THE WONDER OF THE INCARNATION

Contemplate the wonder of the Incarnation. The Bible describes it in very simple language: "The Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn. 1:1, 14). The Son of God became a Man, and stepped into time (Gal. 4:4). He who never had a beginning and who always existed as eternal God, was born an Infant (Mic. 5:2; Isa. 7:14; 9:6). The Creator of all things was born in a stable made for animals (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:1-2; Lk. 2:12).

Perhaps the most wondrous fact of the incarnation is that it made it possible for the Immortal One to die! The eternal God could not die. But man’s sin had to be paid for by death (Rom. 1:32; 6:23), thus dooming man to an eternal destiny separated from the God (Isa. 59:2; 2 Thes. 1:8-9). God, out of His divine love, devised THE WAY of salvation (Jn. 14:6) for sinful man, without compromising His own just and righteous Character. Serving as man’s Substitute, He would pay the death penalty for sinful man. In order for this to be done, God had to become a Man "that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Heb. 2:9). The Immortal One took upon Himself our humanity, and the God-Man, not only could die, He did die for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 3:18).

Yes, He was born to die. His very purpose for coming into this world was to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15; Jn. 3:17), and this saving work was accomplished, not in Bethlehem’s cradle, but on Golgotha’s cross. His birth made His death possible; His death made the new birth possible (Jn. 1:13; 3:3-8; 1 Pet. 1:23). The Bible describes it this way: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9).

The Lord Jesus once posed a question to the Pharisees which they could not answer. He said, "What think ye of Christ (the Messiah)? Whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The son of David. He saith unto them...If David, then, called Him Lord (Ps. 110:1), how is He his son?" (Matt. 22:42-45). The Pharisees were silenced by this question, and yet, years later, another Pharisee whose eyes had been opened by God’s grace: the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote, that in His humanity ("according to the flesh") He is the Son of David (Rom. 1:3). In His deity, He is the Son of God (Rom. 1:4), and thus, He is David’s Lord.

Jesus did not become God at the incarnation, nor did He become the Son of God. The incarnation was when the eternal Son assumed our humanity without ceasing to be God. The Son of God became the Son of Man, that we, the sons of men, might become the sons of God (Jn. 1:12; Gal. 3:26).

May we ever be filled with wonder and praise for His condescending love and grace, by which He stooped so low in order to raise us so high! "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (1 Jn. 3:1).