Emmanuel— God with Us

Christmas in July (A Short Biblical Theology of the Presence of God with his People)

If most Christians were honest, when we hear the word Emmanuel we think of Christmas. We think of J.M. Neale's 1851 hymn, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." I absolutely love this hymn. It is actually an English adaptation of an ancient hymn sung in the early church. The beloved Advent hymn traces its roots to the "O Antiphons"—a series of seven short chants sung during Vespers (evening prayer) in the final seven days of Advent (December 17–23) that date back to as early as the 5th century. Each antiphon begins with "O" and a title for the coming Messiah, drawn from Old Testament prophecy. In the 12th century, these antiphons were paraphrased into Latin poetic form as "Veni, Veni, Emmanuel," which became the basis for Neale's English translation that captured both the poetic beauty and theological depth of the original.

I am writing this in the dog days of summer, publishing this on the tail end of July, honestly so I can use the "Christmas in July" subtitle. Not just because I think we need to remember Christmas in this season, but because I want to remember and remind God's people of the beautiful truth that the entire Bible is proclaiming to us about God being with his people.

The Garden Emmanuel

In the Garden it is said that Adam and Eve walked with God. They were present with their maker. They were able to worship in deep, close, and personal fellowship with their Creator. God created them to worship him in his presence. Yet their sin separated them and all of their offspring. We have been cast out of the garden. Yet God did not abandon us to death and loneliness in this moment. From the moment of the fall, the entire Bible has been telling a story of his pursuit of bringing his people back to his presence. Because our sin has marred us and made being in his presence deadly to us, he made a way.

The Wilderness Emmanuel

In the wilderness, he gave Moses and the nation of Israel the tabernacle. His spirit dwelt with them. He came down in a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. He spoke with Moses face to face. He set up the offerings as a way to symbolize their sins being cleansed so that a people could be in his presence.

In the days of David, the tabernacle was brought to its high holy hill. It was to dwell in the capital city of Jerusalem. His son Solomon would build the temple. God would have a people, a place, and the presence of God. In the temple and in the tabernacle there were images reflecting the garden of Eden—God bringing them back to himself.

God Departs From Us

Yet this presence was not permanent and not the final and full fulfillment. The temple was God with them. Yet it is said by Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 10:18–19 (ESV): "Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them."

Because of their great sin and rejection of the Lord and his law, the spirit of God departed. And the nation was taken into exile; the temple was destroyed. Yet the promise was made that a new covenant would be made, that a greater temple would be built.

Rebuilt Emmanuel

Yet after they returned, the temple that was rebuilt left them with a sense of longing.

Ezra 3:12 (ESV): "But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid..."

The temple was rebuilt but not to its former glory. Between the time of Ezra and Herod the Great, we see the temple go through a great many things. Under the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the temple was desecrated. Sacrifices to Zeus were offered on the altar. During the Maccabean period they regained control of the temple. Then the Romans came and conquered about sixty years before Jesus came. Herod the Great was installed as a vassal king. Herod was not from the line of David but instead was an Idumean, a descendant of Esau—a false king on a false throne. During this time he instructed them to build a lavish reconstruction of the temple.

Jesus the Emmanuel

John 1:14 (ESV): "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."

The Greek word eskēnōsen translated as "dwelt among us" literally means to place his tent in our presence. Jesus, the Word of God of whom John 1:1-3 declares was with God and was God, came and dwelt among his people.

John 2:19–21 (ESV): "Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' The Jews then said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?' But he was speaking about the temple of his body."

Jesus proclaimed himself to be the temple—to be the true presence of God amongst his people. He came and made the full and final offering for sins. He died upon the cross as the lamb of God who takes away the world's sins. He came to bring God's presence not just where he was. As he said in John 4, he came to make a way so that those who worship will not worship on this hill or that hill but will worship in Spirit and Truth:

John 4:23-24 (ESV): "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

By his sacrifice and resurrection, Jesus made the final offering for sin. The spotless lamb without sin was placed upon a cross. The offering was accepted by God, and he was raised, having defeated sin and its sting, death.

Emmanuel to the Nations

Jesus in his final commission to the church told them that the Spirit of God would come upon them and they would be his witnesses, in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The spirit of God would no longer be limited by the temple or even just in the presence of Jesus, but it would fill the whole earth through the work of the Spirit in the church. This work began in Acts as the diaspora gathered for Pentecost and the Spirit of God was poured out when Peter preached the risen Christ.

This continued as God called men like Paul, Silas, Barnabas, Timothy, Luke, and others to go and proclaim the truth of God among the gentiles. Paul made clear that we as believers through the Spirit are now the temple of God.

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 (ESV) – Corporate temple: "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."

2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV): "What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'"

Ephesians 2:19–22 (ESV): "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."

Heavenly Emmanuel in the Temple

While we are the temple on earth, the scriptures make plain that the true temple is in heaven.

Hebrews 8:1–5 (ESV): "Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, 'See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.'"

By the Spirit we are united with Christ in the heavenly places. By the Spirit we have access to go boldly before the throne of God because we have an intercessor in this heavenly temple. When we attend church, the church is miraculously lifted spiritually up to heaven.

Our New Eden Emmanuel

This is not the full and final state of believers. Light has broken in and we now with unveiled faces have access to God. But we have access in this fallen and broken world. The promise is clear that one day heaven and earth will be reunited and God will be present with his people in an even fuller and greater way. We will have something better than the garden of Eden. We will have Emmanuel.

Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV): "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'"

Revelation 22:3-5 (ESV): "No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever."

You see, the whole point is this, as John Piper puts it: God is the gospel. In the gospel, we have the message that Jesus our Emmanuel will be with us both now in our suffering and pain, and for all of eternity in bliss. We celebrate our Emmanuel because it is the fulfillment of the fullest of longings within our soul. As believers we have access now. This gives us the peace of his presence even in persecution. As believers though, we have the promise that this peace will expand into paradise. No matter what you are dealing with right now, you can have the peace and the promise of Emmanuel—God with us.

What a glorious truth! Emmanuel, God with us.