From Prophecy to Reality: Celebrating Emmanuel

Christmas Special (revisited) 🌟Can you imagine a world where God is not only an abstract concept but a living presence among us? In this special Christmas edition of Whispers of Grace, I, Julie Colbeth, invite you to explore the incredible reality of "Emmanuel," which means "God with us." Our journey together begins with the prophecy of Isaiah and its fulfillment in the birth of Jesus, highlighting the intimate relationship God seeks with humanity. Through the beloved hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," we trace the earnest plea for divine closeness and celebrate the joyous truth that God walks among us. This episode reflects on the broken bond in the Garden of Eden and the ultimate act of love that seeks to restore that sacred connection.

Turning the spotlight on the doctrine of kenosis, we ponder Jesus's remarkable 'emptying' of divine attributes to fully embrace the human experience. By stepping into our world, Christ shared in our trials and tribulations, from poverty to betrayal, offering us a divine understanding of our struggles. We also reflect on the incredible courage of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she faced cultural challenges in her pivotal role. Through these reflections, listeners are encouraged to find solace in the peace and love that Christ, our Emmanuel, offers, even amidst the holiday hustle. Join us to rediscover the heart of Christmas, embrace the grace and love whispered by Christ, and celebrate the magnificent fusion of divinity and humanity in Jesus.

Chapters

• 0:19 God With Us
• 10:32 Divine Sacrifice
• 22:31 Emmanuel

Transcript

Julie: 0:19

Kia ora, and welcome to Whispers of Grace, a place for women to be encouraged by God's Holy Word. I'm your host, julie Colbeth, and I am overjoyed to dig into the Bible with you today. Hello everyone, merry Christmas and welcome back to Whispers of Grace. I couldn't let the Christmas season go by without doing a Christmas special, so today we are going to be talking about Emmanuel. Every Christmas that goes by, I try and look for a new perspective or a new concept to ponder. Just something fresh to think about helps me keep my focus on the Lord and not get swept up so much in the season. So every time that I was pregnant during Christmas, I really thought a whole lot about Mary and what her experience would have been like. And this year the thing that really stuck out to me, that the Lord kept whispering to my heart, is this concept of with that, god came to be with us, and that's what Emmanuel means God with us. So one of my favorite Christmas songs is O Come, o Come, emmanuel. It says O come, o come, emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here. That mourns in lonely exile here until the son of God appears. Another verse says O come thou day, spring from on high and cause thy light on us to rise, disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice, rejoice, emmanuel shall come to thee, o Israel. And I love this song because it begins as a plea O come, emmanuel. They are pleading for Jesus to come, be God with us, ransom the captives, but it encourages us to rejoice because he has come to us. So where did this name Emmanuel come from? Anyway, it actually comes from our prophecy about the Messiah, from the book of Isaiah that says therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call his name Emmanuel. And, like I said, emmanuel means God with us. He is not a God that is far removed from us. He is not a God that holds us at arm's length like a naughty child which we can be but he is God with us. He is the God who abides with us. He remains, he stays alongside us always. He's with us, step for step, breath for breath and thought for thought. He is the God who remains. Even when we are not faithful, he remains faithful.

Julie: 3:27

Now, this intimacy. It needed to be redeemed from the curse of sin. We needed restoration of our broken relationship with him, and this is why he came. Jesus came to restore the fellowship that we lost in the Garden of Eden. Remember how sin came in and it destroyed everything Our perfect life with God that he created in the garden. Sin destroyed everything. He created us to be with him always, but of course, that lie that the serpent crafted was so smart because it caused Adam and Eve to question the goodness of God and the love of God.

Julie: 4:09

They weren't sure that they knew his character. After Satan sowed those thoughts of deceit into their minds, he clouded their minds about God's true identity and he confused his intents toward them. This is what Satan still looks to do today to confuse us about God's true identity and his intent towards us, to make us question his goodness and his love. Because when he did that, that mental rift, it began a process of severing their trust and their intimacy with God all the way back in the garden and is carried all the way with us today. They believed the lie, adam and Eve. They were sucked in and their relationship with God was fractured because of it. They settled for something less than God intended and they brought unimaginable pain to themselves and to the rest of humanity. Because of this lost relationship and the withness, the togetherness, that intimacy, it was broken and fractured. The communion that God wanted with them was broken.

Julie: 5:19

Now, this is the truth of our history. This is the truth of where we're at and where it began. And it's so important to think about this and to remember why Jesus had to come at all. And it's because our communion with him was broken and only the life and sacrifice of the Holy Lamb of God could atone for that giant chasm that opened up this gaping hole that was now between us and God. But it came at such a great cost. Now God would have to come and die. What a thought like that's the craziest thing to ponder that God now had to come and die to fix what we broke. Like. What a concept. That's crazy. And it's so good to think about it at Christmas time. And it blows my mind and it humbles me so much when I really take just a minute to think about these things.

Julie: 6:18

Because the omnipotent, the omnipresent and the omniscient God, he allowed a portion of the godhead to be severed from the rest just to win back his broken and rebellious children, this god that is all powerful, that can be everywhere at once, that knows everything. The creator of the universe allowed himself to experience pain and loss so that he could win back us his broken and rebellious children. Colossians 2.9 tells us that all the fullness of the Godhead came to reside in human flesh. That is just the most wild thought to be the God-man, 100% God and 100% man, something that we don't understand. How can you be 100% God and 100% man?

Julie: 7:15

But Jesus did the most unexpected fusion of all times. Can you imagine connecting this pure, perfect and holy God with this fragile, vulnerable humans? It is something that the prophets foretold of the patriarchs. They hoped for it, but now we get to live looking back on this divine, amazing miracle, the dichotomy of omnipotence, all powerful God wrapped in the fragile frame of human flesh. What an incredible thing. The all powerful one now become weak and vulnerable as a little child, as an infant can't even feed himself. That is incredible. Like do we grasp the significance of this? I know I don't think about it nearly enough. The sacrifice of our God. He put his deity on the shelf and willingly subjected himself to astounding vulnerability just for us. He was a tiny baby, placed in a feeding trough with a poor, first-time teenage mother who was covered in scandal. That's how his life started and he was God, the one who created the universe.

Julie: 8:37

Now skeptics will say that Jesus never actually claimed to be God, but he claimed his deity in so many ways. You just need to read your Bible and pay attention and you'll see it everywhere. But Colossians 2 tells us that all of the divine substance is in Jesus. He was completely God and this is why Jesus would forgive sins Because only God can forgive sins, which is why every time he told someone that their sins were forgiven, the Pharisees and the religious leaders freaked out, because they knew only God can forgive sins. And here he is boldly claiming to forgive the sins of people. So they knew that he was claiming to be God. He also called himself the I Am, which is the covenant name of God which we've talked about on previous episodes before. So the religious leaders of Jesus's day knew exactly what he was claiming, which is why they kept seeking to kill him and discredit him. But just think about how fantastic this reality is Jesus as the God-man. It is so much comfort and hope because it means that God himself came to earth. A prophet or a sage, it wouldn't do for the redemption of humanity. It had to be the God man. It needed to be God himself, come to claim his lost possession, his beloved, his bride. And this reminds me of Philippians, chapter 2.

Julie: 10:06

Paul explains a bit more about the emptying of Christ. Now this is a doctrine known as kenosis. Now, don't zone out if this all sounds deeply theological. It is, but it's not confusing and it's definitely swimming at the deep end of the pool a little bit. But theologians, they often use really big words to describe really simple concepts. So just stick with me for a minute because I'm taking us someplace and thinking about this.

Julie: 10:32

So the doctrine of kenosis essentially means the emptying of Christ. It's found in Philippians, chapter 2, and it just tells us that in order for God to walk in human flesh, he needed to put certain qualities on the shelf, so to speak. So, for example, his omnipresence, his ability to be everywhere at once. He couldn't do this as Jesus because he was bound to a human body and a human body can only be in one place at one time. So that's just one example of how he took one of his divine attributes and willingly kind of put it on the shelf in order to become a man. There are other things. If this is interesting to you, please study it. All of the divine attributes that God willingly put on the shelf so that he could draw us near. He denied those things in himself for us. All right, so I'll read to you this little section that I'm talking about, about the kenosis of Christ. Here it's in Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5 to 11. I'm going to read it in the New Living Translation, just because it kind of breaks it down and explains it well.

Julie: 11:43

For though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. So here's that emptying right. So even though he was equal with God, he didn't cling to that equality. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges. He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Therefore, god elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name, above all other names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So here in Philippians, it tells us that that he gave up his privileges. He chose to become a slave, a simple servant, vulnerable and able to be bruised and harmed, just so that he could be with us, to redeem us, to offer humanity a way back to him from this broken world.

Julie: 13:03

Now, jesus didn't empty himself of his deity, but he emptied himself of his glory, his glamour, so to speak, so he could be in our presence. It's kind of like when you speak to a child and you get down on one knee so they can look you in the face and you make your sentences really simple and you show them a lot of time and patience. It's that kind of idea and that he is God. But he stooped down to speak love to us. And this Jesus is God. Come to find you because you are his lost sheep and the incarnate God is coming to save you. This is our Emmanuel. Oh come, oh come, emmanuel, and ransom us. We are captives. This is our savior. He has come with freedom in his wings through his sufferings.

Julie: 14:01

Now, when Jesus came at Christmas, he didn't come with the sword in his hands. He came humble, to save, to correct the things that we broke. Jesus is truly and fully God and truly and fully human. That is something that we think about at Christmas, that we celebrate at Christmas, because the suffering that he bore made him like us. The book of Hebrews tells us that he is our high priest and he is acquainted with our sorrows. He came to know our sufferings, to know them by living them, by experiencing them, so that he could console us in all of our sufferings. Think about it, jesus. He knew poverty. He knew family and how difficult family can be. He knew betrayal and mockery. He knew friendship. He knew vulnerability and love, but he also knew torture and death. These are things that he walked through. Did you ever stop and consider like what the vibe of Jesus's family was? Think of it.

Julie: 15:13

His teenage mother, as I mentioned earlier, she lived in a shame and honor society that was the time that she grew up in. So everything was about bringing honor to your family or bringing shame to your family, and it was patriarchal. So men were the leaders and she was just a teenage woman that was betrothed to a man that got pregnant. She was a teenager that was pregnant out of wedlock, and everyone in town knew All the people that knew her and her family and Joseph. Everyone knew that Mary was pregnant before she was married, so that brought an incredible amount of shame to herself, to Joseph, to her family. I don't know what Mary's family did with her after they found this out. Did they reject her? Did they distance themselves from her? That's very common in the time that she grew up in her. That's very common in the time that she grew up in so Jesus.

Julie: 16:07

He was probably gossiped about from the day of his birth. He was always thought of as poor and disrespected by some people. He was considered proof of his mother's shame. Can you imagine, our savior, the amazing things that he walked through? He knows what it's like to have people talking bad behind his back. He knows what it's like to have people saying lies about him and not understanding his situation. But he walked through this. He walked through these broken situations so that if we are broken and when we suffer, when we're covered with shame, then we can come to him. And Christmas is all about that. He clothed himself in humanity so that he could enter into our experience. And Christmas is when we celebrate that, when we celebrate the intimacy that he offers us in that manger God with us. It means relationship. The vulnerability that he had on himself was just so we could have relationship with him. That's so beautiful. Think of the sacrifices that you have made for a really good friend or for a family member or for love, the sacrifices that we make. This is the sacrifice that he made and I know lots of us like.

Julie: 17:30

We like to put our best on for Christmas and stuff in all the holiday feels. I'm very much included in that the Christmas cookies, the gingerbread, houses, the presents, the parties, all the new dresses and the photos and the food and the feels just all the Christmas things. We love the Christmas spirit and the holiday. But it's so easy to lose the heart of Christmas and I've heard so many messages on this very thing. But I need them every year because I need to be reminded that the goal is him. He is our prize, he is our sacrificial, suffering savior. Don't lose this miracle in the hype of the season. Are you being with him? Because he gave everything to be with you and truly that is all that we need to celebrate a genuine Christmas, to have a successful season. It's not about the tree or the lights, or the holiday, or the food, or the people or the places or the things. It's about the relationship. A genuine Christmas means time with Jesus. Remembering that that is why he opened the door was to be with Jesus you.

Julie: 18:53

Back in the book of Philippians, I love that Paul encourages people of this exact thing. Philippians 3, verse 7 through 10, says this but whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Now think of this in the light of Christmas, with all the things that I just mentioned and, as I'm reading through this, think about that. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings, being like him even in his death.

Julie: 20:03

Jesus came down, he stepped into our skin, he lived amongst us, he saw the pain that sin had caused. And he came for you. He wants you. You are his pearl of great price. You are his beloved bride. You are his prize and his joy. And Christmas is supposed to remind us of that sacrifice, of how precious our relationship is with him, of how important it is. Don't allow anything to block your relationship with him. Don't get too busy or distracted. To take time to ponder the great sacrifice of this God-man. Think about what it cost him to be born in that humble stable 2,000 years ago, to a terrified couple kneeling in the hay and praying for divine guidance. See him there, stripped of his glory, bound to a tiny little body. Divinity wrapped in flesh. What a savior, what a friend. And he wants you just as you are. What a friend. And he wants you just as you are. You don't need to have it all together on Christmas to be loved and accepted by Christ. He came for the broken, he came for the mess, he came for you. So if you feel like this year you are just struggling under a weight of all of these ideals that you've set up for yourself, let them all fall away and remind yourself why we do all of this, or at least why we should, because it gets so lost and all the glitz and glamour we forget that there's a humble child sleeping in a manger who gave his life to meet your needs, to bind you to him forever, to make a way for that relationship to be mended. This is our God, this is our savior. I encourage you, remind yourself, encourage your heart when you forget.

Julie: 22:10

There's a song that I've loved the past couple of years. It's kind of a play on come all you faithful, except it says oh, come all you unfaithful. I'm going to read the lyrics just as we wrap up here, to encourage your heart. I know every time I hear it it encourages me. It says oh, come all you unfaithful.

Julie: 22:31

Come weak and unstable. Know that you are not alone. O come barren and waiting ones, weary of praying. Come See what your God has done. Christ is born for you. O come bitter and broken. Come with fears, unspoken. Come taste of his perfect love. Come with fears, unspoken. Come taste of his perfect love. O come guilty and hiding ones. There is no need to run. See what our God has done.

Julie: 23:04

Christ is born. Christ is born for you. He's the lamb who was given slain for our pardon. His promise is peace for those who believe. He's the lamb who was given slain for our pardon. His promise is peace for those who believe. He's the lamb who was given slain for our pardon. His promise is peace for those who believe. So come, though you have nothing, come, he is the offering. Come, see what your God has done. Christ is born. Christ is born for you.

Julie: 23:38

What a beautiful song, because it reminds us that Christmas is about Jesus coming to you. He is our Emmanuel, god with us. Not God removed from us or apart from us, but God with us. He so desires to draw you to himself, to remind you of his great love and sacrifice poured out for you. Don't be distracted by all the mess of Christmas, but come back to the heart of it and be encouraged that Christ has so much to say as you kneel by that manger. He wants to whisper grace to you. So, as we move forward in this Christmas season, I pray that you would take every opportunity to quiet yourself down and ponder the God-man wrapped in flesh, as a little baby in a manger.