Emmanuel -- God With Us

by David A. DePra

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and

they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God

with us. (Matt. 1:23)

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin

shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

(Is. 7:14)

     One of the names given to Jesus -- in this case, long before He

was born -- was "Emmanuel." This name means, "God with us."

Thus, we see that right from the beginning, we are told that the One

who was to come would be GOD Incarnate.

     Today we have many people who deny that Jesus was God. In

fact, they deny that Jesus ever claimed to be God. We might

expect this from unbelievers. But unfortunately, many people who

call themselves ministers of God are now denying the deity of

Jesus Christ.

     Many of these people even say they are "Christian" ministers.

This is amazing. They preach out of a Bible which says Jesus is

God. They talk about Jesus, and He said He was God. But they

deny Jesus is God. So at some point the question is: Why bother

with the ministry? I mean, what is it that you stand for? You don't

believe the Bible. You deny the very definition and foundation of

Christianity. Quit being a hypocrite and find another line of work.

     The reality of it is, if you deny that Jesus Christ is God, you are

NOT a Christian. Why? Because the way you BECOME a Christian

is by seeing and embracing the Truth that Jesus is God. Seeing

Jesus is God is seeing His identity -- who He is. Conversion is not

possible otherwise.

     One argument which atheists and skeptics use against Christians

is to state that we cannot prove Jesus is God. But the question then

becomes, "What kind of proof would satisfy you?" The answer, of

course, would be NONE. They would simply deny that any proof

WAS proof. They have already denied the proofs of the

resurrection and their own conscience. They won't accept anything

else either.

     But the point is moot. I am absolutely unconcerned about being

able to "prove" anything about Christianity to anyone. That doesn't

mean I don't think the evidence is out there. It is. But this isn't about

winning an argument. It isn't about making sure someone knows

I'm not a fool. It isn't about defending the faith against people who

have already rejected it. It is really about defending the faith FOR

those who do believe -- or those who are seeking the Truth.

     Unless a person has received Christ, or wants to receive Him,

they will not receive teaching about Him. Unless a person has

repented as a needy sinner, and received His grace in Christ, they

will not truly embrace other Truth. The best they will do is be

either emotionally or intellectually entertained by Truth. Curious,

but not about to really grasp it.

     Jesus once said to the Pharisees, "He that is OF GOD, hears

God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are NOT of

God." (Jn. 8:47) These are the words of Emmanuel Himself. *