The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14
One of the great doctrines of Christianity is the Incarnation—the embodiment of God in the human form of Jesus Christ. That’s really what the celebration of Christmas is all about. God became a man who was born to die for the sins of His people as prophesied by Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 53:10; Micah 5:2 and others. So when you continue to see the attempts to remove all references to Christmas—the manger scenes, the traditional carols, even saying, “Merry Christmas,” from our schools, workplaces, and throughout our society, please know that it’s not in the name of tolerance—it’s in the name of denial that God came to earth to show us His glory and save our souls.
Even though the church settled the early disputes about the nature of Christ, would it surprise you to know that the Incarnation and Deity of our Lord is still the most holy contested and debated doctrine by all of the world’s major religions today? The Jews believe Jesus was a fake Messiah and a blasphemer. Muslims believe He was a prophet, second to Mohammed but not the Son of God, because God has no son. Jehovah’s Witnesses say He was a created being with different stages of existence, the first being Michael the Archangel. The Mormons claim Jesus to be the spiritual and physical offspring of God by procreation. They say He had a preexistence as God’s spirit child (one of many) and was a brother of Lucifer before he fell from heaven (Luke 10:18).
“The Word became flesh.” There is no clearer statement made in all of Scripture that best defines and expresses the Incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ. God the Son, the second person of the triune God, took on a human body. Through the gateway of human birth He took up residency among men. Thus, the Son of God entered into a new dimension of existence. He was not a phantom or total spirit being. He was not half God and half man. He was fully God and fully man as the early creedal statements advocated and this is John’s testimony about Him to us.
Why did God come in this way—for what purpose? To reveal Himself to us in a personal way, to identify with us, to teach us about His kingdom—to teach us about grace and truth—and to die on the cross as a sinless man for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). That’s how much He loves us. To that end Max Lucado asks, “If we could save ourselves, why would we need a Savior?” He notes that “Jesus didn’t enter the world to help us save ourselves. He entered the world to save us from ourselves.” Then he adds: “You might save yourself from a broken heart or going broke or running out of gas. But you’re not good enough to save yourself from sin; you aren’t strong enough to save yourself from death.”
Jesus made His dwelling among us in a human body. Now He dwells with us in our human body. The Apostle Paul calls this mystery, “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Just as Jesus was resurrected in His human body and ascended to heaven in His glorious body, so will we. The Scripture clearly says, “just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). What a day that will be!
The Incarnation. It’s still what Christmas is all about. Maranatha!
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