WORD From The Woods
Last week, we talked about keeping Christ at he heart of CHRISTmas and the significance of who the Messiah really is. This week, I’d like to look to Matthew’s account of the Christmas story and another word that he used for Jesus. As Matthew records, this baby was the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of “Immanuel.” The word Immanuel means “God with us” the ultimate self-revelation of God to mankind. Jesus Christ was and eternally is God incarnate, He is literally “God in flesh.”
Matthew 1:21-23
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 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).”
John 1:1,14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Philippians 2:5-11
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The clear teaching of scripture is that in the incarnation, Jesus was fully God and fully man. He existed as the perfect unity in one person of both a divine and human nature. Paul beautifully expressed the incredible truth of the incarnation in this passage from his letter to the Philippian church. As the only sinless man to ever die a sinners death, Jesus Christ, Immanuel, was the only person who could sufficiently atone for the sins of the world once and for all! Without both natures, it wouldn’t have been enough. His sacrifice was sufficient to provide redemption for the sins of mankind. He did what Adam and every one of us since then could not do.
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22 ESV)
Christmas is now less than 3 weeks away. As you prepare to gather with family and friends to celebrate, remember the first and greatest Christmas gift of all time, who is Jesus Christ, Immanuel!
God bless, have a great week and Merry Christmas! -Terry-
Last week, we talked about keeping Christ at he heart of CHRISTmas and the significance of who the Messiah really is. This week, I’d like to look to Matthew’s account of the Christmas story and another word that he used for Jesus. As Matthew records, this baby was the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of “Immanuel.” The word Immanuel means “God with us” the ultimate self-revelation of God to mankind. Jesus Christ was and eternally is God incarnate, He is literally “God in flesh.”
Matthew 1:21-23
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 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).”
John 1:1,14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Philippians 2:5-11
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The clear teaching of scripture is that in the incarnation, Jesus was fully God and fully man. He existed as the perfect unity in one person of both a divine and human nature. Paul beautifully expressed the incredible truth of the incarnation in this passage from his letter to the Philippian church. As the only sinless man to ever die a sinners death, Jesus Christ, Immanuel, was the only person who could sufficiently atone for the sins of the world once and for all! Without both natures, it wouldn’t have been enough. His sacrifice was sufficient to provide redemption for the sins of mankind. He did what Adam and every one of us since then could not do.
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22 ESV)
Christmas is now less than 3 weeks away. As you prepare to gather with family and friends to celebrate, remember the first and greatest Christmas gift of all time, who is Jesus Christ, Immanuel!
God bless, have a great week and Merry Christmas! -Terry-