Word 14: Immanuel
Jesus
“Therefore 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
“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 Immanuel”- 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. From the beginning of Matthew's Gospel throughout 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
wanting 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 tabermacle 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 Immanuel - God with us (Isaiah 7:14). 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!
“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
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