IDENTIFYING WITH IMMANUEL BRINGS DELIVERANCE
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“And
she will bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save
His people from their sins.” “Behold,
the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call His name
‘Immanuel’, which is translated, ‘God with us’”—Matthew 1:21, 23
Throughout
ancient human history, heaven was God’s dwelling place, and except for a few
personal encounters (as with Abraham, Hagar, and Jacob), He seemed far away to
most people. Then He came to be in the Israelites’ midst, first in a pillar of
cloud and fire, then in the tabernacle and temple. But now, the angel announced that He was about
to do something totally new. His
presence would be with people in the form of God’s Son, a man who would
literally live among them.
Even
before Jesus was born on earth, He was given two names, which both indicated His identity and ministry. Immanuel tells us who He is—“God with
us.” Christ took on human flesh while
retaining undiminished deity and became the perfect God-Man. He lived on earth, walked among men, and
suffered the weaknesses of humanity. Yet
He also displayed the power of Almighty God as He healed the sick, cast out
demons, calmed the sea, and raised the dead.
Jesus means “The Lord is salvation,”
which describes what He came to do—to save us from the bondage of sin through
His death on our behalf. This explains
why He had to become Immanuel. Since the Father is immortal and cannot die,
His Son had to take on a human body in order to offer Himself as a
substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
But what do these two names of Christ
mean for you today?
Through the presence of the indwelling
Holy Spirit, Jesus still lives with you
and has the power to deliver you from the grip of any bondage. No sinful habit, painful past or present
struggle is too difficult for the God-Man to overcome, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, not height
nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 38-39).
Immanuel
longs to be with His people. Let’s reach
out by faith today and talk to Him, let Him know what is on your heart. If you need His help let Him know. He wants to help you and be with you.
Prayer—Father thank You that You have
sent Jesus to save me from the bondage of sin through His death on the cross
for me, and that Immanuel is always with me.
You have said that You would never leave me nor forsake me, thank You
that Your are with me always even until the end, and that I can trust You for
everything that I have need of because You sent Your Son, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
