The Incarnation of the Son
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“For the propechy came not at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” I Peter 1:21
This is Part 1 of Lesson 1 of Basic Bible Truths written by Cecil Argetsinger and distributed by mail as a free Bible study resource many years ago.
This lesson is entitled Who Wrote the Bible? Subtitle: The Bible is a Revelation of God
Enjoy and meditate on this word about the Holy Word of God!
Introduction
The term incarnation speaks of that great act of God by which He became one with man and thus entered into experiences of humanity. It is vastly more than the virgin birth. The incarnation is a principal part of the whole plan and purpose of God in which He reveals Himself to man and accomplishes his redemption. The virgin birth, though wonderful and mysterious, is only a single detail of how he became incarnate. It has only to do with the way Christ entered into man’s world. In the incarnation, the great God of the universe takes unto Himself, by supernatural means, a human body and nature. In the virgin birth, that humanity enters into this world, naturally and normally, like any other member of the human race except Adam and Eve.
That it was God Himself who became incarnate has been set forth in those lessons concerning “The Trinity of God” and “The Deity of the Son.” The question as to why God became incarnate needs to be answered and is the chief subject of this lesson. Though there are others worth mentioning we will note briefly several major reasons as to why God became incarnate.
To Mainfest God
There is no doubt that God revealed Himself to man before Jesus Christ came. Abraham and Jacob, Moses and the elders of Israel, all saw some of the glory of God and came to know something of His nature (Genesis 17:1; Genesis 32:30; Exodus 24:9-11). Isaiah and Ezekiel both had visions of God (Isaiah 6:1-5); Ezekiel 1:1). Daniel beheld Him on His throne and named Him the “Ancient of days” (Daniel 7:9-10). He appeared to some as the “Word of the LORD” (Genesis 15:1-2) and to others as the “Angel of the LORD” (Judges 13:21-22). But those revelations were incomplete and irregular, dim and shadowy when compared with the present revelation of God given to us in the Christ of the New Testament. What better way is there for an infinite God to reveal Himself to finite men than by becoming man Himself? Now we can know what God is really like. True, we cannot see Him in His full glory, He “dwelleth in light unapproachable,” but now we have seen God in action. We have seen Jesus Christ (in the Scriptures) and Jesus Christ is God. He is God acting as God would act if God were also a man. He is also a man acting as a man would act if that man were also God.
Scripture tells us that Christ “...is the image of the invisible God…” (Colossians 1:15). The truth expressed in those words is not that Christ is a statue of Him who is invisible to human eyes, but that He has made known that which before was really unknown. He has caused us to see what God is like. “No man hath seen God (in His fullness) at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared (revealed) Him” (John 1:18). God is now manifest (made known) in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16). “And the Word (Jesus Christ) 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” (John 1:14).
To Be the Ideal Man
In every way all other men have failed God. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But God delights in this Man, the incarnate Christ, because He always did those things which pleased the Father (John 8:29); He was obedient “...even unto death” (Philemon 2:8). Because of this He becomes the example, the ideal for us to follow (I Peter 2:21). His mind or attitude towards God should be our attitude, His walk before God the pattern of our walk. If it were said of David, how much more true is it that this One was a man “after God’s own heart.”
To Be Our High Priest
The priesthood of Christ is the central theme of the Book of Hebrews. He is presented as a merciful and faithful High Priest, having two main ministries. One ministry, which is past, is that once for all offering of Himself for our sins. The other is His present continuing service of intercession in behalf of the believer in Christ. (To make intercession, to intercede, is to plead or speak for someone who is in trouble or needing help.) In each case He had to become incarnate in order to fulfill His ministry.
That Christ must have a body, that He must be man, in order to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin is obvious; God cannot die. So, says Christ to the Father, “...a body hast Thou prepared Me” (Hebrews 10:5). And the believer is “...sanctified (that is, set apart to God) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). Scripture also declares that “...Christ being come an high priest…by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:11-12). Marvelous thought, so real, so inseparable is the union of the humanity and the Deity of Christ that the blood He shed in that man’s body is also declared to be the “...blood of God” (Acts 20:28).
Scripture is also clear to the truth that Christ carries on His present intercessory ministry as a man. “But this man, because He continueth (liveth) ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore, He is able also to save them to the uttermost (forever) that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25).
To Make Propitiation For Sins
The word propitiation expresses the truth that the death of Christ satisfies the justice and holiness of God. God does not forgive sin in the sense of merely overlooking it. God can never settle for sin by being tolerant of it. Sin is against the holiness of God and sin must be punished no matter who the sinner might be. In the use of the term propitiation God is declaring that Christ so completely bore the penalty against sin that God’s righteousness is perfectly upheld even when He forgoes the punishment of the sinner. The infinite sufferings of the infinite Savior have upheld the holiness of God.
It is not so much that the penalty of sin is passed by, but that every sin has been paid for. The account is perfectly settled to the satisfaction of an infinitely holy God. Romans 3:24-26 clearly states the truth that Christ made propitiation for sins and that therefore God is perfectly righteous in forgiving the sinner.
But Christ, the eternal Son of God, could not die as my substitute. He could not bear the punishment of my sins unless He were a man. Only another man could take my place and thus the incarnation becomes a necessity.
To Redeem Man
Redemption is closely related to propitiation but there is this difference. Propitiation refers to the fact that Christ’s death on the cross satisfied the justice and righteousness of God. Redemption, on the other hand, sets forth the work of Christ in providing salvation for the sinner. Both are brought about by the same death, the giving up of that human life that God had taken to Himself, but the results are pointed in different directions. Christ’s death on the cross declared God to be righteous in the forgiveness of sins and it also secured immeasurable blessings for the believer. But He could not have died had it not been for the incarnation and the body that Christ thereby acquired.
To Destroy the Power of Satan
The Bible strongly emphasizes that the death of Christ (which would not have been possible without the incarnation), satisfied God’s holiness and accomplished the sinner’s redemption. But it also teaches that in some way that same death also brought about the destruction and overthrow of Satan and his power. Just exactly how Christ’s death brought this about may be open to discussion but the fact that it did just that is perfectly clear. “Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). Though Satan’s sentence may be delayed, the basis of his condemnation has already been accomplished by the God-man.
To Sit on David’s Throne
It is God’s plan to establish a kingdom on earth. The only objection to such a statement would have to come from a denial or a spiritualization of hundreds of Old Testament Scriptures such as II Samuel 7:10-16 and Isaiah 11:1-10. The setting up of such a kingdom was the prayer of the disciples when they said, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Even after the cross and the resurrection they looked, and rightfully so, for Christ to establish that kingdom (Acts 1:6).
That kingdom, though covering all the earth (Isaiah 11:9), was particularly to be Israel’s kingdom (II Samuel 7:10), and the One who was to rule and reign was to be an Israelite, a descendent of Abraham (Genesis 12:3), from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), and from the family of David (II Sameul 7:12-16; Jeremiah 33:17).
That One was also to be a God-Person. Though numerous passages could be quoted to support this statement, two familiar ones will be sufficient. Isaiah 9:6-7 points out that the One who was to govern and reign, though coming as a “child born” was nonetheless “the mighty God, everlasting (or eternal) Father.” Micah 5:2 also declares that the One born in Bethlehem and who was destined to rule Israel was He “whose goings forth have been from of old, from eternity.”
No other way could this be accomplished but through the incarnation, God taking unto Himself a human body and nature. And as a result of such an undertaking we have Jesus Christ, the God-man. As such, God and man, He will rule over Israel’s kingdom as well as the whole earth forever (Psalm 89:35-37; Luke 1:33-35).
How wonderful are the ways of God. Surely His ways are not our way nor His thoughts our thoughts. No human mind could have ever devised such a plan of salvation. “Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out.”
Questions for Lesson 7, Part 2
What does incarnation mean?
Name seven reasons why God became incarnate.
What is the difference between the virgin birth and the incarnation?
Why did Christ have to become incarnate to save us from sin?
How did becoming incarnate help to reveal God?
When Christ returns to earth to rule, will it be as God or man?
Answers for Lesson 7, Part 2
Incarnation is the act of God when He added to His God-nature a human nature and body.
God became incarnate in order to:
Make God known
Be God’s ideal man
Be our High Priest
Make propitiation for sins
Redeem man
Destroy the power of Satan
Be the King over all the earth
The incarnation has to do with God’s whole purpose and plan for men. The virgin birth is only how Christ became incarnate.
Christ became incarnate because He needed to be man in order to die for us. God cannot die.
By God becoming incarnate we can see what God is like and what He would do if He were a man.
When Christ returns to earth to rule and reign it will be as a man.
