"God
With Us"
By Mrs. E. G. White
"His
name shall be called Immanuel, . . . God with us." "The light
of the knowledge of the glory of God" is seen "in the face of
Jesus Christ." From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ
was one with the Father; He was "the image of God," the image
of His greatness and majesty, "the outshining of His glory."
It was to manifest this glory that He came to our world. To
this sin-darkened earth He came to reveal the light of God's
love,--to be "God with us." Therefore it was prophesied of Him,
"His name shall be called Immanuel."
By
coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men
and to angels. He was the Word of God,--God's thought made audible.
In His prayer for His disciples He says, "I have declared unto
them Thy name,"--"merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth,"--"that the love wherewith Thou
hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them." But not alone
for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little
world is the lesson book of the universe. God's wonderful purpose
of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which
"angels desire to look," and it will be their study throughout
endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will
find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It
will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is
the glory of self-sacrificing love. In the light from Calvary
it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the
law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which "seeketh
not her own" has its source in the heart of God; and that in
the meek and lowly One is manifested the character of Him who
dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto. . . .
The
plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated
after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of "the mystery
which hath been kept in silence through times eternal." Rom.
16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from
eternal ages have been the foundation of God's throne. From
the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan,
and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate.
God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its
existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency.
So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give
His only-begotten Son, "that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
Lucifer
had said, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; .
. . I will be like the Most High." Isa. 14:13, 14. But Christ,
"being in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped
to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the
form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men." Phil.
2:6, 7, R. V., margin.
This
was a voluntary sacrifice. Jesus might have remained at the
Father's side. He might have retained the glory of heaven, and
the homage of the angels. But He chose to give back the scepter
into the Father's hands, and to step down from the throne of
the universe, that He might bring light to the benighted, and
life to the perishing. . . .
Since
Jesus came to dwell with us, we know that God is acquainted
with our trials, and sympathizes with our griefs. Every son
and daughter of Adam may understand that our Creator is the
friend of sinners. For in every doctrine of grace, every promise
of joy, every deed of love, every divine attraction presented
in the Saviour's life on earth, we see "God with us." . . .
In
stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character
the opposite of the character of Satan. But He stepped still
lower in the path of humiliation. "Being found in fashion as
a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross." Phil. 2:8. As the high priest laid
aside his gorgeous pontifical robes, and officiated in the white
linen dress of the common priest, so Christ took the form of
a servant, and offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself
the victim. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him."
Isa. 53:5.
Christ
was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves.
He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that
we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had
no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might
receive the life which was His. "With His stripes we are healed."
By
His life and His death, Christ has achieved even more than recovery
from the ruin wrought through sin. It was Satan's purpose to
bring about an eternal separation between God and man; but in
Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never
fallen. In taking our nature, the Saviour has bound Himself
to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the
eternal ages He is linked with us. "God so loved the world,
that He gave His only-begotten Son." John 3:16. He gave Him
not only to bear our sins, and to die as our sacrifice; He gave
Him to the fallen race. To assure us of His immutable counsel
of peace, God gave His only-begotten Son to become one of the
human family, forever to retain His human nature. This is the
pledge that God will fulfill His word. "Unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His
shoulder." God has adopted human nature in the person of His
Son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven. It is
the "Son of man" who shares the throne of the universe. It is
the "Son of man" whose name shall be called, "Wonderful, Counselor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
Isa. 9:6. The I AM is the Daysman between God and humanity,
laying His hand upon both. He who is "holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners," is not ashamed to call us brethren.
Heb. 7:26; 2:11. In Christ the family of earth and the family
of heaven are bound together. Christ glorified is our brother.
Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in
the bosom of Infinite Love. . . .
Through
Christ's redeeming work the government of God stands justified.
The Omnipotent One is made known as the God of love. Satan's
charges are refuted, and his character unveiled. Rebellion can
never again arise. Sin can never again enter the universe. Through
eternal ages all are secure from apostasy. By love's self-sacrifice,
the inhabitants of earth and heaven are bound to their Creator
in bonds of indissoluble union.
The
work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin
abounded, God's grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the
very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed
but exalted. Our little world, under the curse of sin the one
dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all
other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of
God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and
suffered and died,--here, when He shall make all things new,
the tabernacle of God shall be with men, "and He will dwell
with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall
be with them, and be their God." And through endless ages as
the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise
Him for His unspeakable Gift,--Immanuel, "God with us."
Selected from the introductory chapter of Ellen White's devotional
work on the life of Christ, The
Desire of Ages.
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|  God's
Word Our Assurance
Christ
Our Righteousness A Morning Talk
Through
Faith Alone Part 1
Through
Faith Alone Part 2
What
Was Secured by the Death of Christ
Seek
Those Things Which are Above Part 1
Seek
Those Things Which are Above Part 2
Christ,
Our Loving Comforter and Restorer
Work
to Show Christ to the World
"Let
Him Take Hold of My Strength"
Ellen
G. White's Last Recorded Letter
The
Joy of Giving
A
New Year's Day Letter
Christ
Our Hope
A
Letter of Comfort and Assurance
Prevailing
Prayer
A
Prayer of Consecration
Help
for the Tempted
God
Will Provide
Christ's
Righteousness Avails
Trusting
Christ
The
Fair Flowers of Promise
How
God’s Love is Manifested, Part 1
How
God’s Love is Manifested, Part 2
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 1
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 2
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 3
"I
Will Give You Rest"
Working
as Christ Worked
A
Life-Changing Experience
The
Character of God Revealed in Christ
What
God Desires Us to Be
God's
Plans the Best
A
Peculiar People
God
With Us
Ask
and it shall be given you, Part 1
Ask
and it shall be given you, Part 2
The
Meaning of God's Pardoning Love, Part 1
The
Meaning of God's Pardoning Love, Part 2
The
Foundation of Our Peace
One
Thing Impossible With God
Windows
Wide Open
The
Only Foundation
Christ
Spans the Gulf of Sin, Part 1
Christ
Spans the Gulf of Sin, Part 2
Homeward
Bound
A
New Year's Day Letter
Asking
to Give
The
Mighty and Inspiring Conflict
God's
Word a Treasure House
True
Success
Little
Things
You May Trust
Him
Hearts
Filled with Thankfullnes to God
Calamities
and God’s Love; Sin, Judgment, and the Shortness of Time
Lord
is Risen
The
Sabbath
Some Thoughts
for the New Year
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