In Matthew 1:23 it states “they shall call His name Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us.” Why, you may ask, was Jesus not called Immanuel as His given name? My notes in my Scofield Bible say that ‘according to Hebrew usage, the name does not represent a title, but a characterization. It shows that He really was “God with us”. It also shows that the diety of Christ, our anointed one, was emphasized at the very beginning of the New Testament.
The word “Immanuel” consists of two Hebrew words: ‘El’, meaning God and ‘Immanu’, meaning “With us”. It is pronounced ‘ih-MAN-yoo-el’, and is used only three times in Scripture; the first appears in Isaiah 7:14, with prophetic words spoken by Isaiah about 700 years before Christ. It is used again in Isaiah 8:8, and then in our verse of Matthew 1:23, which is quoting from Isaiah. Matthew is applying it to the child to be born of Mary, the virgin betrothed to Joseph. In Jesus, God would become a man that He could save the world and bring man back to God. Through Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, would redeem and restore this relationship between man and God.
David tell us how God is with us as our ‘Immanuel’ in Psalm 139:7-10:
“If I go up to the heavens, you are there,
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there Your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.”
How can we lose? What do we fear? Immanuel, God is with me.
A 4th century prayer known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate, says:
“Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me, King of my heart;
Christ be within me, Christ be below me
Christ be above me, never to part.”
‘Immanuel’, God with us.
He is our God
He is truly with us!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
H is for High Priest
The role of the priest is to bring the people to God. In the Israelite Nation, the priesthood consisted of three groups: The High Priest, the ordinary priests and the Levites. The High Priest was the only one authorized to enter the most Holy Place, and that only 3 times a year.
In the New Testament, Jesus is identified as our High Priest. He paid the sacrifice once for all, and now He is the One who faithfully bears us into God’s presence.
As our great High Priest, it is Jesus perfect offering that has won for us complete forgiveness. In Hebrews 5 it tells us that in the office of the high priest of the Israelites, he not only offered sacrifices for the people, but also for himself because he is also a weak human. But Christ, the anointed one of God, became our High Priest as He had already given Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
There are several ways in which Jesus meets all the requirements needed to be a High Priest. First of all, He has a human body. Hebrews 2:17 (NIV) states “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest…” He was human just as though he had never been God, but He was also totally God as though He had never been human.
The second reason is that being human He could also sympathize with we ignorant sinners. In Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) it states “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin.”
The third reason is that He was ordained of God. In Hebrews 5:4 it states “no one takes this honor upon himself, he must be ordained of God…” God the Father chose his eternal Son to be our eternal High Priest.
A fourth way Jesus earned the right to become the High Priest was through His suffering. Isaiah 50: 5-7 prophetically portrays Christ: “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting…” In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord experienced intense agony to the point of sweating blood. He was not agonizing over his coming physical death, (many people experienced physical death by crucifixion), but it was the fact that he was about to die for the sin of the world. He, who knew no sin, would become the worst sinner as he bore the sin of the whole world. He was about to suffer what is called ‘the second death’ and to be forsaken by His Father. He knew about suffering!
We needed to have a perfect High Priest, and Jesus was perfect, as He perfectly obeyed the Father. He then became the perfect mediator as well as a perfect victim on our behalf. He alone is qualified to be our Perfect High Priest. Christ became the source of our eternal salvation. Jesus only is the ‘well of salvation’ to which all must come and drink. Jesus is the Eternal High Priest, because His sacrifice, given once for all, obtained eternal redemption.
The Eternal Son
Gives us Eternal salvation,
In which we can be eternally secure.
He is our Perfect and Eternal High Priest!
In the New Testament, Jesus is identified as our High Priest. He paid the sacrifice once for all, and now He is the One who faithfully bears us into God’s presence.
As our great High Priest, it is Jesus perfect offering that has won for us complete forgiveness. In Hebrews 5 it tells us that in the office of the high priest of the Israelites, he not only offered sacrifices for the people, but also for himself because he is also a weak human. But Christ, the anointed one of God, became our High Priest as He had already given Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
There are several ways in which Jesus meets all the requirements needed to be a High Priest. First of all, He has a human body. Hebrews 2:17 (NIV) states “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest…” He was human just as though he had never been God, but He was also totally God as though He had never been human.
The second reason is that being human He could also sympathize with we ignorant sinners. In Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) it states “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin.”
The third reason is that He was ordained of God. In Hebrews 5:4 it states “no one takes this honor upon himself, he must be ordained of God…” God the Father chose his eternal Son to be our eternal High Priest.
A fourth way Jesus earned the right to become the High Priest was through His suffering. Isaiah 50: 5-7 prophetically portrays Christ: “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting…” In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord experienced intense agony to the point of sweating blood. He was not agonizing over his coming physical death, (many people experienced physical death by crucifixion), but it was the fact that he was about to die for the sin of the world. He, who knew no sin, would become the worst sinner as he bore the sin of the whole world. He was about to suffer what is called ‘the second death’ and to be forsaken by His Father. He knew about suffering!
We needed to have a perfect High Priest, and Jesus was perfect, as He perfectly obeyed the Father. He then became the perfect mediator as well as a perfect victim on our behalf. He alone is qualified to be our Perfect High Priest. Christ became the source of our eternal salvation. Jesus only is the ‘well of salvation’ to which all must come and drink. Jesus is the Eternal High Priest, because His sacrifice, given once for all, obtained eternal redemption.
The Eternal Son
Gives us Eternal salvation,
In which we can be eternally secure.
He is our Perfect and Eternal High Priest!
Monday, April 4, 2011
G is for Gate
We take the word Gate from Jesus claim in John 10:7: "I am the Door for the sheep." Several translations use the term ‘Gate’ for ‘Door’, and since we already did a name for D, we shall use the name ‘Gate’.
You may be asking "How can Jesus be called a 'Gate’?" A good way to explain how this term can be applied to our Lord is by taking a look back to the Shepherds of the Bible times. It was, and perhaps still is, a common thing for the shepherd to place his sheep into a sheepfold for the night for safety. Then instead of closing a gate, the shepherd himself would lie down in the doorway making himself as a human door. Should anything try to get to the sheep, it would first have to go through the shepherd.
Do you see the significance here? The first time I read about this I felt excited, awed, and thankful all at once! What a beautiful picture of my Lord’s protection. No matter what comes my way, be it sickness, poverty, injury, death, it must go through my Shepherd first. Jesus is the Gate; nothing gets by Him that is not allowed.
Anyone who tried to get in any other way than through the ‘Gate’ will be called a thief (see John 10:1) In verse 9 of John 10, it tells us that Jesus is the ‘Gate’ and that anyone who does go through this ‘Gate’ will be safe.
Here are some excepts from John 10 from "The Message" translation: "If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the Gate, you know he is up to no good…I am the Gate for the sheep…All those others are up to no good…I am the Gate. (Repeated twice for emphasis). Anyone who goes through me will be cared for…"
There is no other way or name under heaven, given among men, whereby we can come to the Father, other that through the Gate, Jesus.
You may be asking "How can Jesus be called a 'Gate’?" A good way to explain how this term can be applied to our Lord is by taking a look back to the Shepherds of the Bible times. It was, and perhaps still is, a common thing for the shepherd to place his sheep into a sheepfold for the night for safety. Then instead of closing a gate, the shepherd himself would lie down in the doorway making himself as a human door. Should anything try to get to the sheep, it would first have to go through the shepherd.
Do you see the significance here? The first time I read about this I felt excited, awed, and thankful all at once! What a beautiful picture of my Lord’s protection. No matter what comes my way, be it sickness, poverty, injury, death, it must go through my Shepherd first. Jesus is the Gate; nothing gets by Him that is not allowed.
Anyone who tried to get in any other way than through the ‘Gate’ will be called a thief (see John 10:1) In verse 9 of John 10, it tells us that Jesus is the ‘Gate’ and that anyone who does go through this ‘Gate’ will be safe.
Here are some excepts from John 10 from "The Message" translation: "If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the Gate, you know he is up to no good…I am the Gate for the sheep…All those others are up to no good…I am the Gate. (Repeated twice for emphasis). Anyone who goes through me will be cared for…"
There is no other way or name under heaven, given among men, whereby we can come to the Father, other that through the Gate, Jesus.
Monday, March 28, 2011
F is for Father
When Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray, He said to begin this way: "Our Father in Heaven." (Matthew 6:9) In the same chapter, verse 31 and 32, He tells us not to worry about what we eat or drink or wear because: "your heavenly Father knows that you need them."
The Hebrew word of 'Ab', or Aramaic 'Abba' means Daddy or Papa. This eventually came to mean "dear father". A few years ago I heard a very strong Christian, a church leader, begin her prayer with "Dear Daddy". I felt very uncomfortable with this, totally against the way I had been brought up and feeling this was being disrespectful. Yet, in Scripture we are told that through faith we may each one of us call Him "Abba" which as we said in English is "daddy".
Three places in the New Testament, God the Father is referred to as "Abba". Mark 14:36 when Jesus was pouring out His heart to the Father, sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, His cry was to "Abba". The verse says "Abba, Father" or "Father, my Father". To put it even plainer as to the Hebrew and Aramaic interpretation, He was saying "Daddy, my very own daddy."
In Romans 8:14, 15 it is telling us that the believer is a 'son' (or daughter) of God, and we can cry "Abba, Father'. Then in Galations 4:6 it says we have the Spirit of Jesus to confirm that we are sons and daughters, by crying out for us "Abba, Father".
How can we have such a close association with God that we can call Him Father, or Daddy? We become God's children by placing our trust in Jesus Christ as Lord. God receives us into His family and our sins are forgiven. When our 'Daddy' looks at us, He sees us as a pure and forgiven child because of what Jesus did on Calvary.
I may never feel the freedom to actually talk to God as my "Daddy" (He will always be thought of as 'Father' or 'Abba, Father' by me), but I will never criticize anyone who feels this freedom to do so. Our God is a loving compassionate Father, and because of Jesus going to the Cross and paying the debt of sin, we who have put our trust in Him, Jesus, now have the freedom to enter the Throne Room of God and cry out to Him "Abba, Father".
My Prayer: Father, my Father, I thank You for the gift of becoming Your child. I thank You for being my refuge and providing all my needs. May I always glorify You and may others see me as Your child. I would like to hear "she has her Father's eyes", and may my eyes be a reflection of your love and image. Amen
The Hebrew word of 'Ab', or Aramaic 'Abba' means Daddy or Papa. This eventually came to mean "dear father". A few years ago I heard a very strong Christian, a church leader, begin her prayer with "Dear Daddy". I felt very uncomfortable with this, totally against the way I had been brought up and feeling this was being disrespectful. Yet, in Scripture we are told that through faith we may each one of us call Him "Abba" which as we said in English is "daddy".
Three places in the New Testament, God the Father is referred to as "Abba". Mark 14:36 when Jesus was pouring out His heart to the Father, sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, His cry was to "Abba". The verse says "Abba, Father" or "Father, my Father". To put it even plainer as to the Hebrew and Aramaic interpretation, He was saying "Daddy, my very own daddy."
In Romans 8:14, 15 it is telling us that the believer is a 'son' (or daughter) of God, and we can cry "Abba, Father'. Then in Galations 4:6 it says we have the Spirit of Jesus to confirm that we are sons and daughters, by crying out for us "Abba, Father".
How can we have such a close association with God that we can call Him Father, or Daddy? We become God's children by placing our trust in Jesus Christ as Lord. God receives us into His family and our sins are forgiven. When our 'Daddy' looks at us, He sees us as a pure and forgiven child because of what Jesus did on Calvary.
I may never feel the freedom to actually talk to God as my "Daddy" (He will always be thought of as 'Father' or 'Abba, Father' by me), but I will never criticize anyone who feels this freedom to do so. Our God is a loving compassionate Father, and because of Jesus going to the Cross and paying the debt of sin, we who have put our trust in Him, Jesus, now have the freedom to enter the Throne Room of God and cry out to Him "Abba, Father".
My Prayer: Father, my Father, I thank You for the gift of becoming Your child. I thank You for being my refuge and providing all my needs. May I always glorify You and may others see me as Your child. I would like to hear "she has her Father's eyes", and may my eyes be a reflection of your love and image. Amen
Monday, March 21, 2011
E is for Elohim
In Genesis 1:1 it states: "In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth." The word ‘Elohim’ (e-lo-HEEM) is the plural of El (or possibly Eloah) and is the first name for God given in the Bible. He is God, our Creator, and the Creator of all.
The name Elohim is used more than 2500 times in the Hebrew Bible, and it is used 32 times in the very first chapter of Genesis. The fact that it is a plural word is not because it indicates many gods, but to emphasize the majesty of the one true God. It also indicates the trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God in Three Persons.
This ancient name for God shows God is mighty with creative powers, as well as having total authority and sovereignty. Jesus of course, knew this name, and used a form of it when on the Cross, calling His Father "Eloi, Eloi…" (My God, My God)
Our God, Elohim, is creator of all heaven and earth, night and day, seas and land, animals and man. David gave praise to this and to the unchangeable nature of God in Psalm 102:25-27a:
"In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain,
They will all wear out like a garment,
Like clothing You will change them
And they will be discarded.
But You remain the same."
Elohim, My God, You are the Mighty One who made everything out of nothing by the breath of your mouth. Help me to know You more and more as my very own Creator, who made me and placed me on earth for a reason. I will magnify Your name forever. Amen
The name Elohim is used more than 2500 times in the Hebrew Bible, and it is used 32 times in the very first chapter of Genesis. The fact that it is a plural word is not because it indicates many gods, but to emphasize the majesty of the one true God. It also indicates the trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God in Three Persons.
This ancient name for God shows God is mighty with creative powers, as well as having total authority and sovereignty. Jesus of course, knew this name, and used a form of it when on the Cross, calling His Father "Eloi, Eloi…" (My God, My God)
Our God, Elohim, is creator of all heaven and earth, night and day, seas and land, animals and man. David gave praise to this and to the unchangeable nature of God in Psalm 102:25-27a:
"In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain,
They will all wear out like a garment,
Like clothing You will change them
And they will be discarded.
But You remain the same."
Elohim, My God, You are the Mighty One who made everything out of nothing by the breath of your mouth. Help me to know You more and more as my very own Creator, who made me and placed me on earth for a reason. I will magnify Your name forever. Amen
Monday, March 14, 2011
D is for Deliverer
In the New World Dictionary, the #1 explanation of what ‘deliver’ or deliverer means: "to set free or save from evil, danger, or restraint; liberate (delivered from bondage.)." In Romans 11:26 Paul wrote "And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob". Matthew 6:13 in the Lord’s Prayer states: "…but Deliver us from evil…" A favorite of mine is Psalm 18:2 "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust."
From these verses we see that it was in God’s plan to be our Deliverer. To help understand the word even better, we need to take a short look at the past. The whole history of the Jewish people is really a dramatic one. They have had a history of suffering, slavery, and pain. In Egypt they were in slavery, so in the desert, and even after they conquered Palestine. The very small period of independence was during the time of David and Solomon. After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two parts, Judea in the south and Israel to the North. In about 600 BC Jerusalem was destroyed and the people carried into captivity. Israel and Judea were wiped out as a political power and did not rise again until 1947. All the time those two kingdoms were looking for a Deliverer.
All of the history of humanity has been a struggle, and humanity as a whole has been looking for an ideal, for a Deliverer. No man is going to meet the needs of humanity, save one, and He is the one the prophets spoke about who would crush the seed of the serpent. These prophets were to prepare the way to the only Deliverer, and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus was sent to earth to give Himself for the sins of all mankind, to rescue us from the power of the present evil age—a world ruled by Satan and filled with cruelty, temptation, tragedy and deception. Jesus came to be the Deliverer.
Jesus is our Deliverer if we will put our trust in Him, accept that He paid the price and let Him into our hearts. This doesn’t immediately remove us from this world of sin, but we are no longer enslaved to it; we are delivered from the power of sin with Jesus life in us. Then when we die, we know that we will be delivered from Satan’s clutches and be with the Lord Jesus, our Deliverer, in heaven for eternity.
My Deliverer
You rescued me
From all that held me captive
My Deliverer
You set me free
Now I’m alive and can live
So every moment I will give you praise
My Deliverer!
--Mandisa
From these verses we see that it was in God’s plan to be our Deliverer. To help understand the word even better, we need to take a short look at the past. The whole history of the Jewish people is really a dramatic one. They have had a history of suffering, slavery, and pain. In Egypt they were in slavery, so in the desert, and even after they conquered Palestine. The very small period of independence was during the time of David and Solomon. After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two parts, Judea in the south and Israel to the North. In about 600 BC Jerusalem was destroyed and the people carried into captivity. Israel and Judea were wiped out as a political power and did not rise again until 1947. All the time those two kingdoms were looking for a Deliverer.
All of the history of humanity has been a struggle, and humanity as a whole has been looking for an ideal, for a Deliverer. No man is going to meet the needs of humanity, save one, and He is the one the prophets spoke about who would crush the seed of the serpent. These prophets were to prepare the way to the only Deliverer, and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus was sent to earth to give Himself for the sins of all mankind, to rescue us from the power of the present evil age—a world ruled by Satan and filled with cruelty, temptation, tragedy and deception. Jesus came to be the Deliverer.
Jesus is our Deliverer if we will put our trust in Him, accept that He paid the price and let Him into our hearts. This doesn’t immediately remove us from this world of sin, but we are no longer enslaved to it; we are delivered from the power of sin with Jesus life in us. Then when we die, we know that we will be delivered from Satan’s clutches and be with the Lord Jesus, our Deliverer, in heaven for eternity.
My Deliverer
You rescued me
From all that held me captive
My Deliverer
You set me free
Now I’m alive and can live
So every moment I will give you praise
My Deliverer!
--Mandisa
Monday, March 7, 2011
C is for Christ
Most of us are familiar with the name "Christ", usually used as part of the personal name of Jesus Christ. Even the non-believer is heard to use it as an expletive. How it came to be that, I have never understood other than another way of Satan endeavoring to turn man’s thoughts away from Christ as our Redeemer.
According the Wikipedia, the Greek word of "khristos" means "anointed one", and is a translation of the Hebrew word "Masiah" translated into English as Messiah. Both the words of Christ and Messiah mean, "anointed one". In the Old Testament when the promised one, the Messiah to come, was referred to, He was referred to as "The anointed one". The New Testament identified Jesus as Christ, the "Anointed One" 530 times. Jesus was not anointed with oil, but He was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism.
In Biblical times oil was used for many things. It was also used for sacred purposes such as Israel’s high priests when taking that office. Some of Israel’s kings, especially from the line of David, were anointed by pouring the oil on the head in a circle to form a crown.
In Luke 9:20 Jesus asked Peter "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered "You are ‘The Christ of God’. In Matthew 16:16 he was quoted as saying "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God". He was admitting that Jesus was the Messiah, the Anointed One from God.
Acts 2:36 states "Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (our anointed one)."
Christ, God’s ‘Anointed One’ finished the job He came to do. Halleluia, what a Saviour! Amen
According the Wikipedia, the Greek word of "khristos" means "anointed one", and is a translation of the Hebrew word "Masiah" translated into English as Messiah. Both the words of Christ and Messiah mean, "anointed one". In the Old Testament when the promised one, the Messiah to come, was referred to, He was referred to as "The anointed one". The New Testament identified Jesus as Christ, the "Anointed One" 530 times. Jesus was not anointed with oil, but He was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism.
In Biblical times oil was used for many things. It was also used for sacred purposes such as Israel’s high priests when taking that office. Some of Israel’s kings, especially from the line of David, were anointed by pouring the oil on the head in a circle to form a crown.
In Luke 9:20 Jesus asked Peter "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered "You are ‘The Christ of God’. In Matthew 16:16 he was quoted as saying "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God". He was admitting that Jesus was the Messiah, the Anointed One from God.
Acts 2:36 states "Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (our anointed one)."
Hymns of Praise then let us sing
Unto Christ, our heavenly King
Who endured the Cross and grave
Sinners to redeem and save.
Unto Christ, our heavenly King
Who endured the Cross and grave
Sinners to redeem and save.
Christ, God’s ‘Anointed One’ finished the job He came to do. Halleluia, what a Saviour! Amen
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