God's Presence with Us

By: Lauren Thomas 

One of the most famous Christmas verses is found in Isaiah and ascribes a name to Jesus: Immanuel. This verse is quoted in the New Testament by Matthew who adds the meaning of this name: God with us.

 

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:23 ESV

Through the Old Testament, we see that there were times when God’s presence rested among his people. When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, God’s presence dwelled with them in the tabernacle, the tent of worship. When the Israelites made camp, the tabernacle was literally at the center of their camp with all the tribes situated around it. God’s presence dwelled in the midst of his people. God later allowed his glory to fall on the magnificent temple that Solomon had built for him.

 

But the incarnation of Christ marked a new era for us to experience the presence of God. He is Immanuel: God with us.

 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

 

John 1:14 tells us that the Word, Jesus, came to dwell among us. But the original language puts it a little differently: the Word…tabernacled among us. This is an allusion to Exodus where God’s glory “tabernacled” in the midst of Israel. Then, it was God’s glory. But with the incarnation, it was God in flesh and blood, someone like us who could sympathize with our weakness (Hebrews 2:17; 4:15), someone whose compassion had hands and feet to go and touch our brokenness.

 

Could it be that we have something far greater now?

 

Between Jesus’s resurrection and ascension into Heaven, in Matthew 28:20, he told his disciples “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In John 14 and 16 he told his disciples of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would only come to them if he went away. Jesus is still Immanuel because we now have the Holy Spirit. Whereas incarnate Christ could only be with one person on Earth at any one time, the Holy Spirit can be with every believer at every moment. Immanuel ushered in a new era of God’s presence for us today: the omnipresent Spirit of God.

 

What a gift! The greatest present of Christmas is God’s presence with us!

 

Reflection:

If you have ever longed for Jesus to wrap you in his arms, how can you invite more of God’s Holy Spirit into your life? How can you become more aware and tuned in to his presence in your life? If God’s presence is a present to you, how can you open that gift this season?

Consider journaling about Jesus as Immanuel and what this means for you.