God Gets Personal
Matthew 1:23
I was talking with someone the other day who said they had a very “broad view” of God. Broader than just Jesus alone. This person was very spiritual, very aware of the Divine Presence in the world.
But as they talked, I couldn’t help but think that Divine Presence that you acknowledge and accept, he is so much more personal than you might think. That all-encompassing Divine Spirit you refer to, he wants you to know him personally.
This is the beginning of what God did so that you could know him personally. In fact, so that you could know him by name. Our key verse today is Matthew 1:23.
Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Immanuel - which means, God with us.
Here’s how it all started. The eternal God who has no beginning and no end, the Creator God who has always existed, the indescribable, immeasurable God who created all that has ever been created John 1:3 says (speaking of Jesus) this.
John 1:3 (ESV)
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
This Eternally Creating God, as the masterpiece of his creation – he created us.
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
10 For we are God’s masterpiece . . .
And more than just God creating us,
Genesis 1:27 (NLT)
27 God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them . . .
We are created in the image of God (that’s getting personal right from the beginning).
Then Genesis 2:7 says,
Genesis 2:7 (NLT)
7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
It’s God’s Breath of Life that makes us created in God’s image.
Job 33:4 (NLT)
4 For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
We were created in God’s image, and we were given his breath of life in order to make us eternal beings so that we could spend eternity with God.
That is pretty personal.
And then God gave mankind free will, and mankind used that free will to choose sin over God. And that sin separated us from God, which left us helpless and hopeless to ever be reconciled to God on our own.
And so, sin would have to be dealt with if we were to ever have a personal relationship with God and if we were to ever be able to live in God’s presence for eternity, there was nothing we could do about it on our own.
If we were going to remain God’s masterpiece, then God himself was going to have to remove the sin problem for us. Which is exactly what God was going to do. The Almighty, Creator God, was about to come to earth himself in order to remove the sin problem that was keeping us from knowing God personally.
God was coming – himself – because it was the only possible answer to the problem of sin that was separating us from God. God came because he was the only way; he was the only answer to the sin problem.
This would be the greatest act of sacrificial love that all of creation would ever see. The invisible God was about to become visible. The Creator was about to become the creation. The unlimited and omnipotent God who existed before all things and who has power over all things was about to take on a human body and live a human life. Colossians 1:15 tells us who Jesus Christ was when he was born.
Colossians 1:15–17 (NLT)
15 [Jesus] Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
God was going to become a man in the Person of Jesus Christ so that the sin problem could be removed – in order for us to be restored to God personally. God himself was going to step into our place to pay the full penalty for our sin on our behalf so that we could know God personally so that we could live forever in a personal relationship with God.
Here is how it occurred. Turn over to Luke 2:1-4.
Luke 2:1–4 (NLT)
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
2 . . .
3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.
4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
The prophecies in the Old Testament were perfectly clear. The Messiah would come from the lineage of King David, and he would be born in Bethlehem.
Continuing in Luke 2:5-7.
Luke 2:5-7 (NLT)
5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously (or very) pregnant.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger (a feeding trough) because there was no lodging available for them.
When God became a man so that you could know him personally. He was born into the humblest conditions, most likely in a cave being used as a shelter for animals, which is why there is a manger (feeding trough) there.
And one thing for sure, that was a cold, dark and dirty place to be born. And it has been said, every time Jesus comes into a new life, he is born into a heart that is cold, dark, and dirty with sin.
Jesus was born in that animal shelter so that he could be born in your heart; so that you could be born again; so that you could know God personally and live with him for eternity. The Creator of the Universe does not want to be an impersonal Spiritual force in your life.
He wants to have a real, personal relationship with you, so he became like you so he could live a perfect life, so he could justifiably be the perfect sacrifice for your sins; so, you could know him personally – for eternity.
So, continuing, Joseph and Mary had arrived at the cave (or sheepfold). And we pick it up in Luke 2:8-14.
Luke 2:8-14 (NLT)
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.
9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Hmmm… Shepherds? When Jesus Christ (the God/Man) was born, the Armies of Heaven (the Host of Heaven) cracked the sky – they broke the barrier for some nobody shepherds in a nowhere place?
A shepherd was one of the lowest and most humble lives a person could ever live (and by the way, it is still supposed to be). So, why the shepherds? Was it possibly because these shepherds, at this time, would have been caring for baby lambs that would become sacrificial lambs at the next Passover?
And so, for them, heaven had opened up, and the host of heaven announced the birth of the final sacrificial lamb who would die for the sin of the world.
This was the most amazing thing the angelic world had ever seen (or will ever see). Their Creator and Ruler God had become a man – as a humble and lowly baby – so that he could live the life that we could never live. So that he could conquer the enemy of death that we could never conquer; so that we could know him personally; so that we could enter eternity in the righteousness of God that we could never deserve; so that we could live in the personal relationship with God that we were originally created to live in.
Guys, this is actually the story of a rescue mission. It began with God becoming a man in the Person of Jesus Christ so that we could be forgiven of our sins, know God personally, and live with God forever.
How? When Jesus died for the sins of the world, it doesn’t mean that the world will receive the free gift of forgiveness of payment for their sins. We have a part. He did the work; we have to receive the gift. A gift is not a gift unless it is received. We have to receive that gift, and we embrace it. And here’s why it’s so important.
When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, Romans 6 says that we are so identified with him that his perfect life is in place of ours, but his death is ours. We are so identified with his death, with his payment for sin, that our sins are paid for. We are so identified with his risen new life that we have been risen to new life. Through our faith, we are so identified with him, that what he has done becomes what we have done.
And the Bible says we can only do that by putting our full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. There is no other religion, ideology, theology, concept, or idea in this world that deals with the sin problem in this way. This is the only one. It’s personal.
Again, Matthew 1:23.
Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
When God became a man, it was personal. God came into our world in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived for us personally, and he died for us personally so that we could know him personally.
All that God is – in all of creation is wrapped up in the Person of Jesus Christ. And if you will make him your personal Savior and Lord, then you will live forever in the glory of eternity with God – personally.
But as they talked, I couldn’t help but think that Divine Presence that you acknowledge and accept, he is so much more personal than you might think. That all-encompassing Divine Spirit you refer to, he wants you to know him personally.
This is the beginning of what God did so that you could know him personally. In fact, so that you could know him by name. Our key verse today is Matthew 1:23.
Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Immanuel - which means, God with us.
Here’s how it all started. The eternal God who has no beginning and no end, the Creator God who has always existed, the indescribable, immeasurable God who created all that has ever been created John 1:3 says (speaking of Jesus) this.
John 1:3 (ESV)
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
This Eternally Creating God, as the masterpiece of his creation – he created us.
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
10 For we are God’s masterpiece . . .
And more than just God creating us,
Genesis 1:27 (NLT)
27 God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them . . .
We are created in the image of God (that’s getting personal right from the beginning).
Then Genesis 2:7 says,
Genesis 2:7 (NLT)
7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
It’s God’s Breath of Life that makes us created in God’s image.
Job 33:4 (NLT)
4 For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
We were created in God’s image, and we were given his breath of life in order to make us eternal beings so that we could spend eternity with God.
That is pretty personal.
And then God gave mankind free will, and mankind used that free will to choose sin over God. And that sin separated us from God, which left us helpless and hopeless to ever be reconciled to God on our own.
And so, sin would have to be dealt with if we were to ever have a personal relationship with God and if we were to ever be able to live in God’s presence for eternity, there was nothing we could do about it on our own.
If we were going to remain God’s masterpiece, then God himself was going to have to remove the sin problem for us. Which is exactly what God was going to do. The Almighty, Creator God, was about to come to earth himself in order to remove the sin problem that was keeping us from knowing God personally.
God was coming – himself – because it was the only possible answer to the problem of sin that was separating us from God. God came because he was the only way; he was the only answer to the sin problem.
This would be the greatest act of sacrificial love that all of creation would ever see. The invisible God was about to become visible. The Creator was about to become the creation. The unlimited and omnipotent God who existed before all things and who has power over all things was about to take on a human body and live a human life. Colossians 1:15 tells us who Jesus Christ was when he was born.
Colossians 1:15–17 (NLT)
15 [Jesus] Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
God was going to become a man in the Person of Jesus Christ so that the sin problem could be removed – in order for us to be restored to God personally. God himself was going to step into our place to pay the full penalty for our sin on our behalf so that we could know God personally so that we could live forever in a personal relationship with God.
Here is how it occurred. Turn over to Luke 2:1-4.
Luke 2:1–4 (NLT)
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
2 . . .
3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.
4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
The prophecies in the Old Testament were perfectly clear. The Messiah would come from the lineage of King David, and he would be born in Bethlehem.
Continuing in Luke 2:5-7.
Luke 2:5-7 (NLT)
5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously (or very) pregnant.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger (a feeding trough) because there was no lodging available for them.
When God became a man so that you could know him personally. He was born into the humblest conditions, most likely in a cave being used as a shelter for animals, which is why there is a manger (feeding trough) there.
And one thing for sure, that was a cold, dark and dirty place to be born. And it has been said, every time Jesus comes into a new life, he is born into a heart that is cold, dark, and dirty with sin.
Jesus was born in that animal shelter so that he could be born in your heart; so that you could be born again; so that you could know God personally and live with him for eternity. The Creator of the Universe does not want to be an impersonal Spiritual force in your life.
He wants to have a real, personal relationship with you, so he became like you so he could live a perfect life, so he could justifiably be the perfect sacrifice for your sins; so, you could know him personally – for eternity.
So, continuing, Joseph and Mary had arrived at the cave (or sheepfold). And we pick it up in Luke 2:8-14.
Luke 2:8-14 (NLT)
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.
9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Hmmm… Shepherds? When Jesus Christ (the God/Man) was born, the Armies of Heaven (the Host of Heaven) cracked the sky – they broke the barrier for some nobody shepherds in a nowhere place?
A shepherd was one of the lowest and most humble lives a person could ever live (and by the way, it is still supposed to be). So, why the shepherds? Was it possibly because these shepherds, at this time, would have been caring for baby lambs that would become sacrificial lambs at the next Passover?
And so, for them, heaven had opened up, and the host of heaven announced the birth of the final sacrificial lamb who would die for the sin of the world.
This was the most amazing thing the angelic world had ever seen (or will ever see). Their Creator and Ruler God had become a man – as a humble and lowly baby – so that he could live the life that we could never live. So that he could conquer the enemy of death that we could never conquer; so that we could know him personally; so that we could enter eternity in the righteousness of God that we could never deserve; so that we could live in the personal relationship with God that we were originally created to live in.
Guys, this is actually the story of a rescue mission. It began with God becoming a man in the Person of Jesus Christ so that we could be forgiven of our sins, know God personally, and live with God forever.
How? When Jesus died for the sins of the world, it doesn’t mean that the world will receive the free gift of forgiveness of payment for their sins. We have a part. He did the work; we have to receive the gift. A gift is not a gift unless it is received. We have to receive that gift, and we embrace it. And here’s why it’s so important.
When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, Romans 6 says that we are so identified with him that his perfect life is in place of ours, but his death is ours. We are so identified with his death, with his payment for sin, that our sins are paid for. We are so identified with his risen new life that we have been risen to new life. Through our faith, we are so identified with him, that what he has done becomes what we have done.
And the Bible says we can only do that by putting our full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. There is no other religion, ideology, theology, concept, or idea in this world that deals with the sin problem in this way. This is the only one. It’s personal.
Again, Matthew 1:23.
Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
When God became a man, it was personal. God came into our world in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived for us personally, and he died for us personally so that we could know him personally.
All that God is – in all of creation is wrapped up in the Person of Jesus Christ. And if you will make him your personal Savior and Lord, then you will live forever in the glory of eternity with God – personally.