The Bride of Christ Lesson 4 (The Bridegroom: Immanuel, God with Us!!!)

Today we will begin looking at the fourth characteristic of the Bridegroom: God with us! 

As I have been studying and praying about what it means for God to be with us, I have heard three great messages at church about this very idea.  I received these messages as confirmation that this is the time for this lesson. We need to be more away today than ever before that God is with us!!!  Thank you, Pastor Tom, Nate and Eric, for your Holy Spirit anointed preaching!!! 

Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us]. (AMPC) 

Isaiah 7:14 “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” (TLB) 

“God with us,” is exquisite delight! “GOD with us”—all that “GOD,” means the Deity, the Infinite. 

Jehovah with us! This, this is worthy of the burst of midnight song when angels startled the shepherds with their carols, singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men.” This was worthy of the foresight of seers and Prophets, worthy of a new star in the heavens, worthy of the care which Inspiration has manifested to preserve the record. This, too, was worthy of the martyr deaths of Apostles and confessors who counted not their lives dear unto them for the sake of the Incarnate God!  

He who was born at Bethlehem is God, and “God with us.” God—there lies the Majesty! “God with us”—there lies the Mercy. God— there is Glory! “God with us”—there is Grace! God alone might well strike us with terror, but “God with us,” inspires us with hope and confidence!i 

What does “God with us” mean for us today? 

First, Jesus, the Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. 

In the Old Testament God’s presence was manifest with his people. 

For example, Exodus 13:21-22 describe the pillar of cloud that led the Hebrews by day and the pillar of fire that led them by night. 

Additionally, in 1 Kings 8:10-11 we read, And when the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. 

However, in the New Testament things changed. The Word became incarnate. John 1:14, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

Webster 1828 dictionary defines incarnation as: The act of assuming flesh, or of taking a human body and the nature of man; as the incarnation of the Son of God. 

The Word became flesh when Jesus was born as a Baby in the manger at Bethlehem. He had always existed as the Son of God with the Father in heaven, but now chose to come into the world in a human body. He dwelt among us. It was not just a short appearance, about which there might be some mistake or misunderstanding. God actually came to this earth and lived here as a Man among men. The word “dwelt” means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent.” His body was the tent in which He lived among men for thirty-three years.ii 

Second, Jesus, the Word, lives in us. 

Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  

Jesus came to be God with us by taking on the form of a baby, however, he did not stop there. He paid with his own life by his substitutionary atonement.  Substitutionary atonement simply put is Jesus dying in our place as a substitute for us. Romans 3:23 states, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Every person ever born has been born into sin through the fall.  We all deserve death. Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Jesus paid that price by giving up his life for our freedom.  Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:20 tells us that we were crucified with Christ. When Jesus died, he paid for our past, present, and future sins. When we confess Jesus as Lord, our sin history is erased, and we get a “do over” so to speak.   

This means the end of me as a sinner in God’s sight. It means the end of me as a person seeking to merit or earn salvation by my own efforts. It means the end of me as a child of Adam, as a man under the condemnation of the law, as my old, unregenerate self.iii 

2 Corinthians 6:16b, For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live in them and walk in them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” 

Where once God dwelt only among men, now, through salvation in Christ, “God with us” becomes “God in us”.  We now become the dwelling place of God.  We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. As we walk not according to the flesh (Romans 8:1) but walk in obedience and submission to God (2 John 1:6), we daily put off our old self and walk in the likeness of God, righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:22-24).  

Questions for reflection:        

1. In my daily life, do I recognize that God is with me?    

2. Am I striving to gain God’s approval or do I walk in faith, based on the substitutionary atonement of Christ, believing that what He says about me is true? I am redeemed! I am loved!  I am forgiven! I am free! 

3. Do I daily submit my ways to God and walk in His likeness?    

Note: All Scripture references are from the MEV unless otherwise specified.         

Works Cited:

i http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols19-21/chs1270.pdf

ii Believer's Bible Commentary Copyright © 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2016 by William MacDonald.

iii Believer's Bible Commentary Copyright © 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2016 by William MacDonald.