When the Apostles were persecuted, they rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41). Is this not wonderful? They even hazarded their lives for this name (Acts 15:26). Because Satan attacks the name of Jesus with all his evil power, we must learn to suffer for this name.
In Revelation 3:8 the Lord Jesus praised the church in Philadelphia because they did not deny His name. We should never deny the name of Jesus. We should deny every other name, but keep the name of Jesus. We must testify that we do not belong to any person or to any sect, but that we simply belong to Jesus. The name of Jesus is the only name we own.
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 (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 be with your spirit.” This Jesus who is with our spirit is Emmanuel, God with us.
We can never separate the Spirit from the presence of Jesus. The Spirit is simply the reality of Jesus’ presence (John 14:16-20). This presence is Emmanuel, God with us.
When we call on the name of Jesus, we receive the Spirit, who is the Person, the reality, and the realization of Jesus. First Corinthians 12:3 says, “No one can say, Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit.” Whenever we say “Lord Jesus,” we are in the Spirit and we receive the Spirit. We have all been under the influence of tradition, thinking that we must fast and pray before we can receive the Spirit. However, it is simple to receive the Spirit—just call on the name of Jesus.
According to Isaiah 8:7-8, the enemy may try to take over the land of Emmanuel. Do not think this word is only for the children of Israel. Today our spirit is the land of Emmanuel. Thus, we ourselves are the land of Emmanuel. The enemy, Satan, with all his army will do everything He can to take over this land of Emmanuel, that is, to take over our spirit and our being.
Isaiah 8:10 tells us that because God is with us, the enemy can never take over the land of Emmanuel. Although Satan has tried his best to take you over, you are still here. Perhaps during the past week Satan tried twenty-one times to take you over, but he failed every time. You are still here because of Emmanuel, because of God with us. This Emmanuel is Jesus. Today we may enjoy Jesus and experience Him in such a real way as our Emmanuel.