The name prophesied for Jesus from before his coming to Bethlehem was “Immanuel,” or, “God with us.” We are all familiar enough with the Christmas story to know that Jesus was the Son of God, who came to earth and lived among us. But what does that mean? Why does it matter? We can repeat the story of shepherds, angels, and wise men; and place decorated manger scenes all over the house, but the reality of “Immanuel” will still be nothing more than a glib fact from a historical or mythical account. It will be just a name. John 1:1-18 tells the “Christmas story” in a very different way than the narrative accounts. It brings us to Christ himself, and the existential realities of his person. Here we gaze, not at the baby, but at the deep mysteries behind the nature of the God-man himself. This is esoteric, lofty truths that baffle the greatest mortal minds. But we do not come to this sanctum to meddle in mysteries too high for us; we come to worship and adore him. And coming here, we learn the deep reality behind the name Immanuel, and reap the unimaginable practical benefits he has come to bestow. Follow me through some key passages of this text, and see for yourself.
In the beginning was the Word (the Logos)- He who is the personal expression of everything the Father is; eternally generated by the inherent necessities of the Father’s nature. And the Word was with God- He exists in perpetual and intimate union with the Father and the Spirit through the singular divine essence which all three hold in common. And the Word was God- He is very God of very God, possessing all the attributes and characteristics of Jehovah as his own. The same was in the beginning with God- He enjoyed eternal, unbroken communion with God from before time began, existing in perpetual bliss and delight within the fellowship of the Trinity. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made- He is the agent of God’s will within the universe, the source and creator of all that is, whether visible or invisible. Creation is but the garment of the Eternal Word. In Him was life- He, and he alone possesses real life, for he is life incarnate. As Jehovah, he has life within himself as his own, native possession, and it flows out of his very nature. And the life was the light of men- He radiates his life as the sun radiates its light, enlivening all who come within the reach of that light. All things that live borrow their life from him, and reflect it back upon him to the glory of God. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not- He shines among the darkness of the void, bringing life where there was nothing but death, and order where there was nothing but primordial chaos. He shines with such unconquerable brightness that all the darkness of the universe cannot swallow up his light, or hinder its radiance along any of the paths the wisdom of Jehovah has ordained.
And the Word became flesh- He who always was became what he was not: forever uniting within his singular person his eternal divine nature and his newly acquired human nature; becoming the only person in existence to have all the virtues and attributes of both natures within one functional and personal subsistence. And dwelt among us- He “tabernacled” with us, forever planting the infinity of divinity within the sphere of authentic humanity. He became, and will always remain, the living personification of the Shekinah glory of God, pitched in the midst of his people in perpetual and indivisible union. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father- The Shekinah of God, so bright that the highest seraphs must veil their faces lest they be consumed, now is within reach of limited human perceptions. The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is the bright star which fills the vision of all the children of Adam, for the eternally generated God-man shines with his own native Glory in terms natively relatable to mortal men. Full of grace and truth- He shines with a fullness of glory not to be found in any other in heaven or earth. His glory communicates the reality of divinity and humanity, coupled with a smile of grace; so that the universe unfolds before his wondering people as a mighty chain of God’s benevolence and good will.
And of his fulness have all we received- We are empty, profoundly and pervasively empty. Yet beholding his glory, we are filled to overflowing with his infinite fullness; our souls being continually expanded to hold more and more of the glory of God within our recreated beings. And grace for grace-We are needy, desperately and hopelessly needy. Yet to our need he applies his grace exponentially. Grace multiplied with grace, overflowing grace is poured upon our dry and thirsty souls from the Fountain of Living Water. Grace as infinite as God himself, and grace for every human exigency. Grace that could only be found in the God-Man. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ- We are estranged, grievously and unalterably estranged. No law could save us, not even one written by God himself by his own hand; for we are lawbreakers at heart. But the grace and truth of Christ has both the omnipotence of divinity and the immanence of humanity; enabling it to pierce the darkness of sin and transform the entirety of our human nature from its deformed and detestable state. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him- We are ignorant, willfully and woefully ignorant. We have religions as numerous as the stars and prophets as numerous as the sand, yet none of them have shown us God himself. Humans cannot reach the infinite Jehovah. Yet the Logos is very God of very God, tabernacled in real humanity: he reached down to us by becoming us, and declared the reality of God which no mere mortal could do. He translates the inscrutable Jehovah to our mortal understanding, and declares the God whom we all seek, but are never able to find.
“Immanuel, God with us,” is a name that none but the God-man could have; and it is the only name that can breathe life and peace into the dying and troubled soul. The birth of a child-king, even a Messiah, is a noteworthy event; but the coming of Immanuel fills his people with a fullness that can only exist in him: a fullness of divinity and humanity, perfectly suited to the mortal soul. Immanuel is the refuge of the lost, weary, troubled spirits. Immanuel is the culmination of that ancient human quest for reality and peace. Immanuel is the essence of bliss itself: God dwelling among his people. As we gaze at him in worshipful adoration, we find the fullness we need to revive our fallen humanity and support us through the dark paths through a cursed creation. Troubled soul, heed the wisdom found in that well known Christmas carol, and in so doing, receive the fullness you long desired:
O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him, born the King of angels;
True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten not created;
Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning,
Jesus, to thee be all glory given.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
