November 13, 2004

GOD INCARNATE

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14, NIV).

The title "God Incarnate" is one of the most universally known and debated of all the names and titles of Jesus.

The incarnation is the very foundation upon which the entire structure of the plan of salvation is built. The Scriptures repeatedly and emphatically proclaim this fundamental truth (see Luke 1:35; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:6-8, etc.). It is the very heart and soul of the plan of redemption. Without the incarnation there could be no remedy for the sin problem.

In the fullness of time, Christ came to earth, "became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14, NIV). He was "born in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7, RSV). Though Jesus was a human being in the fullest sense, yet in Him was "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9, NKJV). In the incarnation, the divine and the human natures were somehow mysteriously blended into one person. Divinity was clothed with humanity, not exchanged for it. The two natures became closely and inseparably one, yet remained distinct.

As God incarnate, Jesus was able to help and encourage us in our pain and temptation (see Hebrews 2:17), to set us an example in victorious living, and to suffer and die to ensure our salvation. Christ, the eternal Word, became Immanuel, God with us (see Matthew 1:23), and for all eternity He will remain one with us. "The study of the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work, will employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last; and, looking to heaven with its unnumbered years, he will exclaim, 'Great is the mystery of godliness.' "--Maranatha, p. 365.

My Prayer Today: Lord, You became one with me in order to redeem me. Thank You, Lord, for the power of the incarnation. Amen.