Vazquez Counseling

Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

Anybody who knows me, knows that I go by Manny. My official first name on my birth certificate is Manuel, which was also my Dad’s name. As a child, we had a neighbor, an older woman named Lucy, who loved all the kids in the neighborhood, and we all loved to hang out at her house. Around the time that I was 7 years old, Lucy started calling me Manny, and the name stuck.

Whenever I meet new Clients, I tell them, my name is Manny, but my official name is Manuel, which was my Dad’s name. My Dad was a great man of God. He is in Heaven now, and I am proud to be part of his legacy as his namesake.

But what does the name Manuel actually mean? It is derived from the Biblical name, Immanuel, which means “God With us.” It is actually one of the titles that our LORD Jesus Christ was given in the Holy Bible, for He is truly “God With Us.”

In Isaiah 7:14, the Prophet announced the following:

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (New King James Version)

Jesus was Immanuel because as the Son of the Living God, He walked amongst us. The Word of God declares that Jesus is the Pre-eminent One, that He was in the Beginning, which actually means that He has always existed, just like God the Father and God the Holy Spirit have always existed.

Jesus is the King of the Universe, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Who deigned to become one of us because of His great grace, mercy and love for us. He came to be with us so that He might understand us fully. He walked in our shoes, as it were, and He gets us because He experienced everything that we do, except sin.

At the end of time and into Eternity, the Scriptures teach that God Himself will also come and walk amongst us. In Revelation 21:3-4, the Apostle John wrote the following:

“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’” (NKJV)

What a wonderful promise! God the Father will do the same thing that Jesus did; He will walk amongst us, finally and forever! I am reminded of how Adam and Eve communed and walked with God in the Garden of Eden before the Fall of Man. That kind of relationship is what God always intended for His people, for us to know Him face to face. After all this time, God will be with us again. His Tabernacle, or His Home, will be on Earth with His people.

The Name Immanuel holds a great promise for us, for it describes perfectly Who God the Son was when He was here, and it describes perfectly Who God the Father will be in His Future Glory and Kingdom, living with His people. Amen.