Ⅱ
" 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel' (which is translated, God with us)"—Matt. 1:23:
A
Jesus was the King-Savior's name given by God, whereas Emmanuel was the King-Savior's name called by man—v. 23.
B
Matthew is a book on Emmanuel—God incarnated to be with us—vv. 21- 23.
C
Emmanuel is all-inclusive—Phil. 1:19:
１
He is first our Savior (Luke 2:11), then our Redeemer (John 1:29; Rom. 3:24), then our Life-giver (1 Cor. 15:45b), and then the all-inclusive, indwelling Spirit (John 14:16-20; Rom. 8:9-11).
２
Actually, the content of the entire New Testament is an Emmanuel (Matt. 1:23; 18:20; 28:20; Rev. 21:3), and all the believers in Christ, as the members of Christ, are a part of this great Emmanuel, the corporate Christ (1 Cor. 12:12; Col. 3:10-11).
D
The practical Emmanuel is the Spirit of reality as the presence of the consummated Triune God in our spirit; His presence is always with us in our spirit, not only day by day but also moment by moment—John 1:14; 14:16-20; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Tim. 4:22:
１
He is with us in our gatherings—Matt. 18:20.
２
He is with us all the days—28:20.
３
He is with us in our spirit—2 Tim. 4:22:
ａ
Today our spirit is the land of Immanuel—Isa. 8:7-8.
ｂ
Because God is with us, the enemy can never take over the land of Immanuel—v. 10; cf. 1 John 5:4; John 3:6.
４
We can enjoy the presence of the Triune God in gathering together for the teaching of His holy Word—Matt. 18:20; 28:20; Psa. 119:30; Acts 6:4.
５
We enjoy grace and peace through the Spirit as the presence of the Triune God—Gal. 6:18; Acts 9:31.
６
The Spirit's leading and witnessing are His presence—Rom. 8:14, 16.
７
We enjoy the dispensing of the Triune God through His presence as the Spirit—2 Cor. 13:14.
E
To live with Christ as Emmanuel, we need to be in His divine presence, which is the life-giving Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God— Gal. 5:25:
１
To live with Christ, we still live, yet not by ourselves alone but by Christ living in us and with us as Emmanuel; the Triune God cannot complete His intention to dispense Himself into our being outside of us; therefore, His being with us must be inward—2:20.
２
Emmanuel is our life and person, and we are His organ, living together with Him as one person; our victory depends upon Emmanuel, the presence of Jesus.
３
If we have the Lord's presence, we have wisdom, insight, foresight, and the inner knowledge concerning things; the Lord's presence is everything to us—2 Cor. 2:10; 4:6-7; Gal. 5:25; Gen. 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5-6.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (which is translated, God with us).18:20 For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.
Emmanuel is the name called by people who have had a certain amount of experience. Whenever you have some experience of Jesus, you will be able to say that He is God with you. Jesus is nothing less than God with us. This is our experience. God told us that His name is Jesus. But as we receive Him and experience Him, we say that Jesus is God with us. This is wonderful. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 69)
Today’s Reading
Deep within, do you not have the sense that, according to your experience, Jesus is God?…Jesus is nothing less than God Himself. He is not only the Son of God but also God Himself. Some good writers have said that apart from Jesus we can never find God. God is with Jesus, and God is Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was not only with God, but the Word was God (John 1:1). This Word became flesh and was called Jesus.When we experience Jesus, He is Emmanuel, God with us. We have heard that Jesus is our comfort, our rest, our peace, and our life. Jesus is so much to us. If we would experience Him, we would immediately say, “This is God! This is not God far away from me, or God in the heavens, but God with me.” Whenever we experience Jesus in a certain way, we realize that Jesus is God with us… Jesus is our patience. But when we experience Him as our patience, we say, “This patience is God with me.” Jesus is the way and the reality, but when we experience Him as the way and the reality, we say, “This way and this reality are just God with me.” Hallelujah, Jesus is God with us! In our experience, He is Emmanuel.
Whenever we are gathered together into the name of Jesus, He is with us (Matt. 18:20)…The presence of Jesus in our meetings is actually God with us. Jesus is with us all the days until the consummation of the age (28:20). “All the days” includes today. Do not forget about today. Many Christians think that Jesus is present all the days except today. But Jesus is with us now, today.
Jesus is not only among us; He is in our spirit. Second Timothy 4:22 says, “The Lord be with your spirit.” This Jesus who is with our spirit is Emmanuel, God with us. We can never separate the Spirit from the presence of Jesus. The Spirit is simply the reality of Jesus’ presence (John 14:16-20). This presence is Emmanuel, God with us. When we call on the name of Jesus, we receive the Spirit, who is the person, the reality, and the realization of Jesus. First Corinthians 12:3 says, “No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit.” Whenever we say “Jesus is Lord,” we are in the Spirit, and we receive the Spirit. We have all been under the influence of tradition, thinking that we must fast and pray before we can receive the Spirit. However, it is simple to receive the Spirit—just call on the name of Jesus.
According to Isaiah 8:7-8, the enemy may try to take over the land of Emmanuel. Do not think this word is only for the children of Israel. Today our spirit is the land of Emmanuel. Thus, we ourselves are the land of Emmanuel. The enemy, Satan, with all his army will do everything he can to take over this land of Emmanuel, that is, to take over our spirit and our being. Isaiah 8:10 tells us that because God is with us, the enemy can never take over the land of Emmanuel. Although Satan has tried his best to take you over, you are still here. Perhaps during the past week Satan tried twenty-one times to take you over, but he failed every time. You are still here because of Emmanuel, because of God with us. This Emmanuel is Jesus. Today we may enjoy Jesus and experience Him in such a real way as our Emmanuel. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 69-71)
Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 6