In the fullness of time, the God of Moses and Isaiah, the almighty Creator and our Creator, took the initiative and answered Isaiah’s prayer. Jesus of Nazareth is “Immanuel,” a Hebrew expression that literally means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23, ESV). The narrative goes like this. God the Father sent his only begotten Son, who is of one substance and nature with him, into the world to join the human race.
As the Nicene Creed summarizes, he “was incarnate (enfleshed) by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man.” The Son of God took human nature to himself and made it his own, likened to us in every respect except without sin.
He became one with us to live the obedient human life in our place, to take upon himself our sins, to die the death we deserved and to rise again bodily from the dead to obtain for us our own future bodily resurrection unto eternal life. Through the gospel, we here and now by faith have communion with our Maker, a joyful communion that will never end.
Believe the Good News and rejoice. We don’t have to undertake a futile quest in search for God. God took the initiative and came to us. Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of the Father who came to rebellious human creatures on earth to bring them fellowship with his Father and with himself (1 John 1:1-3).
Jesus of Nazareth is God with us and for us. Believe the Good News and rejoice because God took the initiative and came to us.
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