“But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:20-23).
What is in a name? Our names identify us. Our full names: first, middle and last identify who we belong to, our individual person, and give us legal status. Our common names, the name we go by in general reveals our relationships and personalities. When someone thinks of our common name, they think of us – who and how we are. Our common name evokes a response in those who hear it. Our name could bring to some a pleasant warm feeling of love; to others it might instill fear or anger. It seems there is very much in a name to be considered.
There are names throughout history that evoke a response: Hitler, Mother Theresa, Napoleon, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi. Some names have polarizing effects and some bring us together. Whichever emotion they evoke, they all command a response. There is another name that evokes strong emotion and response worldwide. His is a name which transcends culture and demands a response from every person. It is the name that is above every name; the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:9-11).
Isaiah prophesied that “they would call His name Immanuel,” but the angel commanded Joseph should name Him, Jesus (Isa. 9:6; Mat. 1:21). Jesus means Jehovah is Salvation. In His name is revealed the Divine plan, a plan which has been since the beginning; the plan of salvation. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Mat 5:17). By living a sinless life, dying upon the Cross and rising again, Jesus fulfilled the Law for us. What is in the name of Jesus, but salvation from the condemnation we deserve and rescue from eternal Hell? In His name exists for us grace and mercy to receive entrance into the kingdom of God and eternal life in heaven with Him.
Isaiah said of the Savior, “they shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 9:6). Immanuel means God with us; God dwelling with us/God dwelling in us. Jesus came down from heaven to be born into a human body and to model a perfect life before us. He truly was God with us as He walked upon the earth. Yet, looking at the fuller meaning it also means that He should dwell within men.
Jesus said He would not leave His disciples alone. He would send the Holy Spirit who would indwell them. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. . .. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:16-17, 26). God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit now as Isaiah prophesied reveals His Name, Immanuel as He dwells within everyone who bows the knee to and lifts high the name of Jesus (Jehovah is Salvation).
God’s presence was revealed in a glory cloud in the Old Testament. When God spoke with Moses, He spoke from within a cloud (Exodus 16:10; 19:1-3: 24:16). When Moses finished the work of the Tabernacle, God’s presence covered and filled the Tabernacle in the form of a cloud (Exodus 40:33-35). God’s presence in the cloud expressed His pleasure with the completed work and He placed a protective covering upon it. When Solomon completed the Temple in Jerusalem, when the priests had done all the work to cleanse and prepare, and when they began to sing His praises the Temple “was filled with a cloud, so that the priest could not continue ministering . . . for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God” (2 Chronicles 5:13, 14).
Immanuel, God within us, the Holy Spirit is the glory of God dwelling in all who have lifted high the Name of Jesus! “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1Co 3:16)? God’s presence filled the other temples to display His approval, His pleasure, and to provide protection. When we lift high the name of Jesus; when we finally admit that we are sinners in need of a Savior, believe that Jesus is that Savior, and invite Him to be Lord over our lives He is faithful to do so. He sends the Holy Spirit the Divine presence to indwell every believer. He places His name upon us by the seal of His Holy Spirit. He gives us a new legal standing in eternal matters. By this name, Jesus, applied to our lives we become children of God and co-heirs with Jesus. We are adopted into His family! “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:14-17).
So lift up the Name that is above every other name, the name of Jesus because, “[there is no] salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).