Scripture Reading: Matt. 1:21, 23; 18:20; 28:20
Ⅰ
"She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins"—Matt. 1:21:
A
Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means Jehovah the Savior, or the salvation of Jehovah.
B
The name Jesus includes the name Jehovah, which means I Am Who I Am—Exo. 3:14:
１
Jesus is Jehovah becoming our Savior and our salvation—Rom. 10:12-13; 5:10; cf. Phil. 1:19.
２
Jesus is our Joshua, the One who brings us into rest, which is Himself as the good land to us—Heb. 4:8; Matt. 11:28-29.
C
The Lord's name, His person, is the all-inclusive compound Spirit—S. S. 1:3; Exo. 30:23-30; Phil. 1:19.
D
The name of Jesus is above every name—Phil. 2:9-10:
１
The name of Jesus is for us to believe into—John 1:12.
２
The name of Jesus is for us to be baptized into—Acts 8:16; 19:5.
３
The name of Jesus is for us to be saved—4:12.
４
The name of Jesus is for us to be healed—3:6; 4:10.
５
The name of Jesus is for us to be washed, sanctified, and justified—1 Cor. 6:11.
６
The name of Jesus is for us to call upon—Rom. 10:13; 1 Cor. 1:2; Acts 9:14; Gen. 4:26:
ａ
The Spirit is the heavenly air for us to breathe; by exercising our spirit to call upon the name of the Lord, we breathe in the Spirit and thereby receive the Spirit—John 20:22; Gal. 3:2; 1 Thes. 5:17; Lam. 3:55-56; Hymns, #255.
ｂ
The purpose of calling on the name of the Lord is:
⑴
To be saved—Rom. 10:13.
⑵
To be rescued from distress, trouble, sorrow, and pain—Psa. 18:6; 118:5; 86:7; 50:15; 81:7; 116:3-4.
⑶
To participate in the Lord's mercy—86:5.
⑷
To partake of the Lord's salvation—116:2, 4, 13, 17.
⑸
To receive the Spirit—Acts 2:17, 21.
⑹
To drink the spiritual water and eat the spiritual food for satisfaction—Isa. 55:1-2, 6.
⑺
To enjoy the riches of the Lord—Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 12:3b; Deut. 4:7; Psa. 145:18.
⑻
To stir ourselves up —Isa. 64:7.
７
The name of Jesus is for us to pray in—John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:24.
８
The name of Jesus is for us to be gathered into—Matt. 18:20.
９
The name of Jesus is for us to cast out demons—Acts 16:18.
10
The name of Jesus is for us to speak boldly in—9:27.
E
Satan hates the name of Jesus:
１
Satan utilizes people to attack the name of Jesus—cf. Acts 26:9.
２
The religionists attacked the name of Jesus, forbidding the believers to preach or teach in that name—4:17-18; 5:40.
３
When the apostles were persecuted, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the name of Jesus—5:41; 15:26.
４
The Lord Jesus praised the overcomers in Philadelphia because they did not deny His name—Rev. 3:8:
ａ
The recovered church has abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, belonging to the Lord absolutely.
ｂ
To denominate the church by taking any name other than the Lord's is spiritual fornication; the church, as the pure virgin betrothed to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), should have no name other than her Husband's.
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
Matthew is a book on Emmanuel—God incarnated to be with us—vv. 21-23.
B
The practical Emmanuel, the presence of the Triune God, is the Spirit of reality—John 1:14; 14:16-20; 1 Cor. 15:45b.
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.
C
To live with Christ as Emmanuel, we need to be in His divine presence—Gal. 5:25a:
１
To live with Christ, we still live, yet not by ourselves alone but by Christ living in us and with us as Emmanuel—2:20.
２
Emmanuel is our life and person, and we are His organ, living together with Him as one person—Phil. 1:19-21a.
３
We can enjoy the presence of the Triune God in gathering together for the teaching of His holy Word—Matt. 18:20; 28:20.
４
We enjoy grace and peace through the Spirit as the presence of the Triune God—Acts 9:31.
５
The Spirit's leading and witnessing are His presence—Rom. 8:14, 16.
６
We enjoy the dispensing of the Triune God through His presence as the Spirit—2 Cor. 13:14.
D
The entire New Testament is an Emmanuel, and we are now a part of this great Emmanuel that will consummate in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—1 Cor. 6:17; Acts 9:4; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 21:3, 22.