Written for: Systematic Theology II
Date Written: 2/13/2009
The
Incarnation of Christ
Ryan T. Watters
God’s Bible School & College
The
Incarnation of Christ
The first
thought that comes to many people’s minds when they
hear the word “incarnation” is the nativity story. They
envision the manger holding the Christ Child. While
this is certainly an aspect of the incarnation, the
importance of this term runs much deeper than a single
event over 2,000 years ago. Shrouded in the unique
mystique of the deep things of God, the incarnation was
the climax of thousands of years of waiting for the
Bringer of redemption. The One Who would offer the
perfect sacrifice, for as Hebrews 9:22 states, “… and
without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”
(NASB). And it is to this person and nature of Christ
that the word incarnation refers. To the inter-workings
of His two natures as they contribute to the one
person, Jesus Christ.
For the sake of space, we will accept fully the
understanding reached at the Council of Chalcedon
(which has been continually affirmed by the church
throughout the centuries) regarding the nature, and
person of Christ. We will assume that the person of
Christ exists in two natures, one fully God, and one
fully man, and they combine to produce the one person,
Jesus Christ. We will attempt to show the absolute
necessity of this union, and how each contributes to
the overall theological picture.
We will begin by establishing why Christ had to be God.
The Nicene Creed states, “I believe…in one Lord Jesus
Christ, the only begotten Son of God; begotten of His
Father before all words, God of God, Light of Light,
Very God of very God.” But just why does it matter so
much if Christ was fully God? Could He not have been a
lesser god and still brought us salvation? In short,
no, and here’s why. Sin is primarily against God (Psalm
51:4), Who is infinite and holy. Thus, the punishment
that we deserve for this sin must meet the offense, and
is an eternal punishment. However, God, in His great
mercy, made a way to restore our broken relationship
with Him, by allowing someone to take our place; to
take our punishment as his own, and pay the penalty for
us. Yet there was a stipulation, it had to be a very
unique sacrifice. This sacrifice must be able to meet
the eternal requirements demanded by our sin. That left
only one option, as there is only one eternal Being,
God Himself.
And so the
Father willed that His Own Son be that sacrifice for
us, and the Son chose to obey, and play His role in the
plan of redemption. This involved Him coming down to
our level. He had to put on our skin, and walk in our
shoes. As the Creed of Epiphanius states, Jesus was,
“made man, that is, assumed perfect human nature, soul
and body and mind, and all whatever is man except sin,
not from the seed of man nor by means of man, but
having fashioned unto himself a body into one holy
unity… [He] became man completely (‘for the word was
made flesh,’ he did not submit to any alteration, nor
did he change his own divine nature into human nature);
he combined both the divine nature and the human into
the only holy perfection of himself” (as quoted by
Oden, 1989, p. 96). As Gregory of Nazianzen succinctly
stated, “What He was He continued to be; what He was
not He took to Himself” (as quoted by Oden, 1989, p.
96). When Christ came to live among us, and be born as
a man, He in no way gave up a single ounce of His
deity. This would make him a lesser God. He simply
added our human nature and flesh to His already divine
nature. He is thus still able to meet the stringent
requirements for being a sacrifice on our behalf.
Second, we must also establish why Christ had to be a
man. There are several reasons, not the least of which
is the fact that he revealed God to humanity (John
1:18; 14:7-11). It is through His life that we gain a
much deeper understanding of the person and character
of the Almighty (Oden, 1989, p. 105). Also, because He
is fully man, He can now function as our Great High
Priest, and sympathize with our infirmities and
troubles (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus wept, grew weary,
felt pain and rejection just as you and I do, and thus
can intercede on our behalf from true personal
experience (Oden, 1989, p. 105). But perhaps the most
important reason He must be fully man is that only a
fully human being could ever function as our sacrifice
(Hebrews 10:10). He had to be able to fully identify
with humanity in every aspect, except sin (Oden, 1989,
p. 105).
Third, we must establish why Christ had to be both God
and man. Job cried out, “is not a man like me that I
might answer him, that we might confront each other in
court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between
us, to lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:32-33). His
desire eventually came to pass with the birth of Jesus
Christ. One of the greatest roles that Christ plays is
that of mediator. Because He is both fully God, and
fully man, he can answer Job’s cry for someone to “lay
his hand upon us both.” Christ must be fully God, in
order that He can fully identify with the Godhead, but,
conversely, He must also be fully man so that He can
identify in every respect with humanity. Augustine said
it well when he stated, “He [Jesus] is the mediator
between God and man, because He is God with the Father,
and a man with men. A mere man could not be a mediator
between God and man; nor could a mere God. Behold the
mediator: Divinity without humanity cannot act as
mediator; nor can humanity without Divinity; but the
human Divinity and the Divine humanity of Christ is the
sole mediator between Divinity and humanity” (as quoted
by Oden, 1989, p. 102). This is clearly supported by
the biblical evidence. For example, 1 Timothy 2:5-6
states, “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” (NASB). Also, Colossians 1:19-20, which
states, “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” (NASB). Oden
summarizes the argument well when he states, “The
mediator between God and humanity would have to be
nothing less than God and nothing less than fully
human, otherwise this mediatorship would have been
impossible, for how can one mediate in a conflict in
which one has no capacity to empathize with one or the
other side” (1989, p. 119).
We live in a world where any concept that is not
instantly, and thoroughly comprehendible to the human
mind is discharged as irrational, and untrue. This
seems particularly to be the case with many secularist
views of Christianity. However, the cognitive
dissonance here is great. We live in a world of mystery
where not everything is completely discoverable. The
complexities of nature itself and the universe teach us
that. And so we have good basis to place our faith in
the incarnation of Christ, even if we cannot comprehend
the infinite with our finite minds. It is truly one of
the “deep things” of God, but that does not make it any
less true. Let us never merely dismiss the One Who gave
up so much to come and live among us, and provided our
way to freedom. Instead, let us worship Him, and give
Him the glory He alone deserves, and forever praise Him
for the glory of His incarnation.
Reference
Oden,
Thomas. (1998). The
word of life. Peabody,
MA: Hendrickson Publishers.