Kingdom of God – Emmanuel

15/16 mins read

One of the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament declares: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7.14, Douay-Rheims Bible).

As Joseph was considering what to do about his betrothed who (shockingly) had just announced that she was pregnant, an angel appeared to him and told Joseph that Mary had conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, that he was to marry her and that they were to call the baby Jesus (meaning ‘saviour’) as He would save His people from their sins. How well do you think he slept that week?! The gospel writer goes on to say, “This happened so that what the Lord spoke through his prophet would come true: Listen! A virgin will be pregnant, she will give birth to a Son, and he will be known as “Emmanuel,” which means in Hebrew, “God with us” (Matthew 1.23, TPT).

Now before you pick me up on my spelling, ‘God with us’ can either be spelt Immanuel or Emmanuel! Immanuel is a transliteration of the Hebrew, which most of the Old Testament is written in; Emmanuel is a transliteration of the Greek, which the New Testament is written in. As you can see above, the prophecy is in the Old Testament and it is fulfilled in the birth of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. It suits my purposes to cover this theme under the letter ‘E’. I have other plans for the letter ‘I’ in a future blog!

Listen! A virgin will be pregnant, she will give birth to a Son, and he will be known as “Emmanuel,” which means in Hebrew, “God with us”

Matthew 1.23, TPT

In this blog, I want to take you on a journey through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation looking at the history of ‘God with us’ – where it all started and where it will all conclude. Fasten your seatbelts!

Eden

Let’s begin at the beginning. God did not create humanity because He was lonely. Remember, God is love and He was perfectly fulfilled in loving relationships within the Godhead – Father to Son, Son to Holy Spirit, and Holy Spirit to Father. But His perfect love was too good to keep to Himself; He wanted to share it with creatures that could choose a relationship with Him based in love (or not).

The culmination of God’s creation was humanity, in the form of Adam and Eve. They had a unique place in all of creation because they were made in the image and likeness of God. That was true of nothing else in all of creation. They were also well acquainted with Him. God came to the garden of Eden in the evening to walk and talk with them. They enjoyed His presence. Other indications of the unique relationship between God and humanity can be seen in God giving Adam and Eve the responsibility of naming the animals (names have meaning and significance in Hebrew culture; Genesis 2.19) and filling the earth and subduing it (Genesis 1.28). Their rule on earth was to be the overflow of their relationship – a close relationship with God (see Genesis 3.8-10). This is the first manifestation of ‘God with us’ we see in the Bible. In fact, it was meant to be the only manifestation. This was how it was meant to be forever.

Sin separates; rebellion devastates our relationship with the One who invites us to love Him back

Expulsion

But then catastrophe! They rebelled against God (induced by satan) by eating from the only forbidden tree in the garden. How hard could it be?! They were then expelled from the garden of Eden and from God’s presence. So began an existence that was characterised by disobedience to God, dysfunctionality and distance from God. This can be seen in Genesis 3 onwards. Sin separates; rebellion devastates our relationship with the One who invites us to love Him back.

The story of Noah in the early chapters of Genesis tells us that God had not given up on humanity. It can also be seen in God calling Abram (meaning ‘exalted Father’). His name was changed by God to Abraham (meaning ‘father of many’) when He was told that he would be a father of many nations (Genesis 17). Abram was 99 years old at the time of being given this promise! Captain Tom Moore – raising over £32 million for the NHS, getting to No 1 in the music charts with Michael Ball, opening a Nightingale hospital (remotely) and becoming an honorary Colonel in his old regiment – was therefore not the first person to have his life take off aged 99 years!

The calling of Noah was the start of a long season in human history where God called certain individuals to fulfil particular tasks at certain times. God filled these chosen individuals with the presence of His Spirit. We see it with Abraham and his descendants, namely Isaac, Jacob and Joseph (Genesis 12-50). It continued with Moses, called by God to lead the people of Israel (Abraham’s descendants) out of Egypt where they had been subjected to 400 years of slavery. But all this was a far cry from ‘God with us’ in the garden of Eden.

The tabernacle contained the Holy of Holies in which the ark of the covenant…was placed. This was to be God’s dwelling place on earth

Tabernacle

At Mount Sinai after the Israelites’ escape from Egypt, as well as collecting the ten commandments Moses was given detailed instructions for the building of a tabernacle (in Hebrew meaning ‘residence’ or ‘dwelling place’), also known as the tent of meeting. The tabernacle contained the Holy of Holies in which the ark of the covenant with the mercy seat between the wings of the cherubim (angelic creatures) was placed. This was to be God’s dwelling place on earth. It was the first glimpse of ‘God with us’ in several centuries!

But while present among His people, God kept distance between Himself (‘the Holy’) and the people of Israel (sinners who frequently failed God). God rarely spoke with anyone else but Moses and only the high priest could enter the Tabernacle’s Holy of Holies, and that was only once a year on the day of atonement.

The tabernacle was God’s dwelling among His people for around 480 years – during the 40 year journey of the Israelites in the wilderness; during the 30-40 year period of the conquest of Canaan led by Joshua (the Promised Land); during the 300 year period of the judges; finally, for 100 years during the reigns of the first three kings of Israel – Saul, David and Solomon. Throughout this period, God continued to raise up and anoint with His presence individuals like Joshua, Gideon, Deborah and Samson for specific tasks. But His presence was remote for most Israelites and almost non-existent to Gentiles (non-Jews).

whereas the tabernacle was portable, the temple was intended to be God’s permanent home among His people

Temple

20 years into his reign, king Solomon completed the construction of the temple in Jerusalem that his father David had planned but was not permitted to build (1 Kings 5-9). The design of the temple was similar to the tabernacle. But whereas the tabernacle was portable, the temple was intended to be God’s permanent home among His people. Just as with the tabernacle, at the heart of the temple was the Holy of Holies where God’s presence was. For the next 500-550 years, the temple was the centre of worship for the people of Israel. After the division of Israel into two kingdoms, it was the centre of worship for the people of Judah in the southern kingdom.

Prophecies of a brighter future

About 800 years before Christ, the prophets began to speak of a different experience of ‘God with us’. Joel prophesied to the southern nation of Judah: ‘I [God] will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days’ (Joel 2.28,29). Joel tells of a time when God’s presence will no longer be for certain people for specific tasks, but it will be for everyone. God will be present with people regardless of gender, age, background, ethnicity or status (‘even on my servants’). There will be a new ability to hear God (‘prophesy…dream…see visions…’).

I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws

Ezekiel 36.27

Following the invasion of the Babylonians, Solomon’s temple was destroyed and many of the people of Judah were carried into exile (2 Kings 25). In exile, and about 570 years before Christ, Ezekiel (a priest) prophesied: ‘…I [God] will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws’ (Ezekiel 36.27).

Ezekiel also had an extraordinary vision in which he saw water flowing from the temple (Ezekiel 47). The further it went from the temple, the deeper it got. Wherever the waters flowed, it brought life and abundance and healing. It even brought life to the very salty Dead sea. Water in the Bible often symbolizes the presence of God the Holy Spirit. This amazing vision signified the presence of God moving beyond the temple to bring life and healing not just to the people of Israel but to people everywhere! “Fish of every kind…” referred to people of all tribes and nations.

After 70 years in exile, King Cyrus of Persia (conquerors of the Babylonians) allowed some of the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem and, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, they rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem (see the book of Ezra). The second temple stood for over 500 years.

But before Jesus was born, there was 400 years of silence when God no longer spoke to His people through the prophets. The prophesies of people like Joel and Ezekiel that promised a new era of ‘God with us’ seemed like a distant memory, and God seemed as remote as ever.

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood

John 1.14, MSG

Emmanuel

Then God broke into human history in the most unexpected way: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7.14, Douay-Rheims Bible). God Himself took on human form and was born in Bethlehem – to a most unexpected couple (an unmarried teenage girl rather than a princess), in a most unexpected venue (a cattle stable rather than a palace) and announced it to a most unexpected audience (ignorant, smelly Jewish shepherds and foreign wise men rather than the religious elite of Israel)!

The Apostle John puts it this way: “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God…the Word became human and made his home among us” (John 1.1,14, NLT).

Thirty years later, Jesus made it clear that He no longer saw the temple in Jerusalem as being the place where God would dwell among His people. As He cleared the temple of the money changers and traders “...the Jews were upset. They asked, “What credentials can you present to justify this?” Jesus answered, “Tear down this Temple and in three days I’ll put it back together.” They were indignant: “It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and you’re going to rebuild it in three days?” But Jesus was talking about his body as the Temple“ (John 2.18-21). The presence of God could be found in His body and no longer in a building!

At the Feast of Tabernacles, the Israelites anticipated that the great river signifying God’s presence (prophesied by Ezekiel) would flow out from Jerusalem. Ezekiel 47 was read and enacted at the Feast. “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!” (John 7.37). Jesus invites everyone! It applies to all who are spiritually thirsty and who have never experienced God’s presence. Jesus tells the crowd that this prophecy from over 500 years earlier had been fulfilled, not in a place but in a Person (Jesus)!

Jesus then goes on to say, ‘Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flowing from within’ (John 7.38). The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’” The Apostle John goes on to explain: ‘By this [Jesus] meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified’ (John 7.39). Jesus anticipates what would happen on the day of Pentecost.

On many other occasions, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, the presence of God Himself. See for example John 14.16-18 and John 16.7,13-15.

They were all filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit and were inspired to speak in tongues – empowered by the Spirit to speak in languages they had never learned!

Acts 2.4 (TPT)

Pentecost

Then at the feast of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus had risen from the dead and ten days after He had ascended back to heaven, God came by His Spirit and filled His followers with His powerful presence (Acts 2). The Apostle Peter told the assembled crowd that this event was the fulfilment of the words of the prophet Joel 800 years earlier. For us, that would be like something foretold during the reign of king Henry III in the 1200s coming true! He was the last king of England crowned outside London – in my current home town of Gloucester! In fulfilment of Old Testament prophesy, for the first time we see gentiles (non-Jews) in the person of Cornelius and his family receiving the Holy Spirit too, much to the amazement of the Jews present (Acts 10.44-48).

The Apostle Paul wrote to Jesus’ followers in Corinth: “Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary” (1 Corinthians 6.19, TPT). Earlier in the same letter Paul addressed the church in Corinth collectively: “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3.16). Again, the temple (the location of ‘God with us’) is no longer a place but people. You are God’s temple. We are God’s temple!

God with us; God behind us; God before us; God beside us; God on us; God within us; God among us; God for us and not against us. He has promised to be with us always

God is no longer distant and remote. He is no longer located in a building to which almost no one had access. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, by which He overcame the separating effect of sin and rebellion, we have access to God 24/7! What a privilege! ‘God with us’ was something that those living in the Old Testament era could only dream of.

Just think of this for a moment. God with us (see Matthew 18.20); God behind us; God before us; God beside us; God on us; God within us; God among us; God for us and not against us. He has promised to be with us always (Matthew 28.20) – in the good times and the bad; in the exciting and the mundane; in the highs and the lows; in times of plenty and of want; in the laughter and in the tears; in the ‘easy to understand’ and in the mystery; when you sense Him and when you don’t. He is the one who says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13.5).

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In December 2011, I gave a message on “Emmanuel, God with us” to the inmates of Gloucester prison. 12 out of 28 men stood to welcome ‘God with us’ into their lives. 12 entered God’s Kingdom that day, making over 200 in 20 visits. Of course, not all will stay the course. But some will – and it will be the turning point so desperately needed to get their lives back on track

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God’s Home Among His People

It is true, though, that He is still largely invisible and often intangible. But there will come a day when that changes. When Jesus comes again to conclude human history, there will be a new reality: “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21.1-4). There will be a new city of Jerusalem and “a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb...they [His servants] will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads” (Revelation 22.1-4).

It will take the whole span of human history to get us there, but one day we will know the reality of ‘God with us’ as fully as Adam and Eve experienced it in the garden of Eden (paradise itself). That reality was how it was always meant to be – and will one day be so again as God’s redemption plan fully unfolds.

You might enjoy this on a similar theme…

https://www.facebook.com/jointhebibleproject/videos/1287757348094323/

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JB was driving down to Cornwall in June 2014 with her adult daughter. They were on a busy main road, being an arterial road into Cornwall for holidaymakers. The light was fading at the end of the day when, suddenly, JB could not engage the clutch. It had seized up. As she and her daughter got out and pushed the car to the side of the road, they felt in great danger due to the heavy traffic and the fading light. She was worried that other car drivers would not see them. She sent up a prayer, “God, please help us!”

A few minutes after pushing the car to the side of the road, a car came past them, then slowed to a stop and reversed back to where they were. A man jumped out of the car and said, “I have come to help you”. He then said he would take them to the safety of a layby further along the road. He asked JB to drive his car to the layby, while he drove her car for her. JB had a real sense of God’s presence and was not at all afraid by the approach of this stranger. They drove to the layby. In the meantime, JB’s daughter phoned the vehicle recovery company, who said they could get to them within 5-10 mins. When they got to the layby, JB asked the driver who he was. He smiled and said, “I’m a bus driver. I’ve come to help you”. He asked whether they wanted him to wait with them until the recovery vehicle arrived, but they said they were fine. JB noticed that he was wearing a shirt which bore a logo ‘Saved’. He then got into his car but neither of them could recall seeing him drive away. It seemed he just disappeared. JB had a strong sense that she had encountered an angel sent by God to help them in their hour of need.

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• Think of some contexts in which you regularly encounter God. In worship? In the bath? In your prayer chair? On a country walk? Discussion/prayer times with a particular friend?
• How will you be intentional about regularly drawing aside to encounter Him?
• Do you struggle to sense ‘God with you’? Can you think of someone you can talk to about this, who might be able to guide/advise you?

Gracious Father. Thank you that you promise never to leave me nor forsake me. You are completely faithful and dependable. Fill me afresh today with your Holy Spirit, your presence within me. Please equip and enable me to be all that you intend, fulfilling your plans and purposes for my life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.