The Incarnation of the second person of the godhead.
(the birth of Jesus).
The incarnation is the act by which the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, without ceasing to be what He is, God the Son, took into union with Himself what He before that act did not possess, a human nature, and so He was and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures and one person, forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism).
John 1:14; Rom. 1:3, 8:3; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:7-8.
The incarnation comes from the Latin term – “in” and “caro” meaning flesh; in flesh). There have been all kinds of discussion and debate through church history as to the nature of this incarnation. Some have suggested that Jesus is confined to human flesh. This has often been derived from the “self-emptying” of Jesus in Philippians 2:5-6 and the suggestion that Jesus had given up some of His eternal attributes. The implication, however, was that while more than a man was not quite God.
While Jesus may have chosen to limit how He exercised His divine attributes, it would seem fundamentally impossible for Him to stop being who He was and is. He can no more cease being God as you and I could stop being human. The second person of the Godhead clothed Himself (or added to His existence) full humanity.
The Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) recognized the importance of affirming the reality of the incarnation and struggled through the important issues that challenged this reality. It is from this council that produced one of the most critical statements related to the advent of Christ as a baby born to Mary and Joseph. The great declaration of this council affirmed four irrevocable truths about His incarnation:
One and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation, the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the 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, even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of Him, and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us (Council of Chalcedon – A.D. 451).
The key statements that are most recognized is that Jesus Christ possessed “two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation”. This keeps us from the temptation to eliminate any idea that Jesus was not fully God or fully human. You would recognize this in some debates where the question is raised, “Who died for us, the human Jesus or the divine Christ?” The declaration of this council would answer this question. The incarnation of the second person of the Godhead “came 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.” In other words, there was no such things as two persons only two natures (without confusion, without change, without division, without separation) and ONLY one person – Jesus Christ. The question is not valid because there was only one person.
In spite of all the theological and philosophical verbiage, we are reminded that this little infant, Jesus, born of a virgin in these humble circumstances was this person Jesus Christ. In every sense of the word, Jesus was fully human (being human is not, in and of itself sinful) and fully God. We have been subjected to the curse and sin affects our humanity, so we are broken, dysfunctional and separated from God BUT Christ did not share in that sinfulness. This child whom the Magi came and worshipped and deposited gifts was the perfect provision for our need. We know for whom Christ died because He was human. We know His sacrifice was sufficient to satisfy the wrath of a holy God because He was God.
Jesus was the perfect gift because He was the perfect sacrifice. We are made perfect in Christ because of Christ in us.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Pastor Brad
