God With Us

By Pastor Jeffrey Smith 

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 Immanuel which means God with us,” - Matthew 1:22-23.

God with us! These three words are full of promise, full of hope and full of life. 

GOD - Jesus isn't just the son of God, but Jesus is in fact God himself. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God,” (John 1:1). The Word is referring to Jesus. He is God because just a good man does not have the authority nor the ability to take upon himself the massive collective sins of humanity, be punished for those sins and be able to grant us freedom and exoneration from our sins. Only God as a man can do that, and Jesus as a man did do that.

WITH - The Bible says Jesus is an ever present help in time of need. It means that Jesus is always with us. It's not possible to be alone because you can have the presence of God with you. In John 1:14 we read, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” That means God became a man and moved in with us. 

US - There is a level of exclusivity with the word “us.” John 1:12 says, “To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” It's the biggest invitation imaginable to the world. Any one of us who wants Jesus has to believe in him and has to receive him. He then gives us the right to become children of God. 

Going into this holiday season, the greatest Christmas miracle can happen when we receive Immanuel into our hearts. It’s a proper perspective on what Christmas really is. God with us.