I'm going to take this time for a scripture reading, so I'm going to ask that you turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2, we'll be reading verses 1 through 40. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there was in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. and this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at these things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying God and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow of about four score and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instance gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city, Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Our Heavenly Father, we do thank you for this Christmas morning to remind us of the blessed plan of redemption. We thank you for sending your son to become a man that he might live among us, sinful people, and Lord, offer himself as a holy and acceptable sacrifice to pay for our sin, and Lord, to grant us eternal life with you. And Father, I pray that you would give us grace this Christmas season, that we might shine the light of the gospel to others. Lord, may Christ be magnified throughout the world during this Christmas season. We pray that many would come to Christ as a result. And we pray that you would use this congregation to do so. And we thank you for the opportunity that is ours to fellowship together around your word. We just ask for your blessing on the ministry of song and the ministry of scripture to us. Prepare our hearts for it. Father, we just pray for Your blessing on this day and this holiday season. Watch over our people, protect us, and give us a blessed time. May we honor You and glorify You in all that we do, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, I commend you for being in the Lord's house on this special Lord's Day on Christmas Day. I think that communicates where your priorities are, it communicates what's important to you, and it communicates also that you know what this day is all about. And so we're going to be directing our attention now to the Lord and to the great message of the Christmas story. I want to invite you to open your Bible to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 1. Most of the time when we think of the Christmas season we will be immediately drawn to Luke's gospel and of course we have the scripture reading from Luke's account of the birth of Christ. What I want to do today though is focus our attention on some specific fact that's mentioned here in Matthew's gospel chapter 1 and this is before Christ was born. And so I want to draw this out to you and focus your attention on something very important here that we must understand when we think about the Lord Jesus Christ and who He is, that babe that was born in the manger that day, just who is He? And we want to consider from Matthew's Gospel. Follow along now as I read beginning in verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done. that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus." Let's pray together. Our Father, our hearts are so uplifted to you at this time of year as we celebrate the Christmas event. And we know, Lord, that Christmas is not about the commercialism of our day. It's not even about the giving and receiving of gifts, but it's about the greatest gift ever given. the sending of your son into this world to take on human flesh, to become a man, though remaining God, and to walk this earth, to mingle with fallen sinful people, to speak your truth, to heal many, but above all, to give his life a ransom for many. And it is true that our Lord, the Lord of glory, was born to die on that cross. Oh Lord, it just moves us to consider your marvelous plan of redemption that has unfolded in history in the fullness of time. You sent your Son to be born of a woman, a virgin woman. to be miraculously conceived and born in that womb and then born in that stable. And Lord, we pray that you will move us today as we ought to be moved, as we consider what Christmas really is all about. May the Lord Jesus be high and lifted up today May He be the center of our attention today. May He be glorified and magnified today, even in this hour. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We've sung some very familiar hymns this morning. And I want to just again draw your attention to hymn number 227 that we sang just a moment ago. And I want to focus on the questions that are asked in this hymn. These are very important questions. Who is he in yonder stall at whose feet the shepherds fall? Who is he in deep distress fasting in the wilderness? Now, just put your mind around each of those events that are being described. And you realize this hymn now is chronicling not only the birth of Christ, but the whole life and ministry of Christ. and his death and his burial and his resurrection. We go on to verse 2. Who is he the people bless for his words of gentleness? Think of that Sermon on the Mount. Who is he to whom they bring all the sick and sorrowing? Think of the many multitudes of people that he healed. Who is he that stands and weeps at the grave where Lazarus sleeps? Can you picture that scene in your mind's eye? Who is he that gathering throng greet with loud triumphant song? Think of his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Picture that scene. Low at midnight, who is he? Prays in dark Gethsemane. Who is he on yonder tree? Dies in grief and agony. Who is He that from the grave comes to heal and help and save? Who is He that from His throne rules through all the world alone? The way we answer that who is He question, it makes all the difference in the world. We need to make sure we understand who He is. We need to make sure we understand who Jesus Christ is. Who is this babe who is born in a manger? This is the question we want to consider today from a particular aspect. You see, if Jesus were merely a human being endowed with special graces and healing powers, if he were merely a great teacher or a great prophet, If He were gentle Jesus, meek and mild, but not the Son of God, He would not be the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. If Jesus had only human wisdom and human words, if He were merely a great human leader, even if He were the greatest mortal ever to live, it would not qualify Him to be our Savior and our Lord. But we have here the account of the angel who appeared to Joseph in a dream. And this angel announced that the baby to be born was no ordinary human being. He was Emmanuel, God with us. That's who he is. And it's necessary that we have this understanding because this is the full answer to the question, who is He? He is Emmanuel. He is God with us. This is a declaration of the deity of Christ. Though fully human, He is also fully God. He is the only begotten Son of God. And in the words of the Nicene Creed of A.D. 325, He is very God of very God. That's who He is. It's not enough to say, as the heretic Arius said, that Jesus was, quote, unique among men, but He was not fully God, that He was the Savior, but not divine, end quote. And that ecumenical council in Nicene was convened for the very reason of addressing these kinds of heresies. This is a wrong Christology, a wrong understanding of who Christ is. It's a wrong answer to, who is He? For you see that Jesus is unique among men and He is fully God. He is the Savior and He is divine. That is a full biblical understanding of who He is. He is the only begotten Son of God. He is Immanuel. He is God with us. And so today I want to draw our attention to that particular aspect of this passage that we find here in verse 23. This angelic declaration, this divine declaration, that this babe who's born in a manger is Immanuel. He is God with us. Jesus is Emmanuel because He is full deity. He is the Son of God. So we're going to contemplate this morning the full deity of this Baban in the manger. We're going to focus our attention on the fact that He is the Son of God, that He is the Lord, the King of glory. And so what is it that we see here in this passage? What is it that we see about this angelic encounter? that would help us to understand the deity of Christ. I'd like us to consider three aspects of this. The first is that the prophet declares it. The prophet declares that He is Emmanuel, God, with us. Verse 22 here in the passage very clearly says that this was all done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet. And this is what's called a fulfillment formula that we see Matthew using. It was fulfilled. It was fulfilled. Matthew uses this same formula again and again, at least 10 times in Matthew's gospel. He's informing his Jewish reader that this babe who was born in the manger, this Jesus who walked this earth and did all of this ministry and died on the cross and rose again, This Jesus is the fulfillment of Scripture. The fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures, what we in our Christian Bibles would call the Old Testament. All of these messianic prophecies that were given in the Old Testament find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfills every messianic prophecy that was ever given. And what we see here as Matthew describes this fulfillment, he draws attention to the fact that this was spoken of the Lord. The emphasis here is on the fact that God is the one who gives the prophetic message. This is the Lord who spoke this, the Lord God who spoke these things through the prophet. Now, in our English Bibles, when we read a phrase like, which was spoken of the Lord, that word of is a bit ambiguous to us in English. It could mean it was spoken by the Lord or it was spoken about the Lord. And that might cause us a little bit of confusion. But as you know, the New Testament was originally in the Greek language. And if we go back to the original Greek, there's no ambiguity here. This was spoken by the Lord. This is the word of the Lord in the mouth of the prophet. This is God's prophetic message. His prophet was His spokesman, His messenger to deliver His message. And so Matthew emphasizes the fact that this was spoken of the Lord by the Lord through the prophet. And this very statement affirms for us a very vital doctrine to the Christian faith, that of the inspiration of the Scriptures. Our whole Bible is God's Word. It's spoken out by God. And yes, God used human means to record His Word, to proclaim His Word, but it's all inspired by God. Do you believe that your Bible is the Word of God? it is all of it. And all of these prophetic messages we have in the Old Testament, including the one we're going to focus on this morning, is in fact the Word of God. God gives the prophetic message. It is His Word conveyed through human instruments. So we see that God gives the prophetic message. We also know that God gives the prophetic sign in this case. I'd like you to hold your place here in Matthew and turn over to Isaiah chapter 7. We're going to now look at the passage that is being quoted here in Matthew's gospel, but we need to see that there is a historical context to this prophecy. We're looking at a prophecy spoken by the Lord through His prophet Isaiah, and the historical context is important for our understanding. As we're reading this passage in Isaiah, Ahaz is king in Judah, and at this very time there are a couple of kings that are conspiring together to come up against Judah, against Ahaz, and the Lord is going to send His prophet to the king to make some important declarations. And so follow along now as I read Isaiah 7. I'm going to read verses 1 through 16. And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Ramalia, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. And say unto him, take heed and be quiet, fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tales of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezan with Syria and of the son of Remalia. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remalia have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal." Thus says the Lord God, it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezan, and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remalia's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God. Ask it, either in the depth or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou pourest shall be forsaken of both her kings. Well, there's the prophecy in its historical context. It almost comes to us as a bit of a surprise. Don't you think so? If you've not seen that prophecy in that context before, it almost doesn't seem to fit. But you see, that's like a lot of prophecy. Because a lot of prophecy will speak to the current events of the day, but then we'll look way beyond them to some event far off in the future. And that is certainly what is happening here in this case. Isaiah is looking far off into the future to the magnificent event on the horizon when a child would be born of a virgin and the child would be called Emmanuel, God with us. So we see here that the Lord gives the prophetic message and the Lord gives the sign. King Ahaz wouldn't ask for a sign, so the Lord said, I'll just give it for you. I'll give the sign. And the sign is this child being born of a virgin. Now, of course, as we look at this prophecy in its historical context, there are a number of theories to explain what's happening in the historical context, and I'm not going to delve into those today. Maybe someday in the future I'll do a series on the book of Isaiah and we'll get into all of those details. So whether this prophecy has immediate or partial or double fulfillment, I'm just not going to get into that. Where there is agreement is the fact that this is a messianic prophecy foretelling the birth of Jesus Christ. That's what's important for us to consider today. This is a messianic prophecy looking forward to the birth of Christ. And this is the very same person that's described over in Isaiah chapter 9. If you want to turn over the page there, Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7. Now this here, Isaiah, by inspiration of the Lord, adds some clarity for us. Verse 6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David. and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth," for how long? Forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Don't you just love that phrase? That gives me chills whenever I read that. God is determined that this will come to pass and indeed it has. And so this is the child born in a manger. So we come back to Matthew's gospel and what we see here is that Jesus is Emmanuel because He's the Son of God. This is a declaration of His deity. The prophet declares it. The prophet declares it. Secondly, the gospel confirms it. That's what we have here in Matthew chapter 1. We have the confirmation of this grand prophecy. Matthew confirms it. The gospel confirms it. Again, look at verse 22. Now, all this was done that it might be fulfilled. The gospel directly links the prophecy given by Isaiah to the events that are taking place right here in Matthew chapter 1, chapter 2. It's directly linked. So the holy conception the angelic vision, the declaration that Mary would bring forth a son and that this son would save His people from their sin. All of this was done in fulfillment of this prophecy that a child would be born to a virgin and He would be called Emmanuel. So the gospel confirms it. The gospel confirms that Jesus is Emmanuel and it confirms that Mary is that virgin. Let's consider both of those. Mary is the promised virgin. The word of the Lord had come to Isaiah and Isaiah had declared to Ahaz, therefore the Lord will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive. For that to be a sign. It's a miracle that has taken place. This is no ordinary conception. This is something miraculous. This is something that the angel very delicately and reverently confirmed to Joseph. If you look at verse 20, what the angel said, But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." There's the confirmation. Mary, your espoused wife, Joseph, this Mary, in her womb is something that has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. This is none other than Emmanuel, God with us. This is the Son of God, the Son of God. So Mary is the promised Virgin, the angel declared that the sign of the virgin conception had been fulfilled in the womb of Mary. She had the privilege of all privileges that every Jewish woman had hoped for up to that time. To have the privilege of bearing the promised Messiah. And here He is. So Mary is the promised virgin and Jesus is the promised Son. This is what we see confirmed here in the Gospel account. Isaiah had declared, Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. And here in Matthew's Gospel, the angel declares unto Joseph, look at verse 21, and she shall bring forth, what? A son. And thou shalt call his name Jesus. That's the Old Testament Joshua. Yahweh saves, Jehovah saves, for He shall save His people from their sins. He's the Savior. This is the Savior who's being born here. The Son of God, Emmanuel, God with us. So Jesus is the promised Son of the promised Virgin. Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy and of all the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. He's the fulfillment of the Emmanuel prophecy. He is, in fact, God with us. So we see that Jesus is Emmanuel because He is the Son of God. We've seen that this is declared by the prophet. It's confirmed by the gospel. And this very title also says it. This title, Emmanuel, that we're talking about is a declaration of the deity of Christ that He is, in fact, the Son of God in human flesh. As we focus on that title, Emmanuel, understand that this is a very special word in our English Bible. that has been transliterated, that is to say that we have used our sounds of our letters to represent the sounds of the letters in the original Greek of the New Testament. But that's not the end of the chain. For you see, the Greek New Testament also transliterates this word from the original Hebrew. So I want to teach you some Hebrew today. All right, let's try this together. Let's all say the name Emmanuel. Can you say that with me? Ready? Let's say it. Emmanuel. All right, say it again. Emmanuel. Okay, you have just spoken Hebrew. That's impressive. And if we understand what the original Hebrew is saying, it's very interesting. This comes directly from Isaiah 7.14. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name. Immanuel. You are pronouncing the Hebrew at the end of that verse. Immanuel. Literally translated, it means, with us, God. With us, God. It's the same order in the Greek. With us, God. The meaning of the word as we pronounce it. With us, God. Do you believe that? He's God. With us, God. Now Matthew explains this for his readers. Now he's writing to Jewish people, but you understand what's happened by this time. There are many people, though Jewish, they had kind of lost the skill of the ancient Hebrew language. And so as he's writing to them in the Greek language, He is going to explain to them the meaning of the Hebrew. So here in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 23, they shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, in other words, being translated to a language that you can understand, it means God with us. Now, in the original Greek, he preserves the word order, with us God, but that just doesn't sound right to us in our English Bibles. And so the English translators have changed the word order so that it sounds right to our ear. But he actually writes, which being interpreted is, with us God. Emmanuel is one of the many titles. given to the Lord Jesus. And this was very common in the Bible times for someone of great stature, an official, a king, to have many titles. So he is called Jesus. Joshua. Yahweh saves. Because he will save his people from their sins. He is called the Christ. Christos, the Anointed One. Literally, the Anointed One. That is to say, the Anointed Messiah. Because He is, in fact, the Anointed Prophet and Priest and King spoken of in the Old Testament. He is called Lord. Because He reigns over all. In fact, He is called the Lord of Lords. reigning over even the kings of the earth. And here He is called Emmanuel because He is God with us. Let's parse this out. The fact that He's called Emmanuel, the fact that He's called God with us means, most importantly and first of all, that He is God. He is God We pronounce this word Immanuel, it's that L at the end of the word that is the common Hebrew word used in reference to God. So when you say Immanuel, you're saying with us God, with us L, God. He is God. The fact that Jesus is Immanuel means that He is the Elohim of Genesis 1-1 who created the heavens and the earth. He is the El Shaddai, the God of hosts of Genesis 17, who appeared to Abraham. He is the El Elyon, the Most High God of Genesis 14, 19, whom Melchizedek served. He is the El Elom, the everlasting God upon whom Abraham called in Genesis 21, 33. He's all of these things because He is God. He is God. He is God. We call Him the Son of God because we worship a triune God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, all equally God. Together they are God. Individually they are God. They're God. So Jesus is God. He's very God. A very God. He is the fullness of deity. And this is the consistent testimony of Scripture. Colossians 2 verse 8, He's fully God. In Titus 2 verse 13, Jesus Christ is referred to as our great God and Savior. 1 John 5.20 it says, And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true. And we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Jesus is God. So when He is called Emmanuel, God with us, and we parse that out, it means first of all that He is God. He is full deity. He is very God, a very God. Of course, the rest of it is that He is God with us. And this is the marvelous part, that God would send His own Son, the eternal Son of God, who has for eternity past enjoyed the full glory of heaven with His Father and with the Holy Spirit, that the Father would send the Son to this earth to take on human flesh and to dwell among us, that we may behold His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of God. Is this not marvelous in your eyes to consider what God has done here in the sending of His Son? The fact that He is God with us. He left heaven's throne. He came to this earth. He took on human flesh. He was in a woman's womb as an unborn child. Does this not boggle the mind to consider the eternal Son of God in the womb of Mary, and that he was born by normal means. I mean, he was born like a normal birth, but not like the average birth, even in that day. He wasn't born in a palace. It was not told the whole world that this was the king. Not everyone came to worship him. No. This son of God was born in obscurity, even away from home, traveling away from their hometown. Not only that, but in a small village. Bethlehem? Bethlehem, Ephrathah? That's just a small village. That's a no-name town. He was born there, but not just in Bethlehem. There was no room for them in the inn. He was placed in a manger, wrapped in swallowing clothes, born in obscurity. Consider how far the Son of God came, how He humbled Himself. how though He remained God all this time, He became God with us and took on human flesh in such humble circumstances. He is God with us. He is the Son of God, veiled in flesh, fully God and fully man. I want us to look at a couple passages that amplify this. Turn over to John, chapter 1, John's gospel. If you've read through your Bible and you've read through the gospel of John, you know that John starts his gospel speaking in some kind of symbolic terms of Christ. He's going to refer to the Lord Jesus Christ here as the Word. All right, so let's take a look at John, chapter 1, verse 1. In the beginning was the Word. Now let's just stop right there. Does that phrase sound at all familiar to you? Does that sound like some other verse in your Bible? What other verse does that sound like? Genesis 1-1, which begins, In the beginning, God. There is a connection. So here in John's Gospel, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Could that not be any clearer? That we're talking about the eternal Son of God who existed forever before He came to this earth as a child. This is the eternal Son of God. This is the Word. This is God. So that's that part of the Declaration. And then you come down to verse 14. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So in the beginning was the Word, He's God, and the Word was made flesh. He's God with us. He's God. He remains God. He's now God with us. He's still God. He has human flesh. He's never surrendered His deity. He's still fully God, but He's also now fully man. He's the perfect God-man. He's the only one. So He is God with us, and that is the declaration of Matthew, that is the declaration of John, that is the declaration of our whole Bible, that He is Emmanuel, He is God with us. Now let's look over to what the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. I just want you to see with your own eyes how many times we have confirmation in the Scriptures that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. It may not use that term, Emmanuel. That's a very rare term. It occurs only three times in our Bibles, twice in Isaiah, once in Matthew. But the truth, the doctrine that is underlying this shows up everywhere. The fact that He is God with us. Philippians chapter 2 and I'll begin reading in verse 5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Now Paul is going to elaborate on who this Christ Jesus is. Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." This is a magnificent description of the Incarnation. The fact that Jesus was the eternal Son of God, equal with God, the very essence of God, and yet he humbled himself. He made of himself no reputation. He was born in obscurity, took upon him the form of a servant. He didn't live in a king's palace. In fact, he had no place to lay his head. He had no house to call his own. And even those who followed him would all abandon him at a crucial time. This is the son of humble servant of God, the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. Yes, fully human. He hungered. He thirsted. He got tired and weary. He felt all of those infirmities that we feel in our human flesh. Yes, he felt pain, such intense pain as those nails were driven into his hands and his feet. And he experienced physical death. And so he's fully human, but fully God. And so that comes out here in Philippians chapter two, as the Apostle Paul explains the incarnation to us. And then the rest of the story is that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. He is our living Savior. He is still God. He is still the Son of God. He is still the Savior of the world. and he is still King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and he will reign." So Jesus is God with us. He became a man. He walked this earth. He dined with sinners and tax collectors. He touched the untouchable. He healed the sick, the lame, and the blind. He forgave sin. He felt our pain and our sorrow. And he humbled himself all the way to the point of dying on the cross for us. His hands and his feet were pierced. On his brow was a crown of thorns. He bowed his head, gave up the ghost. His lifeless body was placed in a tomb. And on the third day, he rose again. And he's alive today. And it's the same body with the scars in the hands and the feet. but transformed in some way into a glorified body, even beyond our ability to fully comprehend. This is the risen Savior who ascended to heaven, who's seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, who ever lives to make intercession for us. And He is the one who saves His people from their sins. He is Jesus. He is Emmanuel. He is God with us. I'd like to take you to one more passage here, Hebrews chapter 1. What we want to see is this Jesus, this Emmanuel, this God with us is the very same one spoken of at the beginning of the book of Hebrews. And it's a wonderful way to draw our attention to who this Jesus is. Hebrews 1, verse 1, God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners in various ways spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, boy haven't we been considering that this morning, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds. There He is right there at creation. who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, in other words, fully God, very God of very God, full deity, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." This is Jesus. God with us. This is Jesus, the Son of God and the Savior of the world. This is Jesus, the promised Messiah who was to come. This is who he is. This is the one born in a manger. And he ever lives. And he's able to save to the uttermost. those who come to Him by faith. Jesus is Emmanuel because He is the Son of God. The prophet declares it. The gospel confirms it. The title says it. And we find these very concepts embedded in many of the hymns that we sing at Christmastime. Think of the hymn, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The words of that hymn read this way, Christ, that's the Christ, Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord. Late in time behold Him come, offspring of a virgin's womb. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate deity. Pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. Do you know Him as Emmanuel? Do you know him as God with us? Do you understand that this child born on that first Christmas morn was not just a baby? Though human was not merely human. He was not some exceptional human. He was God with us. And he still is. Our Father, I do pray that You will move us in our hearts to consider these truths. And I pray, Lord, for any who might be here today or might hear this message who do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, have not yet bowed the knee of their heart to Him in I pray, Lord, that they would come to faith, that they would come to know that this Jesus is the one who comes to save people from their sins, my sins, their sins. And I pray that they would come to Him by faith, confessing that they're a sinner in need of a Savior. They might put their faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross on their behalf. For all of us who know Christ as Savior, I pray that the things that we've considered today would stir our hearts that we might worship Him as the true Emmanuel, as being truly God with us. May we adore Him as Christ the Lord, our Emmanuel. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.