“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:1, 14
“The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.” – J. I. Packer
“The baby Mary carried was not a Caesar, a man who would become a god, but a far greater wonder – the true God who had become a man!” – Kent Hughes
“The glory of the incarnation is that it presents to our adoring gaze not a humanized God or a deified man, but a true God-man.” – B.B. Warfield
“We must always remember that union with Christ is possible because of the Son’s descent to earth, not because of our ascent into heaven. The basis of our union with Christ is Christ’s union with us in the incarnation. He became one with us so that we might become one with Him.” – Kevin DeYoung
“God’s being does not consist of material substance, which is created. As uncreated, He is pure spirit. No human eye can hope to ‘see’ Him except to the degree that He chooses to reveal Himself in some mediated form compatible with the finitude of man or in the incarnation of His Son. The glorious good news is that the invisible God became visible in the person of Jesus (John 1:18).
1. The doctrine of the Incarnation means that two distinct natures (divine and human) are united in one Person: Jesus. Jesus is not two people (God and man). He is one person: the God-man. Jesus is not schizophrenic. 2. When the Word became flesh He did not cease to be the Word. The Word veiled, hid, and voluntarily restricted the use of certain divine powers and prerogatives. But God cannot cease to be God. In other words, when the Word became flesh He did not commit divine suicide. 3. When the Word once became flesh He became flesh forever. After His earthly life, death, and resurrection, Jesus did not divest Himself of the flesh or cease to be a man. He is a man even now at the right hand of God the Father. He is also God. He will always be the God-man. See 1 Cor. 15:28; Col. 2:9; 1 Jn. 2:7 (note use of present tense). 4. Thus, we might envision Jesus saying: “I am now what I always was: God (or Word). I am now what I once was not: man (or flesh). I am now and forever will be both: the God-man.
“What do we mean by the word ‘Incarnation?’ The idea is found in several texts which speak of Jesus as ‘coming in the flesh’ (1 Jn. 4:2; 2 Jn. 7), being ‘sent in the flesh’ (Rom. 8:3), ‘appearing in the flesh’ (1 Tim. 3:16); He also ‘suffered in the flesh’ (1 Pet. 4:1), ‘died in the flesh’ (1 Pet. 3:18), made peace by abolishing ‘in the flesh the enmity’ (Eph. 2:15), and ‘made reconciliation in the body of His flesh’ (Col. 1:21-22). In sum, ‘the Word became flesh’ (John 1:14). Thus, by the Incarnation we mean that the eternal Word or second person of the Trinity became a man or assumed human flesh at a point in time, yet without ceasing to be God.”
The doctrine of the Incarnation means that two distinct natures (divine and human) are united in one Person: Jesus. Jesus is not two people (God and man). He is one Person: the God-man. Jesus is not schizophrenic. When the Word became flesh He did not cease to be the Word. The Word veiled, hid, and voluntarily restricted the use of certain prerogatives. But God cannot cease to be God. In other words, when the Word became flesh He did not commit divine suicide.
The Word became flesh! God became human! The invisible became visible! The untouchable became touchable! Eternal life experienced temporal death! The transcendent one descended and drew near! The unlimited became limited! The infinite became finite! The immutable became mutable! The unbreakable became fragile! Spirit became matter! Eternity entered time! The independent became dependent! The almighty became weak! The loved became hated! The exalted was humbled! Glory was subjected to shame! Fame turned into obscurity! From inexpressible joy to tears of unimaginable grief! From a throne to a cross! From ruler to being ruled! From power to weakness!
“The eternal Word, God the Son, entered into this world by being born as a human being. Therefore, it isn’t correct to say that Jesus has always existed or that Jesus was in the beginning with God (v. 1). The Son of God has always existed. The Second person of the Trinity, the Word, was in the beginning with God. But Jesus is the human name given to the second person of the Trinity when he took to Himself flesh. The Word was never called Jesus until Joseph did so in obedience to the command of the angel in Matthew 1.” – Sam Storms
“It was to save sinners that Christ Jesus came into the world. He did not come to help them to save themselves, nor to induce them to save themselves, nor even to enable them to save themselves. He came to save them!” – William Hendriksen
“A gentle, pastoral, friendly reminder: If Santa gives presents because of good behavior, this in turn teaches kids a form of moralism and a works-based system of reward. This is the opposite message of the gospel. The gospel (good news) says that our works have earned judgement. But God has given us what we do not deserve in Christ. Salvation in Christ is a free gift that we did not earn. So, let’s focus this season on God’s grace to those who deserve judgement. Besides, there was only one person who made it on the nice list – He was perfect in our place, so that we could receive the reward He earned. His name was Jesus.” – Pastor Jesse Watkins
