Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”The Old Testament people were not able to see God face to face because the holiness of God and the sin of man separated them. God’s presence was in the form of the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. The knowledge about God was passed down by oral tradition. The law taught them about the holiness of God and caused them to know their inadequacy in standing right before God. Therefore, it pushed them to seek after the grace of God and the coming of Jesus would be good news to them.
John1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
God in His wisdom established a covenant with Abraham so that His only Son was able to rightfully walk among man and to be the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. Jesus came to declare to man the good news of the gospel, the character of God and the power of God when He ministered among the people.
Hebrews 1:1-3a God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,
Jesus was the word that became flesh and walked among us. It is a declaration and revelation of who God is because Jesus told His disciples that if they see Him then they are actually also seeing the Father. Jesus and the Father, are one. He was the exact image of the father and the brightness of His glory. The word of Jesus carried power because the whole world was put into place by His word. The same power that was uttered during the time of creation was available when He was walking on earth. In fact, the written word of God has the same power and we are to put our faith in the word because it is the word of God that gives substance to our faith.
We will experience Immanuel, God with us when we know that all that God has belongs to us and all that we have belongs to God in a covenant relationship. He is working in and through us by the Holy Spirit who is the third person of the Godhead. He promised to never leave or forsake us.
Sermon Series: Christmas (2019)
以马内利, 神与我们同在
马太福音 1:23 “必有童女怀孕生子；人要称他的名为以马内利。（以马内利翻出来就是「 神与我们同在」。）”
旧约时代的人们无法面对面看见神，那是因为神的圣洁和人的罪使人与神隔绝. 神的同在是以白天的云柱和夜晚的火柱的形式显现的. 关于神的认识则是通过口口相传的方式传递下去. 律法教导他们神的圣洁, 让他们知晓因自己的缺陷而无法站立在神面前. 因此, 这促使他们去寻求神的恩典, 而主耶稣的降临将是他们的福音 。
约翰福音 1:18 从来没有人看见神，只有在父怀里的独生子将他表明出来
神以祂的智慧与亚伯拉罕立约, 这样神的独子就可以行于世人之间, 并成为救赎世人的终极献祭. 主耶稣来向世人宣告福音的好消息，传扬上帝的品格，且在服事人群的时候展现神的大能。
希伯来书1:1-3a 神既在古时藉着众先知多次多方地晓谕列祖， 2就在这末世藉着他儿子晓谕我们；又早已立他为承受万有的，也曾藉着他创造诸世界。 3他是 神荣耀所发的光辉，是 神本体的真像，常用他权能的命令托住万有。
主耶稣乃是道成肉身, 行在我们中间. 这宣告并显明了神本体的真像, 因为主耶稣告诉祂的门徒们, 当他们看见主耶稣, 他们就看见了天父. 主耶稣与天父同为一体. 祂乃是神本体的真像, 神荣耀所发的光辉. 主耶稣的话语大有能力, 因为祂的话语创造了整个世界. 创世时言语发出的大能也跟随着主耶稣来到人世间. 事实上, 圣经用文字记载的神的话语有着同样的大能. 我们对神的话语有信心，因为那是我们信心的实底。
当我们知晓在我们与神的盟约关系里, 神所有的一切是我们的, 我们所有的一切是神的, 这时我们将经历以马内利, 神与我们同在. 祂籍着圣灵, 三位一体的第三个位格, 在我们里面动工. 祂应许永不撇下我们, 也不丢弃我们.
讲章系列: 圣诞节 (2019)