Incarnation: God Becoming a Man

The Incarnation of Jesus Christ is the core meaning of Christmas. While the Bible does not use the exact term “incarnation,” the concept is explicitly taught throughout the New Testament. The word incarnation means “in the flesh.” It comes from the Latin words “in,” which means the same as our English word “in,” and “carnis,” which means “flesh.” It is taken out of the Latin translation of John 1:14, which in English reads, The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. The Latin Vulgate was the primary translation used through many centuries of the Medieval church and so this term became common place in defining the nature of Jesus.

Jesus: God in Flesh

The incarnation is the divine miracle where the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1, 14 states,

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

The Son of God is the Word and when He entered the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, at that moment of conception the incarnation occurred. Those cluster of cells in Mary’s body divided again and again until nine months passed and the God-man was born (John 5:18; 10:33). Jesus is God in flesh (Matthew 1:23). God because He is eternally God from the Father and man because He is the true offspring of Mary. 1 Timothy 3:16 in the NKJV reads,

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.

Jesus affirmed His divine eternality when He walked this earth (John 8:58; 10:30; 14:7-11). Divinity is not something Jesus acquired after He was born, or after He was resurrected. Jesus has always been the divine Son of God; He was manifested to the world as the Son of God (1 John 3:8). He was 100% God and 100% man in one person. Strictly speaking the name Jesus only applies to Him when He became human. It is the name He was given once Mary was pregnant with Him (Luke 1:31).

Historically a Controversial Topic

For the first five centuries of the Christian church this subject was a major controversy. Many early church leaders questioned the truth of the incarnation, but the orthodox church leaders were determined to get the doctrine of Christ right. Through a series of ecumenical councils in Nicaea (A.D. 325), Constantinople (A.D. 381), Ephesus (A.D. 431), and Chalcedon (A.D. 451), those leaders articulated in the most precise terms the exact nature of Christ based solely on the Bible. We are indebted to them for such careful articulation of the biblical text. The creeds they developed have continued to this day to be a source of orthodox theology concerning the person and nature of Jesus Christ.

How Important is This?

Without the incarnation, there would be no clear knowledge of God. Only with the coming of Jesus was the true nature of the Father revealed to the world. We also would have no chance of eternal life. For if the Son of God did not enter humanity to die on the cross for sin and be resurrected, there would be no hope at all. We would be spiritually dead in our sins and trespasses. We would be without God, without Christ, without heaven. But thanks be to God for sending Jesus to live and die among us.