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”; Jesus is Jehovah becoming our Savior and our salvation—Rom. 10:12-13; 5:10; cf. Phil. 1:19.
B
The name Jesus includes the name Jehovah, which means “I Am Who I Am,” indicating that Jehovah is the self-existing and ever-existing eternal One, the One who was in the past, who is in the present, and who will be in the future forever—Exo. 3:14; Rev. 1:4:
１
Jehovah is the only One who is and who depends on nothing apart from Himself; we must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that “He is” and we are “not”; He is the only One, the unique One, in everything, and we are nothing—Heb. 11:6.
２
As the I Am, He is the all-inclusive One, the reality of every positive thing and of whatever His people need—John 6:35; 8:12; 10:14; 11:25; 14:6.
３
We may say that we believers have a signed check with the space for the amount left blank, and we can fill in whatever we need; whatever we need Jesus is, such as light, life, power, wisdom, holiness, or righteousness; everything we need is found in the name of Jesus.
C
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.
D
The Lord‟s name, His person, is the all-inclusive compound Spirit—S. S. 1:3; Exo. 30:23- 30; Phil. 1:19.
E
The name of Jesus is above every name—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.
７
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.
F
The purpose of calling on the name of the Lord is:
１
To be saved—Rom. 10:13.
２
To be rescued from distress, trouble, sorrow, and pain—Psa. 18:6; 118:5; 86:7; 50:15; 81:7; 116:3-4.
３
To participate in the Lord‟s lovingkindness, His mercy—86:5.
４
To partake of the Lord‟s salvation—116:2, 4, 13, 17.
５
To receive the Spirit—Acts 2:17, 21.
６
To drink the spiritual water and eat the spiritual food for satisfaction—Isa. 55:1-2, 6.
７
To enjoy the riches of the Lord—Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 12:3b; Deut. 4:7; Psa. 145:18.
８
To stir ourselves up—Isa. 64:7.
９
The name of Jesus is for us to pray in—John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:24.
10
The name of Jesus is for us to be gathered into—Matt. 18:20.
11
The name of Jesus is for us to cast out demons—Acts 16:18.
12
The name of Jesus is for us to speak boldly in—9:27.
G
Satan hates the name of Jesus:
１
Satan utilizes people to attack the name of Jesus—cf. 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—v. 41; 15:26.
H
The Lord Jesus praised the overcomers in Philadelphia because they did not deny His name—Rev. 3:8:
１
The recovered church has abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, belonging to the Lord absolutely.
２
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
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.
F
If we would enter, possess, and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land, we must do so by the presence of the Lord; the Lord promised Moses, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exo. 33:14); God‟s presence is His way, the “map” that shows His people the way they should take:
１
In order to fully gain and possess Christ as the all-inclusive land for God‟s building, we must hold on to the principle that God‟s presence is the criterion for every matter; regardless of what we do, we must pay attention to whether or not we have God‟s presence; if we have God‟s presence, we have everything, but if we lose God‟s presence, we lose everything—Matt. 1:23; 2 Tim. 4:22; Gal. 6:18; Psa. 27:4, 8; 51:11.
２
The presence of the Lord, the smile of the Lord, is the governing principle; we must learn to be kept, to be ruled, to be governed, and to be guided by the direct, firsthand presence of the Lord—27:8; 80:3, 7, 17-19.
３
As a representative of the reigning aspect of a mature life, Joseph enjoyed the presence of the Lord, and with it the Lord‟s authority, prosperity, and blessing—Gen. 39:2-5, 21; Acts 7:9.
４
Moses was a person very near to God‟s heart and according to God‟s heart; hence, he had God‟s presence to a full extent—Exo. 33:11.
５
The apostle Paul was one who lived and acted in the presence of Christ according to the index of His whole person expressed in His eyes—2 Cor. 2:10.
６
“In my youth I was taught various ways to overcome, to be victorious, to be holy, and to be spiritual. However, not any of these ways worked…Nothing works but the Lord‟s presence. His being with us is everything”—Life-study of Joshua, 2nd ed., p. 50.
G
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; the New Testament begins with a God-man, who is “God with us,” and ends with a great God-man, the New Jerusalem, which is “Jehovah Is There”—Matt. 1:23; 1 Cor. 6:17; Acts 9:4; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 21:3, 22; Ezek. 48:35.