Immanuel - God With Us

Well, if you would take your Bible this morning, turn with me to two places. Turn with me to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. And I want you to mark that place in your Bible. We'll start a little later in verse 6. We'll go down to verse 11. And then I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 1, which is where we were last Sunday morning. So Philippians chapter 2 starting in verse 6, mark that place and then turn over to Matthew 1. Now while you're turning to those two places of Scripture, I will remind you of last week's message.

We had our first of three Christmas messages and we started off in Matthew 7, excuse me, Matthew 1, verses 1 through 17. Now we studied a few individuals from the genealogy of Christ. We looked at two great men out of verse 1. We looked at Abraham and then we looked at King David and then second, we looked at four outcast women out of verses 3 through 6. And then third, we looked at a simple couple out of verse 16. Excuse me, verse 16. And the title of the message was a genealogy of God's grace. Now I want to challenge you to make sure you remember the three-pronged challenge I gave you out of this message.

I challenge you to pray certain prayers this Christmas season. Now if you missed that message last week, I want to encourage you to go back and listen to it on your own because out of that genealogy, we had a tremendous challenge for this Christmas season. I want to call your attention to Matthew 1, and I want to call your attention starting in verse 18. If you look at verse 18, you will see how the birth of Christ was announced to Joseph. Joseph discovers that his soon-to-be wife was with child. This is before they were married, but after they were betrothed in marriage. Verse 19 tells us that Joseph planned to quietly put Mary away.

But starting in verse 20, we see that God had other plans. Now look at verse 20 with me. But when he had considered this, what was he considering? Putting away Mary because she was with child out of wedlock. "Behold, an angel, O Lord, appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, and she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. For it is he who will save his people from their sins." Now all this took place that was spoken of by the Lord through the prophet that it might be fulfilled saying.

Verse 23, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel." Now this verse, specifically this word Emmanuel, will be our launching pad this morning. What does the verse of the verse say? "Emmanuel," which translated means God with us. And then the remainder of that portion, that story, verse 24, "And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus." Now I said earlier, verse 23 will be our launching pad, but specifically this word Emmanuel.

Now this word Emmanuel is very familiar to us in the church today. We hear it in many of our Christmas songs, which we sing during the Christmas season. Of course we have just read it out of the scripture, so we know this is a Bible word. Now Emmanuel is a Hebrew word, and it means God with us. This word comes from the prophecy of Isaiah. I've read that earlier, but chapter 7, verse 14, this is a prophecy concerning the Messiah.

Isaiah says, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign, behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." This morning I want us to examine this word Emmanuel, which means God with us. Bible scholars call this the incarnation. Now as you become more and more studious in your own personal time, you will run across this word, this word incarnation. It is a theological term. The doctrine of the incarnation is taught all throughout the Bible. We learned about the incarnation way back at the beginning of our study in John. John chapter 1, verse 14, what does John say?

"And the word which was Christ became flesh and dwelt among us." And in the original language that word meant tabernacle. It meant he pitched a tent. Christ, the Son of God, put on flesh and dwelt among men. The doctrine of the incarnation simply teaches that the eternal Son of God became a man and was both fully God and fully man, possessing two distinct natures while being one person. That is what we see in this word Emmanuel in verse 23. Emmanuel, God with us. Now you see the title of the message is right out of the verse. Emmanuel, God with us.

To be honest with you in my study, I could not come up with a better title than what the Lord gives us out of verse 23. Now in our study of the incarnation, I want us to turn to Philippians and we're going to be in verses 2 through 11. Now these passages in Philippians are considered classic Pauline teaching on the incarnation. Let's look starting in verse 6. "Although he existed," this is Christ, "in the form of God did not consider or regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant or slave, and being made in the likeness of men.

And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Verse 9, "Therefore also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father." Now you see how we're going to divide these verses? It's very simple. It's very obvious if you study the verses. First of all, our first main truth is Christ humbled himself out of verse 6 through 8.

And then God exalted Christ, verses 9 through 11. Christ humbled himself and then God exalted Christ. So our first main truth, Christ humbled himself. Go back to the verses, verses 6 through 8. Who? "Although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself taking the form of a servant," a bond servant, some translation say, a slave, "and being made in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Now before we divide the verses, I want you to picture in your mind with me a flight of steps.

Now one of the homes I grew up in was a two-story home, and we had a flight of steps that led from the first floor to the second floor. Now here in these passages, we see Christ coming down, do we not? Now I do not mean to say that Christ walked down a flight of steps out of heaven onto earth. No, that's not what I'm saying. But we see Christ coming down in these verses. Now there are four observations we're going to make here, and we're going to see this ascending down by Christ. First of all, notice Jesus existed as God.

Go back to the beginning of verse 6, "who although he existed in the form of God." Now here Paul plainly states that Jesus is, was, and has been the eternal God. In the study of the original language here, Paul emphasizes Christ's nature, that Christ's nature is continual and never changing. We saw this back in our study of John in the very beginning. In John chapter 1 verse 1, what does the text say? In the beginning was the Word, and that is a capital W deity, God. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That was and is Christ. We see this truth taught in other places in the Scriptures. Colossians 1, 15 and 17.

Verse 15 says, "He," that's Christ, "is the image of the invisible God." And Colossians 17 says, "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." So in this small portion of verse 6, we see that Christ is, was, and always has been God. He is the never changing eternal God. Go back to the verse, "Who although he existed in the form of God." Then second, and here we'll start to see this humbling of Christ, we see Jesus humbled himself as a servant. With this we'll look at the second portion of verse 6 and the beginning of verse 7.

He did not regard equality with God, a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself taking the form of a bond servant. Now in this portion of verse 6, it seems as if Paul is playing word games. It's like he's talking in circles, but that's not the case. Now there are two key words here that must be understood. Now if you write in your Bible, you might note these words. The first key word is equality, and the second key word is grasp. Now this word equality meant something of the same quality, quantity, character, and number. And the word grasp here had two meanings in their day. The first meaning was something that was stolen or taken.

And the second meaning was something to be embraced or held onto. That's why the King James reads, "Thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Now we know that Jesus was equal with God, and Christ stated that fact all through the Scriptures. So what's Paul saying here? Christ had all the honor, all the rights, and all the privileges of full deity, and rightfully so because He is God. He chose not to hold onto that honor or even that position. He willingly laid aside, verse 7 states that He emptied Himself. That can be translated laid aside. He laid aside His privileges. So what did Christ do? He took on the form of a slave.

The word form here in the verse speaks of Christ assuming the true essence of a slave, not merely acting as a slave, but Jesus did more than take on the form of a slave because we will see Him continuing to humble Himself. Third, notice Jesus humbled Himself as a man. Look at the second part of verse 7, "And being made in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man." Here we see that Christ became fully man. He was not just God in the form of a man, but He became a man in every way except for sin. Here Paul uses the word appearance.

This speaks of those who saw Him, and many men saw Christ, and they saw Him as a man in every way except for sin. But Jesus humbled Himself as a slave, He humbled Himself as a man, fully man, and then we continue to see this humbling because fourth, Jesus humbled Himself to the cross. Look at the second portion of verse 8, "He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Here we see that Christ humbled Himself not only by becoming a slave, and not only by becoming a man, but in a criminal's death on a cross. He willingly died, which was a part of God's predetermined plan for His Son.

We hear this predetermined plan spoken of on the day of Pentecost when Peter is preaching. Acts 2 starting in verse 22 says, "Men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst as you yourselves know." Verse 23, "This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed." So what do we see? Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. So out of these verses, in summary, what do we see? Christ was and is the eternal God, the third person of the Trinity.

Christ humbled Himself by willingly laying down His place of honor and privilege, setting it aside to become a slave to the will of the Father. And so doing, He became a man in the flesh, although at all times still being fully God. And obeying the Father's predetermined will, He willingly went to the cross as the atoning sacrifice for sin. This is the incarnation, Emmanuel, God with us. I ran across a very simple definition. There are quite a few good ones if you have good study materials. I have a little book in my home. It's by Spurgeon, C.H. Spurgeon, the famous Baptist English preacher.

And in his Catechism, Question 21, "Pertaining to the Incarnation, this is how Spurgeon states it." Very easy to understand. And I quote, "Christ, the Son of God, became man by taking to Himself a true body," Hebrews 2.14, "and a reasonable soul," Matthew 26.38, Hebrews 4.15, "being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary and born of her," Luke 1.31.35, "yet without sin," Hebrews 7.26. So, what do we see here in these few verses? "Christ humbled Himself and came down." Let's move on. Notice our second major truth. God exalted Christ. Go back to the verse. There is a transition in verse 9. It's very obvious.

"Also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Now I want you to go back to this imagery in your mind, this flight of stairs. We've seen that Christ came down, came down from glory to earth. And now we see that God takes Him back up. God exalts Him. Look at verse 9 again. "Therefore also God highly exalted Him.

He left His place of honor in heaven and came down, but now He goes back up because of His perfect obedience." Anyways that God exalts Him out of these verses, first of all, notice, "God granted Him the name above all names." Look at verse 9. "Therefore also God highly exalted Him and bestowed or gave Him the name which is above every name." Here we see how God exalted Jesus by giving Him a name that is above all names. There is no name that can compare to the name of Jesus. He is the only Redeemer and Savior of man. His name stands alone with none that can compare. He is the only anointed Son of God.

I like how the Presbyterian Bible commentator Albert Barnes says, and I quote, "His rank, titles and dignity are above all others." We see Paul state this in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 20. Verse 20 and 21. Let me read the verse. "That He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places." Verse 21. "Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named not only in this age, but also in the one to come." So we see that God granted Him a name that is above all names. Then second notice, God granted Him authority in judgment. Look at verse 10.

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth." Here Paul is stating that under the authority of the name of Jesus, all creation that has intelligence will be subject to Christ and His judgment. Now remember, Jesus has been given a name which is above all names. And then here in verse 10, Paul groups all created beings that possess intelligence. I ran across a list by John MacArthur and I changed it up some. I altered it. But I think this will help us see right out of these verses what Paul is saying. First of all, those who were in heaven. Go back to the verse.

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who were in heaven and on earth." So first, those who were in heaven. This includes the angels in heaven and those who have been redeemed through Christ. We see this spoken of in Revelation 4 starting in verse 2 to verse 9 and then in Revelation 4, 10 and 11. So those who were in heaven, the angels and the redeemed will be under the authority of His judgment. And then second, those who are on earth, those who are in heaven and on earth, the verse reads. This would include the redeemed who were still on earth and those who were not redeemed on earth.

We see these spoken of in Romans 10 verse 9 and then in 2 Thessalonians 1, 7 through 9. So those who were on earth, whether redeemed or unredeemed, are under the judgment, His authority in judgment. And then third, those who were under the earth. Go back to the verse. "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who were in heaven and on earth and under the earth." This includes demons. This includes lost in humanity that are in hell now. In 1 Peter 3 starting in verse 18 to verse 22 speaks of these individuals. So what do we see here? That it granted Jesus authority in judgment.

And all those who are created beings that possess intelligence will be subject to Christ's judgment. And then third, we see God granted Him authority over all. Look at verse 11. "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Here we see that all or every tongue shall confess Jesus as Lord. That name which is above all names in this word confess in the original means to affirm. It means to acknowledge. It means to agree with. Now who do they confess? What are they confessing? They are confessing that Jesus is Lord. The unredeemed on earth and in hell will confess His right to rule over them.

The demons who followed Lucifer in his rebellion against God will confess His right to rule over them. The redeemed who have been bought with His precious blood will confess His right to rule over them. Why? Because we see that God has granted Him all authority. So in verses 9 through 11, what do we see here? God the Father exalts Christ to a new and unique place. And you need to see this. Prior to the incarnation, Jesus was not in this unique position. Now after the incarnation, He is the one and the only God-man exalted by the Father with all authority and judgment and with a name that is above all names.

But notice the very end of verse 11. To the glory of God the Father. All of this was for the glory of God. So what are we seeing in these verses? Christ humbled Himself. Christ came down and humbled Himself even to the place of death as a criminal. But then verse 9 says God exalted and He has a place that is unique in glory even today. Now in concluding, dealing with the verses, I want to make application and I want to make application out of verse 5. Go back to the Philippians passage. You'll notice that verse 6 starts in mid-Sennis, does it not? But notice verse 5. Have this attitude in yourself.

We know Paul's writing to a group of Christians. He's writing to a church. What does he say? Have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus. Now what was Christ's attitude? We just discovered it. We learned Christ's attitude. He was a slave to God the Father. He humbled Himself and He was a slave to God's will and He perfectly obeyed God's will to the glory of the Father. And what is Paul saying here? Have this attitude in yourself which was found in Christ. Now just like last Sunday, I want to issue you a three-pronged challenge. Now last Sunday, I issued you a three-pronged prayer challenge.

Go back and look at your notes and go back and listen to that message so that you can pray that prayer challenge. But this morning, I have a three-pronged challenge out of this verse and these verses. First, I want to challenge us to examine our humble submission to Christ as a slave would submit to His master. Isn't that what we see in Christ? Laying aside His position, laying aside everything that He had in glory and humbling Himself as a slave, even as a man, yes even to death as a criminal. And I want to challenge us to examine our humble submission to Christ as a slave would willingly submit to a master.

Now there's only one way that this can happen. You'll never submit yourself to the Lordship of Christ unless you've been converted. Because if you're not converted, you're a rebel against God, you're a hater of God, even if you're religious, even if you do everything externally just right. We learn in John chapter 3 just how religious Nicodemus was and what did Jesus do?

He sidestepped Oliver's religious activity and He said, "You must be born again, born from above, born from God, born of the Spirit, and unless you have a new heart, unless you have a new nature, unless you become a new creation in Christ, the miracle of miracles, the new birth, you can never submit yourself as a slave to the master." But I want to challenge you to pray over. Are you possessing this same attitude? I want to ask you to examine your submission to Christ. And our second challenge is I want to challenge us to humbly submit to one another.

I want to challenge you to humbly submit yourself to the brothers, to the sisters, to each other in the Christ. Haven't we learned of this great love we should have for each other out of our studying John? Remember what Jesus said to those 11 disciples? They were meek and they were tender and they were confused and they had no strength of their own. And what does He say there in John 13 starting in verse 34? "A new commandment I give you." And what does He say? "That you love one another as I have loved you." And Jesus repeats this. What does He say in chapter 15 verse 12?

"This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you." And we must be challenged to humbly submit ourselves to the brothers and the sisters that God has put in our life. Did you know that we need each other? Did you know that there are people who need you? If you were born again, there are brothers and sisters who need you. And they might desperately need you. Did you know that you need other brothers and sisters in Christ?

Have you ever been to a place in your life where you desperately needed the body of Christ and you needed a brother and a sister and you needed Christians, true Christians, to come into your life and help you in your time of need and struggle? If you haven't been there, you will be soon. And I want to challenge you to humbly examine how you submit to each other brothers and sisters loving each other sacrificially like Christ loved the church. And then third, I want to challenge us to humbly submit to the work of the church. Yes, this church. If God's called you to be here, then I call you to humbly submit to the work of the church.

Isn't that what Christ did right here? He perfectly willingly submitted himself to the will of the father. And one of the most beautiful verses that illustrate that is found in John chapter four. We looked at that Wednesday night in our Bible study as Jesus journeyed into Samaria and he's dealing with that woman at the well. And what does he say in verse 34? My food is to do the will of the father who sent me and to complete his work. What was he saying? The will of the father is what nourishes me. The will of the father is what satisfies me. And look, the work of God today on this earth is the work of the church.

And I want to challenge us to examine our submission to kingdom work here on earth. So what is our three prong challenge? I challenge you to examine your humble submission to Christ as a slave would submit to a master lovingly and willingly. I challenge you to humbly examine how you submit to the brothers and sisters in Christ, how you sacrificially love them and expect them to love you in return. And then third, I challenge you to examine your submission to the work of the church. Go back to verse five. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ. Now I'm going to give you another picture as we begin to close.

Many of you know what bookends look like. I have a set of bookends in my office. My wife has bookends in some books and shelves in our den. But the first bookend is verse five, have this attitude in yourselves which also is in Christ. And then all the way at the end of verse 11, what does it say? To the glory of God the Father. If we have this attitude which we see in Christ, then our lives will produce glory for God. So what's the title of the message? A lot out of that one word. A lot out of verse 23 from Matthew chapter 1, Emmanuel God with us. Let's pray.

And then we'll have a song to conclude the message and then we will proceed into taking the supper.