 6:16, “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
The relationship that was broken in the garden is now restored in Christ.
This is the truth behind the hymn we sing, “In the Garden”
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
We have a constant companion because God is with us…and this takes us to our final truth this evening.
Emmanuel means:
7. God with us always
I have always thought it fitting that one of the last things Jesus said before leaving this earth was, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” in Matthew 28:20.
I just love the promise that we have in Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Our promise is that we are never going to be alone because of Emmanuel.
If we are saved by grace through faith alone, then God’s Spirit is in us…and nothing, nothing, NOTHING can ever separate us from Him.
Read Matthew 1:23 again.
Emmanuel, God with us.
This Christmas and beyond, I do hope and pray that you know Emmanuel and that you celebrate Emmanuel.
