I. A CHILD BORN OF A HUMAN VIRGIN
The child born of a human virgin is Immanuel, God with man (Isa. 7:14; 9:6a). He was a human child born of a human virgin, yet He was also the very God. Isaiah was written about seven hundred years before Christ’s incarnation, yet it speaks of a child born who would be the very God. This child was a "God-man child," a child of a dual nature, the divine nature and the human nature. He was a divine-human child.
A. First, God Being Begotten
in the Virgin Mary of the Holy Spirit
First, God was begotten in the virgin Mary of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20 says that the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph saying, "Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit." Before Jesus was born of a virgin, God was begotten in her, born into her. That which was begotten in Mary was of the Holy Spirit. The divine essence out of the Holy Spirit had been generated in Mary’s womb before she delivered the child Jesus. God was born into Mary and remained in Mary’s womb for nine months.
B. Then a Human Child Being Born
with the Divine Nature,
out of the Human Virgin, to Be a God-man
Then that which was born of God the Spirit into Mary was brought forth. Jesus, Immanuel, was delivered out of Mary’s womb. First, God was begotten in the virgin Mary of the Holy Spirit. Then, a human child was brought forth with the divine nature, out of a human virgin, to be a God-man (v. 23a).
C. To Be Named Jesus—Jehovah the Savior
This One was named Jesus—Jehovah the Savior (v. 21). Jesus is not only a man but also Jehovah; He is Jehovah becoming our salvation, our Savior.
D. Called by the Experienced Ones
Emmanuel—God with Us
He was called by the ones who experienced Him Emmanuel—God with us (v. 23b). The child born of Mary was a God-man child. Jesus is a God-man. On this earth there was a child who was a God-man. God did not create such a man. He created Adam approximately four thousand years before the birth of Jesus. Before His birth, there had never been such a human being, a man mingled with God. Jesus was the name given to Him by God, while Immanuel was the name called by man. This God-man is Emmanuel, and He is also God the Savior.
He is God coming from divinity and with divinity into humanity to be Jehovah the Savior to save us from sin, on the negative side, and to save us to God, on the positive side. We were created by God and unto God, but we became fallen and left God. God placed man in front of Him, the tree of life, but man’s fall caused us to turn our back to Him. Therefore, God Himself came to be both God and man that He might be Jehovah the Savior to save us from sin unto Himself. The destination of our salvation is God. Before we were saved, we were in sin. Now that we are saved, we are in God and God is in us (1 John 4:15). In God we have been regenerated with His life to be men of God, God-men. Before a brother was saved, he may have been from Hong Kong. He was a "Hong Kong man." But now that he is saved, he is a God-man, one who is in God and who has God in him. We now have Jesus, Jehovah our Savior, and Emmanuel, God with us.
(Life-Study of Isaiah, Chapter 35, by Witness Lee)
