Now we come to the second name, Emmanuel (1:23). The angels did not speak to Joseph or Mary of this name. Rather, Emmanuel is the name called by people who have had a certain amount of experience. Whenever you have some experience of Jesus, you will be able to say that He is God with you. Jesus is nothing less than God with us. This is our experience. God told us that His name is Jesus. But as we receive Him and experience Him, we say that Jesus is God with us. This is wonderful.
Often we turn to our mind and ask the question, "Is this Jesus the very God?" We may be confident that He is the Son of God, but we may not yet be assured that He is actually God Himself. When I was young, I was taught by some fundamental Christian teachers to be careful of saying directly that Jesus was God. I was taught that the Son of God was different from God Himself. Therefore, I was told not to say directly that Jesus was God. I was told that I must pray through Jesus to God. I received a teaching that suited the human concept. However, after much practice, the more I prayed, the more I realized that this Jesus was simply God with me. To argue by theory is one thing; to experience the fact is another thing. Quite often, Christians do not agree with their experience; instead, they agree with their concepts.
I believe that all Christians have this experience. Deep within, do you not have the sense that, according to your experience, Jesus is God? You do, but you dare not say this in doctrine. However, you should not consider Jesus as someone other than God. Jesus is nothing less than God Himself. He is not only the Son of God, but also God Himself. Some good writers have said that apart from Jesus we can never find God. God is with Jesus, and God is Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was not only with God, but the Word was God (John 1:1). This Word became flesh and was called Jesus.
When we experience Jesus, He is Emmanuel, God with us. We have heard that Jesus is our comfort, our rest, our peace, and our life. Jesus is so much to us. If we would experience Him, we would immediately say, "This is God! This is not God far away from me, or God in the heavens, but God with me." Whenever we experience Jesus in a certain way, we realize that Jesus is God with us. Jesus is our salvation. After we experience this salvation, we say, "This is God with us to be our salvation." Jesus is our patience. But when we experience Him as our patience, we say, "This patience is God with me." Jesus is the way and the truth, but when we experience Him as the way and the truth we say, "This way and this truth are just God with me." Hallelujah, Jesus is God with us! In our experience, He is Emmanuel.
Whenever we are gathered together into the name of Jesus, He is with us (Matt. 18:20). Once again, this is Emmanuel, God with us. The presence of Jesus in our meetings is actually God with us.
Jesus is with us all the days, even until the completion of the age (28:20, Gk.). "All the days" includes today. Do not forget about today. Many Christians think that Jesus is present all the days, except today. But Jesus is with us now, today!
Jesus is not only among us; He is in our spirit. Second Timothy 4:22 says, "The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit." This Jesus who is with our spirit is Emmanuel, God with us.