JESUS CHRIST (“God-With-Us”): God’s Plan for our SALVATION

 

July 18 Bible Reading: Isaiah Chapters 7-9

JESUS CHRIST (“God-With-Us”): God’s Plan for our SALVATION

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good." (Isaiah 7:14-15)

Isaiah, whose name means “the Lord is salvation,” ministered in the Southern Kingdom of Judah after the Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to Assyria. God had raised Isaiah as a prophet not only to minister to Judah and Jerusalem, but as God’s spokesman to let the world know about His plans for salvation for humankind about 700 years before his birth. The purpose of this book is to display God’s glory and holiness through His judgment of sin and His deliverance and blessing of a righteous remnant.

Many Bible scholars have debated whether the birth of the child predicted in Isaiah 7:14 is a prophecy of a child in Isaiah’s day or a prophecy of the virgin birth of Christ (or both). However, this prophecy specifically points out to the virgin birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:31–35) who was the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews and the Savior of the world.

Let us examine some specific prophecies that Isaiah made relating to Jesus Christ:

• Isaiah 7:14:  A young woman/virgin is to give birth to a son named Immanuel, meaning “God with us.”
• Isaiah 9:6–7: The child to be born is named “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,” and will reign on David’s throne forever.
• Isaiah 11:1–9: The child, called “a shoot … from the stump of Jesse” and a “Branch,” will reign with righteousness and justice and bring universal peace.
• Isaiah 11:10–12: The “Root of Jesse” will rule over the nations and re-gather the people of Israel and Judah.

The birth of Jesus Christ into this world is no accident, but was part of God’s plan that He conceived before the foundation of the world. Jesus Christ is a historical fact who made such a tremendous impact in this world that even our timeline (B.C. /A.D.) is determined by His birth. God planned His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to be the Savior of all humankind. Have you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior yet? If not, today is the best day to accept Him in your heart and turn away from sin and the worldly life!

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit…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." (Matt 1:18, 22-23)