When learning a language, it’s often the little words that cause problems: prepositions, words that goes with a noun or pronoun and express a relationship to another word of element in the clause. They’re not difficult to learn in themselves, but the fact is that it’s often not possible to make a literal translation of one preposition in one language to another preposition in another. In French, for example, on se marie avec (gets married with, rather than to as in English). These little words can be hugely important, though! This morning, we looked at 5 key prepositions.
With
When the angel appeared to Joseph to assure him that Mary’s fantastic story of conception through the Holy Spirit was true, he was told to give the baby the name Jesus, which means ‘Yahweh is salvation’ and we read ‘All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).’ (Matt 1:22-23) One of the most amazing truths about the Incarnation is that God came to earth, in the form of a helpless baby, to be with us.
This truth was prophesied hundreds of years before the birth of Christ by Isaiah and becomes the theme of the whole Bible. Right at the end of the story, we read ‘God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’ (Rev 21:3) There’s a huge difference between being on your own and being with someone, and God has promised never to leave us or forsake us, to be with us every single day of our lives.
For
One of the amazing truths about the birth of Jesus is that it demonstrates to us that God is for us. He is not against us. He’s on our side. (Rom 8:30-31) Even though our sins separated us from God, even though all the wrong things we’ve ever thought or done created a barrier between us and God, He did not leave it like that, but took the initiative and sent His Son to save the world, not to condemn it. (Jn 3:16-17)
Above
God with us emphasises the humility of Christ, that He left His throne and entered our world, but we need also to remember that Jesus is fully God as well as fully human. God is high above all other gods. He is above all, over all, higher than anything or anyone else. The psalmists often sing, ‘Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.’ (Ps 57: 5, 11) and declare ‘the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.’ (Ps 95:3) We need not only a friend and comforter, but a rescuer, a deliverer, a Saviour – and Jesus can be all those things to us.
In
Christmas makes possible one of the greatest mysteries of all: ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory.’ (Col 1:27) Amazingly, God, who was pleased to have all His fulness dwell in Christ (Col 1:19), is now pleased to dwell in us. We are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. (Eph 2:22) Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was that God, out of His glorious riches, may strengthen us with power through His Spirit in our inner being ‘so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.’ (Eph 3:16) We might not be able to see Him; we might not even be able to feel Him, but the truth is that every believer is God’s temple and God dwells in our midst. (1 Cor 3:16) Paul probably talks about being ‘in Christ’ and Christ being in us more than any other prepositional phrase. He reminds us that ‘if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’ (2 Cor 5:17) He tells us that God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Eph 1:3) He says that ‘there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ (Rom 8:1) This little word has a big meaning!
Through
God said to Abraham at the start of his great journey by faith, ‘I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ (Gen 12:3) This was God’s original plan for the world, fulfilled through His chosen people and continued through the church today. Jesus came to be our Saviour and Deliverer, and He entrusted to us the task of telling everyone else about this good news. He wants to work through us! Paul says, ‘Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ (Col 3:17) Our whole lives now are given over to God, so that He can take our lives and work through them.