December 24, 2023
“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name Him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 (NRSV)
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23 (NRSV)
What is your favorite Christmas song? Listening to some Christmas Songs and watching Christmas on Broadway, the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” resonated with me like never before. Emmanuel~ “God with us!”
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is one of the better-known hymns typically sung during Christmas. What some may not know is that it originated in the Middle Ages, around A.D. 800, as an antiphon, or anthem, that was restructured into verse form in the 1100s and was eventually published in Latin in 1710. The hymn was later discovered, translated, and published in 1851 by John Mason Neale, an Anglican minister.
As people sing this hymn, they know that they are singing about the birth of Christ. However, what is striking about this hymn is how it unpacks the birth of Christ. It moves from the shadows of the Old Testament into the light of the New Testament with the revelation of God in Christ. This hymn traces the themes of Israel’s exodus to the eschatological, or final, exodus that was to begin with the birth of the Messiah.
What a sobering thought, “God with us”, the God of creation desires to be with us, and not only be with us but to be intimately involved in our lives. “God with us” is a significant and profound theological concept found in the Bible, mainly from the perspective of our Christian faith.
The best-known reference to “God with us” comes from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 7:14, it is prophesied, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel.“
The name “Immanuel” is of Hebrew origin and is composed of two words: “Imanu” and “El.” “Imanu” means “with us,” and “El” is a reference to God, which can be translated as “God.” The name “Immanuel” literally means “God with us.” This prophecy anticipates the coming of Jesus Christ, who embodies God’s presence among us as His people.
Immanuel is a masculine Hebrew name meaning “God with us” or “God is with us.” The name Immanuel appears in the Bible three times, twice in the Old Testament book of Isaiah ~ 7:14 and 8:8, and once in the Gospel of Matthew 1:23. The concept of Immanuel signifies that God has drawn near to humanity uniquely and extraordinarily through Jesus Christ. It emphasizes God’s desire to be with His people, to dwell among them, and to provide them with salvation and guidance.
The New Testament reveals the fulfillment of the prophecy of Immanuel in the person of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew 1:22-23, it is explicitly stated that Jesus’ birth fulfills the prophecy of Immanuel: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”
An alternate spelling of the name Immanuel is Emmanuel, which comes from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. Immanuel, spelled with an I, is the translation of the original Hebrew name into English, whereas Emmanuel, spelled with an E, is a translation of a translation (from Hebrew to Greek to English). Jesus Christ’s birth is seen as the ultimate expression of God’s presence among humanity. He is God incarnate – God in the flesh, dwelling among us as a human being.
Immanuel or Emmanuel, in Jesus, God walked with us and talked with us as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The arrival of Christ showed each of us as His creation that God is faithful and He is faithful to fulfill His promises to us. Jesus was not just a sign of God with us, Jesus was God with us in Person, Praise God!!
Jesus is not a partial revelation of God with us; Jesus is God with us in all His fullness: “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body”, Colossians 2:9. Jesus left the glories of heaven and took on the form of a servant so that He could identify with us in our day-to-day human struggles, noted in Philippians 2:6–11 and Hebrews 4:15–16.
Emmanuel is our Savior, 1 Timothy 1:15. God sent His Son to live among us and die for us on the cross. Through Christ’s shed blood, we can be reconciled to God ~ Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:19 and Colossians 1:20. When we are born of His Spirit, Christ comes to live in us ~ 2 Corinthians 6:16; Galatians 2:20.
Emmanuel will be with us forever. After His resurrection from the dead, before Jesus returned to the Father, He made this promise: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:20, and also Hebrews 13:5. Nothing can ever separate us from God and His love for us in Christ ~ Romans 8:35–39.
Emmanuel is God’s continued presence with us: After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the New Testament also emphasizes the ongoing presence of God with believers through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers and guides Christians, enabling them to live under God’s will and continuing the idea of God being with us.
HEART 
CHALLENGE: Is Emmanuel’s presence with you? Have you accepted His plan of Salvation? He is truly the Son of God our Messiah, our Lord and soon coming King!
Don’t get wrapped up in what the world has to sell you that you miss what God has to give you. God wrapped up in swaddling clothes over two thousand years ago the Gift of Salvation, Forgiveness, Peace, Love, and Joy ~ the gift that was not under the tree, but hung on a tree!
Christmas is really about opening our hearts to receive the Love of Jesus!
In God’s plan of salvation, first, you must understand why you need to be saved. Simply put, we need to be saved because we have sinned. The Bible declares that everyone has sinned ~ Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:8. Sin is rebellion against God. We all choose to actively do wrong things. Sin harms others, damages us, and, most importantly, dishonors God. The Bible also teaches that, because God is holy and just, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. The punishment for sin is death –Romans 6:23, and eternal separation from God ~ Revelation 20:11–15. Without God’s plan of salvation, eternal death is the destiny of every human being.
God’s plan of salvation – The What! In God’s plan of salvation, God Himself is the only one who can provide for our salvation. We are utterly unable to save ourselves because of our sin and its consequences. God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ ~ John 1:1, 14. Jesus lived a sinless life ~ 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15 and 1 John 3:5, and offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice on our behalf ~ 1 Corinthians 15:3; Colossians 1:22 and Hebrews 10:10. Since Jesus is God, His death was of infinite and eternal value. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross fully paid for the sins of the entire world ~ 1 John 2:2. His resurrection from the dead demonstrated that His sacrifice was indeed sufficient and that salvation is now available.
God’s plan of salvation – The How! In Acts 16:31, a man asked the apostle Paul how to be saved. Paul responded, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The way to follow God’s plan of salvation is to believe. That is the only requirement – John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9. God has provided for our salvation through Jesus Christ. All we must do is receive it, by faith, fully trusting in Jesus alone as Savior – John 14:6; Acts 4:12. That is God’s plan of salvation.
God’s plan of salvation – Will you receive it?
If you are ready to follow God’s plan of salvation, place your faith in Jesus as your Savior. Change your mind from embracing sin and rejecting God to rejecting sin and embracing God through Jesus Christ. Fully trust in the sacrifice of Jesus as the perfect and complete payment for your sins. If you do this, God’s Word promises that you will be saved, your sins will be forgiven, and you will spend eternity in heaven. There is no more important decision. Place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior today!
Have you decided to accept Christ as your Personal Lord and Savior?
AN INFORMED 
HEART: The model of “God with us” is a central theme in the Word of God emphasizing God’s desire to be present with us as His creation. ‘God with us‘, finds its ultimate expression in the person of Jesus Christ and continues through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Believer. It is a reminder of God’s love, grace, and commitment to be intimately involved only in the lives of those who seek Him. Believers in Christ believe that God is with us through and in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells within Believers, guiding, comforting, and empowering them to live according to God’s will. This ongoing presence of God with His people is another aspect of the Immanuel concept of ‘God with us‘.
FATHER GOD, Thank You for Your Word that provides for us Your plan of salvation with clear instructions on how we can know Your Son Jesus as our Personal Lord and Savior. Father God, we want to get it right because eternity is too long to be wrong! Thank you for the precious Gift of Salvation, in the Precious, Powerful, and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, Amen.