Advent Words 2023
Word 11: Emmanuel
“All this took
place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give
birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel” (which means “God with
us”).” Matthew
1:22-23
Advent is a season that reminds
us that what we long for down deep is God’s presence with us. We wait and we
long and we look for it. Matthew tells us in his gospel that what we long
for became a reality when Jesus was born. In Matthew 1:20-21 we are told that
an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him that the child Mary
carried “is from the Holy Spirit…you are to give him the name Jesus, because
he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus is Greek for Hebrew Yeshua,
or Joshua, which means “God saves”. His name describes who he is.
The angel goes on to tell him “they
will call him Emmanuel.” Emmanuel is not to be his name but a title of who
he is. We see a similar thing in Isaiah 9:6, “and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Emmanuel is a title for Jesus because God came down to us. God was in the flesh
and was among us.
From the beginning of Matthew's Gospel through the New Testament until we
reach its end in Revelation, the Incarnation - God came down to us - is the
fulfillment of God's promise of His presence with us.
In fact, the story of the whole Bible is about God's desire to dwell with
His people. From the beginning God created a place where He could be present
with His people. In Genesis 3:8, it says that God would walk in the Garden of
Eden among Adam and Eve. But then sin separated them, and us, from God. From
that point on God's presence was found in His holy temple or tabernacle (Exodus
25:8 Deuteronomy 12:4-14). Later in history the Jewish Rabbi's would refer to
the temple or tabernacle as the "Shikinah Glory". Shikinah coming
from the Hebrew word for dwelling.
Ultimately though, God had a still greater plan to dwell with and be
present with His people. He promised one who would be born and called Emmanuel
- God with us.
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a
son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14
(Side note: Immanuel is the Hebrew spelling, Emmanuel is the Greek
spelling. You may see both used in the Bible depending on the translation.)
Matthew tells us that the one promised is Jesus (Matthew 1:23). John goes
even deeper saying that God through Jesus "became flesh and made his
dwelling among us" (John 1:14). The Greek word John used for dwelling
is skenoo which means tabernacle or dwelling. So, John
literally says that God "tabernacled" among us through the
incarnation of His Son.
Through faith in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made
for us on the cross, we have the promise of God's presence with us forever.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far
away have been brought near by the blood of Christ...In him the whole
building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the
Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in
which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians
2:13, 21-22
Through Jesus Christ God not only dwells with us, but He dwells in us
through His Spirit.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you
another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of
truth.” John 14:16-17
“On that day you will realize that I am in my
Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” John 14:20
“You, however, are not in the realm of the
flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God
lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they
do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though
your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives
life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who
lives in you.” Romans 8:9-11
God's people, collectively as the church
and individually, are now the dwelling place of God, His tabernacle!
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s
temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” 1 Corinthians 3:16
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of
the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 1 Corinthians 6:19
We are yet promised an even greater presence with God
in the New Jerusalem. John paints a picture of that heavenly dwelling with God.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with
them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be
their God.” Revelation 21:3
“I did not see a temple in the city, because the
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not
need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it
light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” Revelation 21:22-23
Glory to God in the highest ~ Emmanuel has come! God is
with us!
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