Michael Spencer wrote, “… without the incarnation, Christianity isn’t even a very good story, and most sadly, it means nothing. ‘Be nice to one another’ is not a message that can give my life meaning, assure me of love beyond brokenness, and break open the dark doors of death with the key of hope.” Incarnation simply means the Biblical understanding that Jesus took on human nature. This concept has puzzled people throughout history and led to many false doctrines being put forward about the nature of Jesus. However, it was part of God’s beautiful plan to become Immanuel – God with us. Rather than a sad little story, it is the grandest story told.
Pre-existence of the Son
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:1-5
The first five verses in the Gospel of John are some of the most beautiful and profound words ever written. John does not need to prove the existence of God; he assumes it. The way verse 1 is constructed conveys the idea of no beginning, but a continuous existence. The word for “word” in the Greek is logos. The Word is the manifestation of God, here the physical manifestation. The Hebrew word memra was translated into the Greek as logos and was used for the manifestation of God in the Old Testament. John was writing to Greeks and Jews so this concept would have meaning to both groups. In Greek thought of the time, logos referred to the principle that controlled the universe. Stoic philosophers thought of the logos as the soul of the world or the mind of God. They understood the term and the concept much better than we do.
In verse 2 we see that the Word is a separate and distinct personality within the Godhead. The word “with” can also mean “toward,” so the Word (Jesus) was with God and was oriented toward God in union and harmony, which really should also describe us as believers. The Word was a “He,” a person, not a nebulous idea. Jesus did not become an entity when He was born, but did become human. He was also the Creator, as we see in verse 3, not a created being. He was present at the foundation of the world and well before. Finally, in verses 4 and 5 we see He was and is the source of life. John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came to give abundant life. The Word, the Creator, is the source of life, both physical and spiritual. And He is also light. Light obviously illuminates and Jesus came to illuminate the world. Unfortunately, the darkness of the world cannot comprehend the Light. It requires the work of the Holy Spirit to reveal the Light to us in order to pierce the darkness of our sin and bring about regeneration.
Jesus as Creator (and not created) is echoed in Paul’s writings in Colossians 1:16-17: For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Just before this in verse 15 we read that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” That’s the incarnation in a nutshell.
Sending of the Son (Isaiah 11:1-5, John 3:13-17)
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. Isaiah 11:1-5
Isaiah gives us a prophecy about the Messiah using Jesse, David’s father. The word “stump” refers to a remnant. Isaiah has prophesied the fall of the kingdom of Judah and that there would be no king on the throne. He now states what other prophets had declared – the line is not ended. A new and glorious king would arise from the stump. And what would this king be like. He will have the Spirit of the Lord with Him. His qualities will include wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. These qualities were missing from the kings in Isaiah’s time, but would be evident in the Messiah.
In addition he will delight in the fear of the Lord – we’ll see this later – but remember everything Jesus said about doing the Father’s will and that He listened to the Father. While He will be a human, He will judge with perfect righteousness because He is divine. Jesus is the ideal person (obviously) to govern the earth because of his righteousness and faithfulness – He was sent to rule and to judge.
No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:13-17
In verse 13 Jesus mentions his “descent from Heaven,” i.e., He came down … He was sent. Jesus got down to the hard truth in verses 14-15 Jesus, although no one would have understood it at the time. He would be lifted up – crucified – so that those who believe might have eternal life. Verse 16 is one of the most well-known verses in Scripture. The incarnation happened because God loved His creation, the beings He made in His image. I don’t know that we can ever gain an understanding of this kind of love – it is truly astounding.
The phrase “only begotten” is the Greek word monogenes. The best translations of this word are “one and only; one of a kind; unique.” There is only one Jesus, the Creator who entered His creation to rescue those He created, who could do nothing to save themselves. The gift He offered was escape from death into eternal life with God – a return to the Garden, if you will – a return to the right and intended perfect relationship with the Creator.
In verse 17 we have a bit more than Isaiah gives us, but it’s really a matter of timing. Jesus was not sent to condemn the world, but to save the world. How does that jibe with the judgment of Isaiah? He is righteous. Only because He is righteous are we saved. Ultimately (final judgment), He will judge and condemnation will occur, but as 18 tells us, it is for those who have not believed. People condemn themselves by not accepting who Jesus is and what He did for them.
Jesus was sent to us because of love. Love is not passive, it is active. If your love for someone becomes passive (wife, husband, children, God) you need a wake-up call. Sam Levenson said, “Love at first sight is easy to understand. It’s when two people have been looking at each other for years that it becomes a miracle.” God’s active love resulted in the Incarnation. Do not take it for granted. Do not become too used to the ideas of God’s love and grace that you lose awe for the enormity of the gift.
Two Natures of the Son
We’re going to bounce around Hebrews for a bit because the author of Hebrews has excellent insights into who Jesus is.
Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:17-18
Jesus had to be made like us in every respect, that is, human. Therefore He was able to become the ultimate high priest offering the ultimate sacrifice in payment for sin – Himself. Because He was like us, He was tempted, and He can therefore help those who are tempted. Jesus is fully human!
In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. Hebrews 5:7-9
“In the days of his flesh” obviously means when He walked the earth as a man. Jesus offered prayer that was heard because of His reverence, the fear of God Isaiah spoke of. He was a son, the Son, but He learned obedience. Jesus was already perfect, but after death and resurrection, He was salvation to those who obey/believe. So He was pre-existent and God, and then became man AND He was a human. Hebrews 1:3 says:
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
This is a powerful verse. Jesus is the very radiance of God’s glory and bears God’s exact nature (hypostasis), to the point that He upholds the universe simply by a word. But, He was a man who sacrificed himself (purification for sins) and ascended. Jesus had a dual nature, but what does is it mean to be God and man? Let’s look at who Jesus is as well as some of the false doctrines about Him. I won’t go into a great deal of detail, but feel free to Google these terms and go into the wormhole of the internet to learn more.
- Hypostatic Union – The theological description of the union of the two natures of Christ. Christ is one person who exists forevermore in two complete natures: God and Man. It is mysterious and profound and at the heart of our belief as followers of Christ.
- Many false beliefs in the early church that still rear their heads even
now. Council of Chalcedon in 451AD to
put to rest false doctrines and stress the dual nature of Jesus as fully God
and fully man.
- Docetism – Jesus only seemed to have a body, because anything material was inherently evil. This is holographic Jesus.
- Ebionism – Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary who assumed title “Son of God” at his baptism.
- Arianism – Jesus was not eternally God, but created by God before the creation of the world.
- Apollinarianism – Jesus possessed a human body but not a human mind. The Word became flesh, but was not invested with an evil human mind. This is “God in a bod.”
- Nestorianism – Fully God and fully man and loosely united in person, but not in a body. In other words, when Jesus was entered our world His divinity was associated with a body.
- Monophysitism – Jesus had only a divine nature that was integrated into His human body, that is, the human nature was eliminated.
I wish I could explain the nature of Jesus better, but it is impossible for my simple mind to fully grasp it. People have used the example of light, because it exists in particles and waves. John Calvin compared Jesus’ nature to having two eyes, yet one vision. I must simply accept what Scriptures tell me – Jesus was God and man. It boils down to faith.
Why the Incarnation?
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15
We have already spoken of God’s love for us and these verses from Hebrews provide an excellent statement of why Jesus came and shared that love. He came to offer revelation and restoration. God never gave up on us; God never gives up on us. I cannot explain the incarnation, but I can understand the beauty of a simple birth. I can understand the love of a parent for a child and the wish to rescue that child from danger. I can grasp a bit of the grand story of creation, loss, despair and hope that has played out over the span of time.
We had a need for forgiveness because we betrayed our Creator. He didn’t have to meet that need, but because of His love for us He chose to. There might have been other ways to accomplish this, perhaps a simple decree that all are forgiven, but He recognizes us as beings made in His image who are capable of action … so He sent Himself. Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer once said “The best way to send information is to wrap it up in a person.” God sent His love, Himself, as a person.