When telling the story of Emmanuel, where does one begin? John the Apostle answered this question this way:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men." -John 1:1-4 (WEB)
Right from the start, we get the clear impression that the Word, Who is God, is not like us. He transcends us. Our life comes from Him. Our very existence comes from Him. At the most basic level, God’s relationship to us is that of the Creator and the created.
But why does John call Jesus the Word? At the creation, God spoke and all things were created. Genesis 1:3 says, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” He spoke and brought it into existence. God’s words have power. But not only do His words have power, they also are the essence of who He is. What His words put into motion tells us something about who He is.
When He speaks things happen! Out of nothing, the cosmos is created: galaxies, planets, stars, the universe. He spoke and suddenly they existed: plants, animals, seas and skies. From the smallest molecule to the largest sun, His ability and creativity are astounding! He is a God of life and splendor! And the things that He creates speak about their Creator in their own way.
Psalm 19:1-4a (WEB) "The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork. Day after day they pour out speech,
and night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world."
He spoke it into existence, and now it speaks about Him! By Him and through Him all this exists. He holds it all together.
And then one day, in His divine purpose and love, all of the essence of who He is becomes wrapped up in the human form of a little, helpless baby. We should be completely amazed at the limitations He put upon Himself to dwell with us.
The Creator became what He had created! The eternal God stepped out of infinity and into time and space, experiencing the boundaries of this corporeal existence.
The One who had spoken it all into existence now has no speech but that of a baby’s cry.
The sustainer of all things, who needed nothing to sustain Him, now needs the same nourishment and care as all other babies.
How can we, who have never experienced His unbounded existence, ever begin to comprehend this gift He stoops to give us? The gift of His presence molded into human form, the smallest and most vulnerable of humans, a baby.
THIS IS EMMANUEL…THE CREATOR…GOD WITH US.
RESPONSE: Use your own words to praise God for His creation. Thank God for humbling Himself to dwell with us, to show us who God is, and to bring us His love and salvation.
Ancient Hymn, “Of the Father’s Love Begotten,” by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348-413 AD)
Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!
At His Word the worlds were framèd;
He commanded; it was done:
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean
In their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun,
Evermore and evermore!
He is found in human fashion,
Death and sorrow here to know,
That the race of Adam’s children
Doomed by law to endless woe,
May not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below,
Evermore and evermore!
O that birth forever blessed,
When the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Saviour of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face,
evermore and evermore!
This is He Whom seers in old time
Chanted of with one accord;
Whom the voices of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long expected,
Let creation praise its Lord,
Evermore and evermore!
O ye heights of heaven adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing,
Evermore and evermore!