Doctrine - Emmanuel

The “Emmanuel principle”

An OAC member wrote: “...En die Apostel van Vandag wat deur Jesus Christus gestuur is, verkondig-‘’GOD EMMANUEL’’ m.a.w GOD IN EN MET DIE MENS!...” Sic

For those of you who don’t understand Afrikaans, this member is saying that the “...Apostle of Today sent by Jesus Christ, preaches-“GOD EMMANUEL” i.e. GOD IN AND WITH MAN!...”

The “Emmanuel principle” is used to describe “God in man” or “God in flesh”. By this is implied that Almighty God and Father can dwell in a mere mortal, that the “Emmanuel principle” is applicable to a mere mortal. Context is important though; can our Almighty Father dwell in mere mortals?

1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

2 Chronicles 6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

Can this “Emmanuel principle” apply to just anybody? Read the verses below and see if you can guess to whom this applies?

It is written in the Prophets:

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,

and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:

and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called

Wonderful,

Counsellor,

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 even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

And the Scripture was fulfilled:

Matthew 1:20-23 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.

John 1:14 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.

There is obviously only ONE Jesus and He is no mere mortal!

Matthew 24:23-28 Then if any man shall say unto you,

Lo, here is Christ,

or there;

believe it not.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.

Wherefore if they shall say unto you,

Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth:

behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Jesus Christ is Emmanuel and it is the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father that abides with us mere mortals (John 14:16-26, John 15:26, John 16:5-7, Acts 1:2, Acts 2:1-4, 1 John 5:7-8). The name of the Holy Spirit is not Emmanuel.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;

According to Strong’s, the word “Comforter” is translated from the Greek word paraklētos and is defined as:

An intercessor, consoler: - advocate, comforter.

The definition of this word requires a detailed explanation to fully understand the meaning. At the time when this was written there was a very clear distinction between the rich and the poor. People with money had control of politics and the judicial system and they could afford to get their children educated. This meant that only about one in ten people were properly schooled in all the laws of society. This meant that the rich could easily exploit the poorer classes. To avoid exploitation, an arrangement was made that a poor man could get a benefactor from the higher social classes. This benefactor would tutor the poor man on what was expected of him, supported him and even represented him in court. Thus a special adviser was known back then as a paraclete. It is with this definition that Jesus compares the presence of the Holy Spirit amongst believers.

Your "owergestelde" is not God, be mindful of how high of a pedestal you put any individual on