FIVE TRUTHS ABOUT THE INCARNATION Christmas is about the incarnation of Jesus. Strip away the season’s hustle and bustle, the trees, the cookies, the extra pounds, and what remains is a humble birth story and a stunning reality of the incarnation of the eternal Son of God. This incarnation, God himself becoming human, is a fact that is often neglected and forgotten among all the gifts, get-togethers, pageants, and presents. It would do us good to think deeply about the incarnation, especially during this time of year. Here are five biblical truths of the incarnation. 1. The Incarnation Wasn't The Divine Son’s Beginning The virgin conception and birth in Bethlehem doesn't mark the beginning of the Son of God. But it does mark the eternal Son entering physically into our world and becoming one of us. John 1:1-2 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God." John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." 2. The Incarnation Shows Jesus’s Humility Jesus isn't a typical king. Jesus didn’t come to be served. Instead, Jesus came to serve (Mark 10:45). His humility was on full display from the beginning to the end, from Bethlehem to Golgotha. Paul glories in the humility of Christ when he writes. Philippians 2:6-8 "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: [7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: [8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." 3. The Incarnation Fulfills Prophecy The incarnation wasn’t random or accidental. It was predicted in the Old Testament and in accordance with God’s eternal plan. Perhaps the clearest text predicting the Messiah would be both human and God is Isaiah 9:6. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." In this verse, Isaiah sees a son that is to be born, and yet he is no ordinary son. His extraordinary names, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace, all point to his deity. And taken together, the son being born and his name points to him being the God-man, Jesus Christ. 4. The Incarnation Is Mysterious The Scriptures don't give us answers to all of our questions. Some things remain mysterious. Moses wrote under the inspiration of God in Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever," Answering the question of how one person could be both fully God and fully man is not something that the Scriptures focus on. The early church fathers preserved this mystery at the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) when they wrote that Jesus is "Recognized in two natures [God and man], without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of nature's being in no way annulled by union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ." 5. The Incarnation Is Necessary For Salvation The incarnation of Jesus doesn't save by itself, but it's an essential link in God’s plan of redemption. Hebrews 2:17, we find the scriptures testifying to this, "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." The incarnation displays the greatness of God. Our God is the eternal God who was born in a stable, not a distant, withdrawn God; our God is a humble, giving God, not a selfish, grabbing God; our God is a purposeful, planning God, not a random, reactionary God; our God is a God who is far above us and whose ways are not our ways, not a God we can put in a box and control; and our God is a God who redeems us by his blood, not a God who leaves us in our sin. Our God is great! Pastor Carroll, Senior Pastor Sharon Baptist Church
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Sharon Baptist church is an independent, fundamental Baptist church located in Hampton, VA.
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