EMMANUEL

(You can listen to this study by audio, and you can pause the audio to follow page links, then resume when you are ready. Please note that I use page links in lieu of references or footnotes for important details of this teaching.)

“God with us”, Emmanuel, a name of Christ. Emmanuel, a Messianic title derived from Isaiah 7:14 = God with us.

The name “Emmanuel” gives us images and thoughts of Christmas and rarely takes us any further in our thinking. But, God came and dwelt among us and the greatest of mysteries began to unfold:

He came and dwelt among us; He was crucified and died and was raised up to life on the third day; He ascended into heaven; But, He is still among us.

Matthew 1:23, “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE AND GIVE BIRTH TO A SON, AND THEY SHALL NAME HIM IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Verse 14. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

A MYSTERY

God came to earth, and dwelt among us.

THE MYSTERY DEEPENS

John 14:19 “After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. Verse 20. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you.”

THE ASCENSION

Acts 1:7 “But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority; verse 8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

Verse 9. “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight. Verse 10. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, verse 11, and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

HE WAS, HE IS, HE ALWAYS SHALL BE

John 17:21 “that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

THE MYSTERY APPLIED

Although Jesus came to us and dwelt among us, died and was resurrected, ascended into heaven and is coming again, He remains with us, that is, He is in us, still.

John 14:12, “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. Verse 13. And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Verse 14. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

Verse 15. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Verse 16. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; Verse 17, the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.”

YOU ARE NO LONGER YOUR OWN

1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.”

Presbeúō: To “act as an ambassador”; means to act as an established statesman, a diplomat, a trusted, respected ambassador who is authorized to speak as God’s emissary; one ho represents His kingdom.

This term is used in the ancient phrase, “I am on embassy to the Emperor, I am an ambassador, (Souter), i.e. as someone respected as trustworthy, loyal and knowledgeable, especially in the opinion of those they know.

Now, you know. But, knowledge without application is just idle information, and idle information is like salt which has become tasteless. How can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

James 1:22, tells us, “So, prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. Verse 23. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; verse 24, for once he has looked at himself and gone away, [w]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. Verse 25. But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.”