Matthew 1:23 ESV

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).

The prophecy about the birth of Jesus, like any other of his life events, reveals to us what has been at the Father’s heart from the beginning. The Father has always wished that we have communion with Him; that we have the full and precise knowledge of who He is. When Isaiah is prophesying this (Isa. 7:14)  , God is Himself giving comfort and reassurance to Israel that He is with them. And indeed, God was with them through and through, whether they noticed his presence or not.

For the believer today, this prophecy has been fulfilled. Jesus already came in the flesh. After his death and resurrection, He now lives on the inside of the believer; and not only he, but also the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 14:23). For the believer today, we cannot afford to speak or dare to believe like the Jews in anticipation of the Messiah. No! Because God lives on the inside of us, He is God with us and God in us.

This is what God has desired for us since the beginning – that He can dwell with us and in us. The name Immanuel/Emmanuel means ‘God with us’. When Jesus comes, He gives us a new understanding. We can thus no longer limit our understanding of this name to only God being with us as an external companion or partner or sojourner. God is so much more. The coming of Jesus brings into the light and truth of a new life-giving reality – God with us and in us. He lives with us and on the inside of us. He works with us, through us and in us transforming us from the inside-out. He gives us, with us and in us. He empowers with and in us. He heals with and in us. He loves with and in us. He dwells with and in us. This is the new life-giving understanding we have of Immanuel – God with us and God in us.

The name Immanuel shines a bright light on the nature of God. He is not a God who controls us or possesses us. Rather, He is a God who works with us and in us. By implication, he can only work with and in us if only we cooperate. It is not an operator-robot relationship but rather a partnership. Furthermore, God working in us is Him transforming us from the inside-out. As we cooperate with God, we avail ourselves to the transformative new life that He has gifted us with in our new creation spirits. In this, our souls and bodies are drawing life from our new creation spirits that are created after the image and likeness of God.

All this is ‘God with us’. It is not merely a chorus statement for the believer today. Rather, it is a powerful grace confession; a proclamation and declaration of the nature of our Father.

Dearly beloved fellow saint, God is with us and in us. This is our new nature now. This is a powerful declaration and profession of our faith. A profession of what God has done for us in and through His Son, Jesus, and what He is doing with, in and through us. We share in and enjoy this eternal communion and fellowship we have with God. You have God with you and in you. We have God in us and with us.

Categories: GRACE TALKS

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