Discover the Book - December 20, 2011

 

Immanuel: God with Us

Today all of us humans have a real problem—we are an endangered species in this Universe, we are very fragile with a very short life span, only God can help us--and God is unapproachable.  

On top of all that, we can't even see God and if we did, we would die. 

Moses once had a conversation with God over 3500 years ago, as one of the only humans to ever get to know God up close. Here is what the Lord told him— 

       Exodus 33:20 But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”

Paul in the New Testament reports the same facts about God. Paul’s record is-- 

       I Timothy 1:17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

        I Timothy 6:13-16 “I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate (dunastes 'power’), the King of kings and Lord of lords,16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”

Those verses should give all of us in this age of casual familiarity with God, a reason to pause.  

THE UNAPPROACHABLENESS OF GOD

Yes, God is our loving and gracious Heavenly Father—but He eternally dwells in unapproachable light. That means that God transcends us and is totally beyond us.  

In Theology proper a Latin term is used to capture this reality; God is defined as Deus absconditus, which translates as ‘the hidden God’.  

If God had not initiated revealing Himself to sinful and fallen mankind in the Garden of Eden and onward through the Old Testament; if God had not chosen to come out of His holy habitation—mankind would have hopelessly lived and died without knowledge of Him.  

Christmas is the time we celebrate God coming to be with us; no longer sending others, like prophets, priests, kings, and angels to give us His Word. Christmas is God Himself no longer sending--but coming.  

The greatest blessing of Immanuel is how Jesus is now available anywhere, anytime, and to anyone.  

Therefore, any sin can be forgiven; any doubt can be overcome; any sadness can be comforted; any disappointment can be stopped; any fearfulness can be arrested; any loneliness can be ended; and any defilement can be cleansed. 

So think about Christ being constantly available within you to help your fears, doubts, pains, and temptations. He is only a prayer away—so call upon Him!

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