Word of the Week

Word of the Week: INCARNATION

Last week’s word was Christology. This Wednesday’s word of the week is closely associated with the doctrine of Christ. Incarnation is an important theological term meaning God became man. In last week’s post, we reflected that Jesus is both man and God. Incarnation is the affirmation that God took on human flesh. In John’s account, the Logos, John 1:1 is God. And God took on human flesh.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

In ancient Gnostic thought, the logos, Greek for word reflected the idea that ultimate reality is an idea or concept from the spiritual realm. The Gnostics pursued special, spiritual knowledge. From their Neo-platonic roots, Gnostics held a spirit/matter dualism where the spirit was much more important than matter. Matter was the flesh, was rude, and less important than the spirit. The flesh was merely a mechanism for experiencing the spiritual. What lasted and what was important was the spirit.

But God (logos) became flesh. Jesus is God incarnate (God made man). There are numerous implications for our Christian faith here:

  • The incarnation reflects the goodness of original creation. God made Adam and Eve (male and female) embodied beings. Body and soul both matter.
  • The incarnation necessitates caring for body and soul. That God became flesh (fully God and fully man) emphasizes God’s care for the whole person (body and soul), not merely one’s soul/spirit.
  • The incarnation highlights the humility of Jesus. That Jesus became flesh and humbled himself under the development restrictions of growing in the womb to an adult reveals Jesus’ humility that underscores his longing to reach sinners with salvation.
  • The incarnation shouts the lengths God will go to save his creation. Jesus set aside heaven and traveled to earth to save his creation. No one has ever exceeded this distance to rescue others.
  • The incarnation speaks to the certainty that only Jesus can save. For us to be forgiven, we needed a substitute. We need the incarnation because for a substitute to be sufficient, we need one of us (Jesus in human flesh) and we need someone sufficient to die for the sins of the world (God).

That God would enter into human flesh should stagger us with awe and humility. Would you pause today and worship God who sent Jesus to be the Word made flesh?

Word of the Week: Christology

As we finish out one year and move into 2021, I got to thinking about how I could best use this platform of writing. Blogging is ideal for inspiration, encouragement, and information. So in 2021, you can look for Wednesday’s word of the week. In this weekly post, my aim is to define and inform you about a specific termnwhich will generally come from theology, apologetics, philosophy, or history. I’ll share a brief definition as well as some short insights into how the term influences our daily lives.

We’ll start with Christology. Christology is the study of Christ. In systematic theology it is the doctrine and implications concerning Christ that can be found in the pages of Scripture.

After all, Jesus is the central figure in the Bible. On the Emmaus Road, Jesus walked and talked with two of his followers after the Resurrection. They didn’t know it was him. After some confusion regarding why Jesus had to die, Jesus taught them that the Bible is all about him.

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:27

Christology matters. Here are a few ways that the doctrine of Christ impacts your life:

  • Because Jesus is the focus of all the Scripture, we can read the Bible looking for clues about who Jesus is and what Jesus did (Luke 24:27).
  • Because Jesus is fully God and fully man, he is sufficient to be our substitute on the cross and provide us salvation (2 Corinthians 5:21).
  • Because Jesus is God in human flesh, to know Jesus is to know God (Colossians 2:15-20; 1 John 1:1-3).
  • Because Jesus rose from the dead and is a living Savior, not a dead founder of a religion, Christianity is unique among world religions (1 Corinthians 15).
  • Because Jesus has always been and yet took on human flesh, we can know him (John 1:1-14)

Would you take some time today to think about Jesus? If you’d like to know more, consider reading some of the passages listed above. More than anything, be amazed that Jesus (fully God and fully man, who died on a cross and rose from the dead, and who reigns in heaven, and is so much more) wants you to know him. Jesus wants to be in a personal relationship with you!