The Incarnation of the Son of God

1 Timothy 3:16 (LSB)

16 And by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

The incarnation of the Son of God is a subject which needs tremendous development. It is not a subject which can be brushed aside, neglected, nor treated lightly. The very thought of the eternal God entering this world as an infant, growing into adulthood, and dying on a Roman cross, is unfathomable. There are few subjects which demand more prayer, study, and concentration as does that of the Incarnation of the Son of God.

What Does “Incarnation” Mean?

The familiar term “incarnation” is defined as, “made in the flesh. Flesh is defined as the human body, the physical flesh and bone that is only the condition of mortality.  Over the centuries of the existence of the church, many theories of the incarnation have emerged. However, when those theories and speculations are examined against the revelation of Scripture, and from the standpoint of a consistently right hermeneutic, what becomes obvious is that the ideas falter either one way or another.

For example, like some myths of the Greeks, some viewed the Incarnation as the gods had come in the guise of a man, considering the Incarnation of Christ as just another myth. Or, some thought that man could become the embodiment of divine wisdom and thus conclude that Jesus Christ was “wisdom incarnate.” Or, some assumed that man was able to become elevated in his spirit and develop his “inner light,” thus abandoning his useless mortality and attain to the “divine.”

As you can see, the ideas postulated above from actual historic explanations of the incarnation either diminish the deity of Christ, or the humanity of Christ. In doing so, the incarnation is damaged as to its presentation in the Bible. In other words, these above-mentioned ideas are error and do not represent what God has done in Christ’s incarnation in any way.

In the following essay, the Old Testament summary of the promise of the Incarnation will be presented, as well as the New Testament for the evidence of the Incarnation of the Son of God, and the eternal purpose of the incarnation.

Old Testament Prophecies of the Incarnation

Genesis 3:15

And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her seed;

He shall bruise you on the head,

And you shall bruise him on the heel.”  (Genesis 3:15, LSB)

The first prophecy of the incarnation of the Son of God is found in Genesis 3:15. In this verse, YHWH promises the serpent that he will be fatally wounded by the seed of the woman. In this prophecy, YHWH essentially sentences the enemy of God, Satan, to a devastated judgment from a male Child who will be the offspring of the woman. This indicates to us that the Child, who will be stronger than the devil, will be a Man with a miraculous birth. He will be the “seed of the woman,” indicating no outside male contribution through the normal processes of conception.

This promise is the foundation of all that YHWH is purposing to do for His plan of redemption. The plan of God culminates in the destruction of the wicked schemes of the devil, and even the devil himself. Since the devil has successfully caused the destruction of God’s creation, and the death of the line of Adam, then the One who would destroy the work of the devil also needs to be of the line of Adam. Or, as the writer of Hebrews wrote,

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,  (Hebrews 2:14, LSB)

Isaiah 53

The entire chapter of Isaiah 53 indicates a physical body for the Messiah. Throughout the prophecy, references and allusions to a physical body are understood. For example, the Messiah will have a physical appearance (v.2). He will be able to be “smitten (beaten physically)” and “pierced” (vv. 4-5). He will have a “mouth” (v.7), but will keep silent. And, He will be crushed to death (vv.10,12). These are not figurative, illusionary references to general pain, but specific references to bodily mortality that the Messiah will possess.

Zechariah 12:10

This verse prophesies about the future certainty of the repentance of the twelve tribes of Israel. They will repent once God has “poured out” the Spirit of grace and supplication upon them, which is a reference to the Holy Spirit.

Yet, when Yahweh speaks of the nation of Israel receiving the Messiah, He speaks of Him as One “whom they have pierced.” This piercing is a direct reference to the physical stabbing of the Messiah upon His death on the cross. This action was carried out by the Roman centurion who was charged to oversee the crucifixion process and make sure it is carried out in an efficient manner.

The physical action on the part of the soldier required a physical body to act upon. He must be physically pierced. He must have blood emptied upon the ground. He must physically die. All ofthese prophesied facts of the Old Testament were only possible if the Messiah was fashioned a body.

New Testament Teaching of the Incarnation

There are multiple more references concerning the incarnation of the Son of God, the Messiah. He must have a body in order to exist as a Man, for men. He must have a body in order to suffer, and be pierced.

But, as the life and ministry of the Messiah came into historic light, there is so much more to Him than simply these facts. It is important, for the sake of worship, that we see the humanity of the Son of God in addition to the physicality of the Son of God.

The following are obvious observations, but we likely overlook them too easily. Yet, if we truly grasp the depth of the significance of the incarnation, the following examples of His corporeal existence are striking, even unfathomable.

Jesus Was Immersed

The immersion of Jesus Christ, was only possible if Jesus had a human body like any ordinary man. He did, in fact, look like an ordinary man, and yet He was the Creator of men. John saw Him, and identified Him by the Spirit of God alighting upon Him in a gentle way, like a dove would light upon a tree branch.

Jesus Became Thirsty

While on His way to His home area, Galilee, Jesus had to pass through the region of Samaria. He came upon a well there, near the town of Sychar, and a woman came out to draw water. The woman was likely of ill-repute, otherwise she would have accompanied the other women in the daily drawing of water for their households. Jesus confirms that this woman was living with a man who, indeed, was not even her husband. She, in fact, had five such arrangements.

The fact that Jesus was thirsty, as well as simply fatigued at all (He was sitting wearily by the well) puts the humanity, even mortality, of the Lord on vivid, incredible, display. He knows what it is like to be thirsty!

Jesus Slept

Luke records for us an incredible event in the life of Jesus Christ with His disciples. While crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus laid down in boat and fell asleep. While asleep, a great storm arose on the lake and horrified the seasoned disciples. Jesus was not waking up from the storm, which also is amazing as a testimony of His bodily existence. The disciples had to wake Him, and they did. Jesus was so fatigued from His ministry, and apparently perfectly at home in the hull of the boat since He knew the Father would care for Him.

Jesus Ate Food

One of the most astounding events in the record of Scripture involves the simple eating of food. It was not a simple meal that Jesus ate that astounds us, nor was it what He ate. The astounding reality is that He ate after His resurrection. Luke 24:41-43 records for us the moment when Jesus not only miraculously appears before the disciples in a closed upper room, but He also eats a meal of fish before them! The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ confounds all expectations. It is His incarnation which demonstrates the most glorious and wondrous power of God.

The Ultimate Purpose for His Incarnation –

The Resurrection from the Dead

The greatest benefit and ultimate goal of the Father regarding the incarnation of His Son is the bodily resurrection from the dead of the Same. His resurrection was not simply a spiritual quality, or experience. His resurrection is a bodily resurrection from complete physical deadness to absolute physical life. As mentioned in the above point, in His post-resurrection condition, Jesus ate a piece of broiled fish in front of the disciples.

The Father’s purpose was that He would grant new physical life to the Son after His atoning death. This resurrection would then become the initial pattern for the physical resurrection of the saints in the future.

The Only-Begotten One

In the New Testament, there is an oft-repeated phrase, “the Only-Begotten.” Although historically this phrase has caused a tremendous amount of dialogue and argument, the meaning of it is magnificently pertinent to the Incarnation.

The phrase is used in most often in the writings of the Apostle John. It appears to be his favorite expression. It is even more the case when we realize, as we will see, that its meaning is related to the bodily resurrection of the Messiah.

The phrase “Only-Begotten” is actually a title. Not only does John the Apostle use it, but it is also used in the book of Acts, and the letter to the Hebrews a few times as well. In both cases, in the book of Acts and in the letter to the Hebrews, the reference to the Old Testament passage from which this concept of resurrection originates, Psalm 2:7, is repeated. In that Psalm, the writer, David, records the Father speaking to the Son and identifying Him as the One who is “only-begotten.” As we can see from the New Testament references of that passage, the meaning of it relates to the bodily resurrection of the Son of God from the dead. The reference to “today” is a reference to the point in time in which the resurrection occurs. In other words, the Son will be resurrected from the dead and that act will be the culmination of God’s eternal purpose.

All of this requires a body, a corporeal, human, male, body. And, that is exactly Who Jesus was. He was the Son of God in His deity, and the Son of Man in reference to His bodily form.

Conclusion

The Incarnation of the Son of God was the most monumental and spectacular work of God in all of God’s eternal plan. Without the incarnation, neither atonement nor redemption would be possible. Neither could there be Christ’s resurrection, nor our resurrection. The Old Testament promised and prophesied often of the Incarnation of the second Person of the Trinity. Whether in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, the Psalms, or in the latter collections of the prophets, God foretold that He would create a body for the Son fit for ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and ultimately ascension to His eternal glory.