The Incarnation
I don’t usually preach sermons like this one.
I much rather prefer to take a text and do an exposition on that text
In order to leave you with only the word of God.
And that was my intention this morning as well.
In fact, I was studying Galatians 4.
Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
And we may indeed examine that passage more on Christmas morning, but as I studied I was drawn in to
The two prerequisites that the Savior had to meet.
“born of a woman”
“born under the Law”
I began to study the fact that “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman”
You and I refer to this mystery as “The Incarnation”
And the incarnation is itself the very essence of Christmas.
Matthew 1:21-23 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
Christmas is all about the fact
That God became man and dwelt among us.
Every other focus of Christmas is at best secondary
And at worst insignificant.
I actually get agitated easily
In regard to all that goes on around Christmas time.
Certainly the commercialism is aggravating.
I could really care less about Santa Claus and reindeer or the many other secular figures of the holiday. And at times the focus on them at the exclusion of Christ is irritating.
But I even tend to get frustrated with the church
Because even while seeking to remain spiritual even the church has a tendency to miss the point.
CHRISTMAS IS NOT ABOUT A BABY
But most of the time “baby Jesus” is all we hear about at Christmas.
“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head, the stars in the sky look down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.”
It’s sweet, it’s cute, it makes a hallmark moment,
But it tremendously misses the point.
THE POINT OF CHRISTMAS IS THAT GOD BECAME FLESH
The incarnation is the point.
Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”
Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”
2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
And perhaps the pinnacle verse in all of Scripture.
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
GOD BECAME FLESH
It is absolutely marvelous and absolutely essential.
And this morning I just wanted to talk to you a little about it,
And hopefully help you see why Christmas is such a big deal.
So let’s talk about the Incarnation.
FIRST – WHAT IS IT?
• What does it mean to say that God became flesh?
• What exactly is the mystery involving the person and nature of Jesus Christ?
YOU MUST KNOW THAT THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES
THIS TOPIC HAS BEEN HEAVILY DEBATED.
In 381 AD the Nicene Creed was finalized which confirmed
The deity of Jesus by hammering out the nature of the trinity.
The final ruling was that God was one nature revealed in three persons.
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
And it nailed down the fact that Jesus was God
And branded a heretic out of anyone who denied the fact.
That trouble however bubbled over
Into the issue regarding the person of Christ.
Certainly no one was going to deny that Jesus was God,
But the question became in what sense can He have been human?
I can’t really spend a whole lot of time here,
And I certainly don’t want to bog you down with it,
But it is beneficial to give you just a brief glimpse of the struggle
So that you can solidify the nature of Jesus,
And also know the difference between truth and heresy.
The battle can really come down to a fight
Between two cities and two ways of thinking.
(both of which wanted more control in the power of the church)
Alexandria, whose theologians focused on the deity of Jesus.
Antioch, whose theologians focused on the humanity of Jesus.
ALEXANDRIAN THEOLOGIANS
Appollinarius – “God in a Bod”
Jesus was divine God simply wearing a human body.
He saw Jesus as appearing human,
But not as one who had a human nature as ours,
Which was frail and weak and subject to temptation.
He was condemned as a heretic in 381
Eutyches – “Jesus the Hybrid”
The divine nature of Christ and the human nature of Jesus
Sort of merged to make a single “hybrid” nature
In which the divine swallowed up the human.
He also was condemned.
Each left Jesus as God, but failed to make Him fully human,
Unable to identify with man, not really tempted by sin,
And therefore one who could not possibly be their redeemer.
The main question against them being:
“How can Christ heal what He has not assumed?”
ANTIOCHAN THEOLOGIANS
Nestorius – “Jesus as two persons”
He taught that Christ was two natures and two persons,
Both dwelling in one body.
(Sort of like a schizophrenic)
Only in Jesus, His man nature just did
What the God nature told Him to do.
(But the two were still separate persons and natures)
While the two did associate closely,
They were still distinct from one another.
(He described it like a marriage)
The problem is that this could have been true of any prophet.
Real human heavily influenced by the divine.
Nestorius was condemned as a heretic and exiled into the desert.
THE PROBLEM WITH ALL THREE
They left the Son of God never truly entering human existence,
Only relating to it through His association with the man Jesus.
All had extreme difficulty with God becoming human.
Humans were weak
Humans suffer
Humans are tempted by sin
AND WHILE SOME RECOGNIZED JESUS AS HUMAN,
NONE COULD ENVISION GOD AS HUMAN.
In 451 at the council of Chalcedon the solution was reached
The solution became known as the hypostatic union
“In agreement, therefore, with the holy fathers we all unanimously teach that we should confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same Son; that same perfect in Godhead and the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same of rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father in Godhead and the same consubstantial with us in manhood; like us in all things except sin; begotten of the Father before all ages as regards his Godhead and in the last days the same, for us and for our salvation, begotten of the Virgin Mary the Theotokos as regards his manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, made known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the difference of the natures being by no means removed because of the union but the property of each nature being preserved and coalescing in one person and one hypostasis, not parted or divided into two persons but one and the same Son, only-begotten, divine Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets of old and Jesus Christ himself have taught us about him, and the creed of our fathers has handed down.”
And the most notable phrase from the document was this:
“made known in two natures without confusion, without change,
without division, without separation”
He was “without confusion, without change” – not a hybrid
He was “without division, without separation” – not two separate persons
“the property of each nature being preserved and coalescing in one person and one hypostasis, not parted or divided into two persons but one and the same Son, only-begotten, divine Word, the Lord Jesus Christ”
They declared Jesus fully God and fully man.
In Jesus God became man.
Furthermore they denounced and condemned anything short of that.
I tell you that because I want you to see what the incarnation isn’t
It is NOT God co-dwelling with man inside the body of Jesus.
NOR is it God just wearing a human body.
The mystery of Christ is that He was fully God and fully man.
He was two natures and one person.
God is 3 who’s and 1 what (3 persons, 1 nature)
Jesus is 2 what’s and 1 who (2 natures, 1 person)
Don’t look at Jesus as a man who yielded to God’s nature
Don’t look at Jesus as God in a man’s body
JESUS IS GOD WHO BECAME MAN
Philippians 2:6-7 “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
“form” translates MORPHE
It relates to the very essence of a person.
John MacArthur notes that it is
The absolute unchangeable feature of a person.
You can change your hair, change your nose, change your weight
But you cannot change the fact that you are a human.
So it is with Christ. “He existed in the form of God”
He then took “the form of a bond-servant”
He was both in one
Adrian Rogers said,
“He was so much God that it was as though He was not man. He was so much man that it was as though He was not God.”
And so when we say that God “became flesh and dwelt among us”
We don’t mean that God just put on a body. God became human.
He suffered… He was tempted… He wept… He slept…
He thirsted… He was weary… He was frustrated… He died…
He didn’t just observe man, He didn’t just appear like a man,
He was God who became man.
That is what the incarnation is.
SECONDLY – WHY DO WE NEED IT?
WHY DID GOD HAVE TO BECOME A MAN?
I asked that question to Peggy this week and she said, “For us”.
The quickest answer to the question is: SALVATION
God had to became man in order to make salvation possible.
BUT WHY?
(4 reasons)
1) TO BE A MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
On one hand we were separated from God.
From the day man was removed from the garden,
He has been separated from God; unable to enter His presence.
This was most clearly seen in Israel’s building of a tabernacle
In which the veil was raised to separate man from the Holy of Holies.
God is infinitely holy, man is totally wicked
And the gap between the two was immeasurable.
Furthermore we are two different natures.
Yes we are made in God’s image,
But apart from salvation, we do not share in His nature.
We are different, and separated.
There was then the necessity of a mediator between the two parties.
One who was God who can associate with God
And one who was man who could associate with man.
God could not come to man, and man alone could not get to God.
There had to be one who could bridge the gap.
In steps Jesus.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”
TURN TO: ROMANS 5:1-11
This entire chapter drips with the concept of Christ as mediator.
To recognize that simply look for the number of times
The word “through” is mentioned.
VERSE 1 – Peace with God
VERSE 2 – Access to Grace
VERSE 9 – Salvation from God’s wrath
VERSE 10 – Reconciliation with God
VERSE 11 – Rejoicing in God
All of those realities come through the agency of the mediator.
He is the channel through which peace, and grace, and salvation,
And forgiveness, and blessing flow.
The incarnation made that a possibility.
The 2nd person in the God-head became man
To be a mediator between God and man.
2) THE INABILITY OF MAN TO SAVE HIMSELF
Another reason why God had to become man
Is because man had no means to bring salvation to himself.
(we don’t have time to go through the futility of man’s works)
It was not possible for a man to save mankind,
God had to become man to make it possible.
WHY? – Adam
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”
Thanks to Adam we are all born with a sin nature
And are already displeasing to God.
David said:
Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”
And because of this any man born of Adam
Was already disqualified to be an acceptable sacrifice to God.
This is in essence why John is weeping in Revelation.
Revelation 5:1-4 “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;”
It was the same problem that was revealed by the prophets.
Ezekiel 22:30 “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”
Jeremiah 5:1 “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her.”
It was not possible for man to redeem man,
Because all men were unacceptable to God.
We’ve read Romans 3.
Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
There was no man who could stand in the gap and redeem God’s people.
GOD WOULD HAVE TO BECOME MAN
Isaiah 59:16 “And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him.”
Isaiah 63:4-5 “For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. “I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me.”
In Revelation 5, after John wept, he was comforted.
Revelation 5:5 “and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
Jesus wasn’t born of Adam, He was born of a virgin.
Jesus was God made man and capable of saving mankind.
One writer wrote:
“Why did God become a man? …because God is infinitely Holy, even the smallest sin is infinitely offensive to Him. As a result, an infinite payment must be made for the sins of each and every person. Now there are two ways by which an infinite payment can be offered: a finite person could suffer God’s wrath for an infinite period of time, or an infinite person could suffer God’s wrath for a finite period of time. Both yield an infinite payment for sin.”
Jesus was an infinite person who suffered for a finite period of time.
God became man to be a mediator.
God became man because man was incapable of saving himself
3) THE NEED OF MAN FOR A SUBSTITUTE
We know man couldn’t save himself.
But why did God have to be A MAN?
Why couldn’t He just stay God and do it?
Man was guilty before God and man must pay the penalty.
Scripture clearly indicates that other sacrifices
Are not permanently acceptable.
Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Man sinned and man must pay.
And the penalty? -Death
The only way the penalty could be paid is if a man paid it.
To accomplish this God had to become man.
Hebrews 2:9 “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
If God doesn’t become man then God can’t be a substitute for man.
To be a mediator – Because man is unable – to be a substitute
4) TO PERFECT THE SAVIOR’S ROLE AS A PRIEST
And before you pass that off as insignificant, you should know
That the security of your salvation hangs upon that fact.
Hebrews 7:23-25 “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
The security of our salvation rests upon
The continual intercession of the Savior on our behalf.
But you must also understand that in order
To be an effective priest, something had to occur.
TURN TO: HEBREWS 5:1-10
VERSES 1-4 = requirements for a normal priest
(1) “taken from among men”
(1) “appointed on behalf of men”
(1) “to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins”
(2) “deal gently with the ignorant and misguided”
(3) “he is obligated”
VERSE 5 – “So also Christ”
VERSE 8 – “Although He was a Son,
He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”
I don’t know what it does to your theology to see that Jesus learned.
Many take issue with that because Jesus was omniscient God.
How could God learn?
God can’t, for He knows all,
But Jesus was also fully man, and man can learn.
Luke 2:40 “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
Luke 2:52 “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
And in Hebrews it says, “He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”
What it means is that He learned the role
Of an effective high priest because He suffered.
There has only ever been one way to learn sympathy,
And that is similar suffering.
You can witness a burn victim, treat a burn victim, live with a burn victim, but until you are burned you cannot truly sympathize.
(Your education is lacking)
If Jesus was to be a faithful high priest He would have to suffer.
He suffered more than any other man.
“A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”
But it worked.
VERSE 9 – “And having been made perfect, He became to all who those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”
He could be a high priest
Because He became human and suffered as a human.
Had He only been God, watching from a distance,
He could have never fully known the struggles of humanity.
Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.”
He had to become man to know:
• Why obedience is so hard…
• Why temptation is so effective…
• Why death is such a fearful thing…
And so He became man and learned it.
Hebrews 2:17-18 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
And that is only possible because God became man.
IT IS THE ABSOLUTE BEAUTY OF THE INCARNATION.
God didn’t just associate closely with man.
God didn’t just appear like a man.
God actually became a man.
In Christ Jesus there were two natures in one person.
He was just as much man as He was God.
• Christmas is not about a man and a woman finding shelter in a barn…
• Christmas is not about a baby sleeping on the hay…
• Christmas is not about shepherds and sheep…
• Christmas is not even about God coming near…
CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT GOD BECOMING MAN
Not God in a man’s body
Not God forcing His will on a man’s conscience
Not God closely observing the nature of a man
Christmas is about God becoming man.
St. Augustine wrote:
“The Word of the Father by whom all time was created was made flesh and was born in time for us. He without whose divine permission no day completes its course wished to have one day for His human birth. In the bosom of His Father He existed before all the cycles of ages, born of an earthly mother He entered upon the course of the years. The maker of man became man that He, ruler of the stars, might be nourished at the breast, that He the bread might be hungry, that He the fountain might thirst, that He the light might sleep, that He the way might be weary by journey, that He the truth might be accused by false witnesses, that He the judge of the living and the dead might be brought to trial by a mortal judge, that He justice might be condemned by the unjust, that He discipline might be scourged with whips, that He the foundation might be suspended on a cross, that He courage might be weakened, that He security might be wounded, that He life might die. To endure these and similar indignities for us, to free us, unworthy creatures, He who existed as the Son of God before all ages without beginning, deigned to become the Son of Man in these recent years. He did this although He who submitted to great evils for our sakes had done no evil, and although [we] who were the recipients of so much good at His hands had done nothing to merit these benefits.”
(quoted by John MacArthur in his sermon “The Inside Story of the Incarnation” – Philippians 2:6-11 / 80-205)
This Christmas I want you to look past the simplicity of the manger
And marvel in the absolute beauty of the incarnation.
God did what was inconceivable.
God actually became man.
And because of that we have a Mediator,
We have a Savior, we have a Substitute,
And we have a Great High Priest who truly understands what we are going through.
Rejoice in the Incarnation!
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
