Emmanuel: God with Us

Emmanuel: God with us

Christmas gift decorations vs. Christmas gifts

The gifts that are decorations are empty. They look the same if not more elaborate than the real thing, but when you rip off the ribbon and all the gift wrapping and you open up the box, it's empty inside. There's no value to it. The gift is not measured by what is outside, but by the value of what's inside.

It's the same thing with Christianity, or the church, or Christians. You could look like the real thing, but if you were to unwrap it, you don't find the vital, priceless, amazing life of Jesus within.

This name Immanuel is everything, EVERY NAME OF GOD in the scripture embodied in human flesh.

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 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 1:21-23).

cf. Isaiah 9:6

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”

DISCUSS: What do you think is the difference in the Isaiah 9:6 verse?

A child is born, but the Son is given. Why?

A child is born, but the Son is given.

The Son existed before the child was born. Mary gave birthe to a child, but the second person of the Trinity existed before the creation of the world.

There was a time when Jesus did not take on human form. The Son had to be given, because the Second Person of the Trinity is eternal, and existed forever as the Son, even before adding humanity to His deity. He was there at creation

And the Gospel of John begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, He has made him known” (1:1,14,18).

“Through him all things were made” (John 1:3). Even when we look back to the book of Genesis, we read that God said, “Let us make mankind in our image” (Genesis 1:26), referencing the presence of Christ.

3. Not sure why Isaiah wrote it this way, but its an amazing statement…

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. Amazing that the Holy Spirit’s guidance was in every written word! Jesus, the Messiah, is fully God and fully man.

There was a time when Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, took on human form. He never became less God, but He added a human nature to His divine nature. (cf. Phil 2)

DISCUSS: Think about that out loud together. What are some of your thoughts?

i.e. How might this change your perception of Jesus willingness to being limited to be born a "child", let alone with all the limitations and frailty of an infant and have to grow in body, wisdom, and stature (cf. Lk 2:52)?

4. The fact that Jesus is both God and man tells us that man/woman really is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). It shows us that humanity is more compatible with the image of God more than we can imagine. The problem is not our humanness, rather the problem is our fallenness.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “I’m only human!”, or the “What’s the greatest threat to manta rays… humans!”? We might have grown up thinking that we are bad, and people are bad. But Jesus was a human being, and He was sinless and perfect. So maybe instead of saying “I’m only human”, perhaps its more accurate to say “I’m only fallen!”.

Was there any perfect sinless human person who lived?

Jesus Christ, Son of God... anyone else?

Adam and Eve before the Fall...

The humanity that Jesus took on was not the sinful humanity that we usually think of, but the perfect humanity of Adam and Eve before the fall! And the beauty of being a child of God is that we are becoming more and more of the perfect versions we were created to be!

5. Jesus remains a man eternally (Acts 7:55-56, 1 Timothy 2:5). He did not relinquish His humanity on His ascension; but He is now a man in a resurrection body, as we will one day have.

What are your thoughts on that? Share in groups.

why would God want to be with us?

DISCUSS why.

To show us His great love for us.

1 John 3:1 tells us How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God

Romans 8 says that nothing, not death, life, nor circumstances, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus

Romans 5 tells us that God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

To show us His obedience to the Father's will.

When Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offering and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God’ ” Heb 10:5-7 (cf Is. 10:5-7).

To show us what it's like to have God with us (and to be with God)

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Col 1:15.

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Heb 1:2–3.

God is with us through Jesus. Through Jesus we are reconciled and God is always with us.

For unto us a child is born, a son us is given

9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Is 9:6.

Context: found in ch. 8-9

The context our passage is the darkness of the circumstances of God’s people. They were facing judgment. Nation of Israel was divided (Israel in the north, Judah in the south). King of Israel (north) had formed an alliance with King of Syria. At one point they were plotting against Judah, now they are seeking an alliance with King of Judah to protect from Assyria. King of Judah wants to build an alliance with King of Assyria.

9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. Is 9:1–2.

In verse 1, Isaiah talks about gloom and anguish and contempt. What is that about? Well, God’s people were in trouble. The great nation of Assyria was threatening to invade. These were not nice people. They were one of the greatest terrors of their day, known for the creativity of their brutality and their cruelty in torture and death. They were coming, ultimately, as God’s judgment on the nation for their unfaithfulness.

It was a time of darkness (gloom/anguish/contempt) in God's people. They were trusting in the wrong things, they were not looking to God's help or following God's ways. But even in the midst of judgment, Isaiah had a word from God to the faithful remnant that remained inside the largely unfaithful nation. That word was about a light coming in the darkness. Not all was lost. Circumstances weren’t good but no need to wring their hands in worry. God was at work.

That's the context...

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called

Is 9:2–6.

the government shall be upon his shoulder

Wonderful Counselor

Mighty God

Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace

...And his name shall be called...