God is with us throughout the year

When we read the account of the birth of Jesus in Matt 1:18-25 we find a very bold and compelling statement. It is a prophetic fulfillment taken from the Old Testament book of Isaiah written well before the event. Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. This prophetic word written by the prophet Isaiah was confirmed and repeated in Matt 1:22-23 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Jesus made it very clear when He spoke to Phillip when He said If you have seen Me you have seen God. Col 1:15 He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. I Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh,

Justified in the Spirit,

Seen by angels,

Preached among the Gentiles,

Believed on in the world,

Received up in glory.

What does the statement God shared with us mean? It means that God Himself through the incomprehensible incarnation became a man, born of a virgin, laid in a feeding trough, in a stable designed for the habitation of animals. It was a most humble birth for the creator of the universe. He not only became a man, but He was a totally dependent baby, completely dependent upon His creation to sustain Him. He subjected Himself to the helplessness of infancy. Col 1:16-17 16 For by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things.

Leo Kruger is pastor of Valley Christian fellowship