Considering The Importance Of The Incarnation As We Get Ready To Celebrate December 25th

 

Introduction:

    Next to God's act of creation and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, no miracle is more central to the Christian faith than the incarnation of the Son of God. In today's post, we want to define, reflect, and gain appreciation for the doctrine of the incarnation of the Son of God.

A study on the word "incarnation".

    The term itself is composed of two Latin words: "in" and "carnos". To take the latter term first, "carnos" refers to "flesh". When I was in grade school, they would sometimes serve what was called "chilli con carne" (chili with meat). If we talk about the animal kingdom, we will refer to some animals as "carnivors" (literally "flesh eaters"). As for the prefix "in", much like our English preposition "in", refers to coming to be "in" something. 

    Therefore, whenever we talk about the miracle of the incarnation, it refers to the Son of God coming into the world to become "in-the-flesh" (older theologians would sometimes call the incarnation by another term, "the enmanning"of the Son of God). 

Unpacking the theological meaning of the incarnation.

    The Baptist Confession 1689, chapter 8, paragraph 2, gives the following explanation of the doctrine of the incarnation,

"The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with Him who made the world, who upholds and governs all things He has made, did, when the fullness of time was complete, take upon Him man's nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities of it, yet without sin."

   Benjamin Keach produced a catechism in 1693 that, through a series of questions and answers, taught foundational truths of the Christian faith. Keach rooted his catechism in the Baptist Confession of 1689 quoted above. In question #25 of his catechism, Keach noted about Christ's incarnation as follows,

Question: "How did Christ, being the Son of God become man?"

Answer: "Christ the Son of God became man by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul; being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin."

    In light of these two historic documents,we can offer the following summary: The Son, being truly God, joined to himself true humanity, with all its qualities, minus sin. 

Major Biblical passages that speak of the incarnation

Key Old Testament texts on the incarnation

    As I think on the various Biblical passages that lead to the doctrine of the incarnation, the place to begin is 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.” 

Theologians refer to this text as the "protoevangelium" (the first mention of the Gospel). The ages-long battle between the two "seeds" is taken to refer strictly to Satan and Christ, and then more broadly to the battle of the ages between unbelievers swayed by this world and followers of Jesus who look forward to the world to come. The epic battle predicted in Genesis 3:15 would reach the point of Christ's defeat of Satan at the cross and empty tomb. In what will be the final battle of Armegeddon predicted in Revelation 13-19, Christ will slay Satan's man (thus the ultimate expression of "the seed of the serpent", "Anti-Christ", by the breath of His mouth at His second coming (see also 2 Thessalonians 2:8). 

    Whenever reference is made to "seed"', a close synonym is the term "descendant". So, even in the first mention of the Gospel, we already find a hint of God utilizing a human bloodline (hence in the phrase "her seed") to bring about salvation. 

    Another Old Testament text that predicted Christ's incarnation is Isaiah 7:14, 

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." 

    Isaiah wrote these words over 700 years before Christ came onto the scene. In Matthew and Luke's infancy narratives concerning Jesus, they both cite Isaiah 7:14 to express how the Holy Spirit would miraculously bring about the humanity of Christ in the virgin's womb (see Matthew 1:20-23 and Luke 1:35). 

    Then a final Old Testament text worthy of mention is Micah 5:2-3 

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. 3 Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel." 

    What makes Micah's prophecy so important is that we not only see the Messiah's place of birth (Bethlehem); but also He being truly God and truly man. 

Key New Testament texts on the incarnation

    Again, to remind ourselves of our summary definition of the incarnation,  "the Son, being truly God, joined to himself true humanity, with all its qualities, minus sin", we turn our attention to some New Testament examples. The above Old Testament texts affirm the promise of incarnation. What follows are New Testament texts which explain the fact of Christ's incarnation. 

    We begin by first considering the Gospel accounts. Matthew 1:20b-21, 

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 

Luke 1:35,

"The angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.'" 

John 1:14,

"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."

    From these three passages,  we are told "that" the incarnation took place in time and in space. hat we're not told is "how exactly" the Holy Spirit miraculously joined the humanity of Christ to His Person (what theologians call "the hypostatic union", that is, the uniting of the Person of the Son to a human nature, who already was and still remained truly God by nature).  

    The remainder of the New Testament passages on the incarnation are found in the New Testament letters or "epistles".  Paul writes in Colossians 2:9,

"For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form." 

The same author pens the following words in Philippians 2:8, 

"Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." 

The same Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16a 

“By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh.” 

Either Paul himself or one of his associates noted in Hebrews 10:5b, 

“Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me.”' 

The Apostle Peter stated in 1 Peter 2:22,

“who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth.” 

    One more text is worthy of mention, since it connects back to Genesis 3:15, namely the words of the Apostle John in Revelation 12:5 

"And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne." 

    In striking brevity, John the Apostle records how Christ in His incarnation and virgin birth came the first time, ascended into Heaven, and is returning to set up His Kingdom here on earth. Note in the wider context of Revelation 12 how Satan battles to prevent the arrival of the Son of God into history - and fails. Note also how Satan will once again try to thwart the Son's return to set up His kingdom - and fail. 

Applying the importance of the incarnation as we prepare to celebrate December 25

    The incarnation of the Son of God is the focal point of this Christmas season. The truth of the incarnation, established by Scripture, has been confessed by Bible-believing churches throughout the ages, as seen in the following excerpt from the historic Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 A.D.,

"I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man."

  Christ's coming into our world was necessary to provide salvation and the foundation for the Christian life. Followers of Jesus look forward to His soon return. 

    For unbelievers, the incarnation of Jesus Christ makes history and humanity accountable to repent and believe the Gospel message about Him. Truth by its very nature demands a response.  Author Kevin Zuber in his book, "The Essential Scriptures: A Handbook of Biblical Texts For Key Doctrines", notes this on page 132:

"The only reason to include such a doctrine so contrary to nature and experience is that this was the truth about His birth." 

    The reality of Christ's incarnation is what made possible two other historic events to which everyone is accountable to respond by faith - His crucifxion for our sins and His rising from the dead. To paraphrase one notable thinker: "if it is even possible that God exists, and if this God created all that we know out of nothing, then events such as the raising of a dead man to life" (and we could easily include the incarnation) "is mere child's play." Taking time to focus on the incarnation enables us to focus on the true meaning of the season. I close with a familiar Christmas carol,

"O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, Christ - The LORD."

Post #24 The Doctrine of God - P2 The Attribute of Divine Perfection, Reflections And Applications

Introduction:

    In our last post we began to look at the Divine attribute of God's perfection here http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2023/11/post-23-doctrine-of-god-p1-gods.html. We had offered a provisional definition of God's Divine perfection, "God as the most perfect being is, in-and- of-Himself, incapable of improvement." Put another way, God is "completely complete". We noted in the last post how God's perfection can operate as a communicable attribute - something He shares with His creatures. In this post, we will explore the incommunicable side of this attribute. To remind the reader, an "incommunicable" attribute speaks of what is unique to God, unshared with His creatures.  

    The 11th century theology Thomas Aquinas devotes the fourth question of His massive work "Summa Theologiae" upon the subject of God's perfection. On three occassions Aquinas notes how God, in His perfection, "lacks nothing that is required to be God". What this means is there is no potential in God of becoming better or worse, stronger ror weaker, wiser or more ignorant. He is entirely Perfect. God does not need anything or anyone to supplement His wisdom, strength, or goodness (see Isaiah 43:10-11; Psalm 46:10-11; Romans 11:34-36; 1 Timothy 6:16). 

Nothing in all of creation is like God

    When we talk of God's perfection as an incommunicable attribute, one thing meant is this, nothing in all creation is like God. A.W. Tozer compares the life and intrinsic value of a little child lost amidst mountains as qualitatively different from all the vastness of such mountains. 

    Tozer tells the story of a group of hikers in the foothills to view a particular mountain. Along the way they are in awe of what they are seeing. For them, that whole mountain range is most supreme. Then suddenly, one of their company screams in panic, for their little three-year old daughter has wandered off. Suddenly the company of hikers become a search party, calling out her name. The little life of a 30lb child is of near-infinite value in comparison to what comparitively is now a large mound of rocks and dirt. When they find the little girl, everything is put into perspective. That mountain scene does not compare to the girl. Multiplied to an infinite degree, not all of creation itself is even close to the perfection of Almighty God. 

    Clearly nothing compares to God. Isaiah raises a rhetorical question in Isaiah 40:18 that points us in the direction of considering God in terms of His Divine Perfection:

"To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?"

I heard one speaker describe God in a lecture, 

"God is the only being who is explained by Himself within Himself. All other entities are characterized by requiring something outside of themselves to account for their existence. God, however, is alone in being His own reason for why He exists".

Why all other concepts of deity are mere idols compared to the One, Perfect God

    We've defined God's perfection, and have attempted to illustrate it. How then can we appreciate it? Why does the Bible labor to show that man-made ideas of deity are products of idolatry? 

    The questions raised earlier in Isaiah 40:18 (as well as the opening text Exodus 15:11) of "who is like God?" forces us to cross a boundary that reason alone cannot. For sure, faith alloyed with reason is needed. Yet, God's revelation from the Bible must be our guide to wing the precarious flight from our created realm to God in His infinite perfection. God's Word and so-called considerations of God's perfection of attributes (i.e. perfect being theology) will act as navigational controls in attempting to express God's perfection.

    Theologian Paul Helm describes what "perfect being theology" as starting with the assumption that God "is a being than which no greater can be conceived". By getting this fundamental thought of "what makes God, God" fixed in my mind, I can then proceed to work through what are often called "great-making properties" (that is, qualities that differentiates God from everything else). For instance, as I think upon God's omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, goodness, and wisdom, I draw from that central assumption that God alone doesn't merely contain such characteristics, but is completely complete (i.e perfect) in them. God has always had every attribute we've been discussing in this series, never acquiring them at some point. Some Scriptures that provide the basis for such "Perfect-being theology" are Genesis 22:16; Hebrews 6;13-14; 2 Samuel 7:22; Nehemiah 9:32; Jeremiah 32:18; Titus 2:13; Psalm 95:3; 96:4; 77:13; Exodus 18:11; Psalm 145:13.

     Whenever we speak of God's perfection, are we talking merely of a level above the highest archangel? As to perfection itself being a scale upon which we place people, galaxies and angels - is God somehow at the highest level of that scale? Or ought we consider God's perfection in a completely different sense? God is on a different scale of being - namely His own. 

    Theologian Keith Ward describes this quality of God as "Perfect Being" as: "having the consciousness to enjoy all things beautifully good." 

Isaiah 40:25 has God raising the question we observed in verse 18 of the same chapter:

“To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal?” says the Holy One."

    God's perfection (i.e. His quality of being "completely-complete" or "incapable of improvement") makes all other wanna-be deities not worthy of worship. The idols of antiquity were material deities made of precious metals and stone and the ideas of the human imagination. In the Greek and Roman Pantheons, the various deities were always subject to improvement. They each had deficits that required supplementing from their fellow deities.  

    The Apostle Paul critiques such a Graeco-Roman religious system in Acts 17:29 - 

"Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man."

    Is it no wonder that all other so-called deities are concluded as non-existent or human figments, somehow connected to the deceptions of the kingdom of darkness (see 1 Corinthians 10:18-22).
The God of the Bible alone is Perfect. 

God's perfection in relationship to His other attributes

    

 

   In terms of moral attributes, we call God's perfection "holiness". Holiness refers to the sum of all His moral attributes (goodness, wisdom, grace, justice, mercy, etc.,) in "perfect union" within His nature as God. Nothing can be added to nor taken away from God as holy. The prophet Micah comments on God's perfect being expressing such Divine moral qualities in Micah 7:18 - 

"Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, 
because He delights in unchanging love."

    Other attributes that describe God in His infinite existence are suffused with this quality of Divine perfection. God's Divine Aseity, which refers to His self-sufficiency and independence (from the Latin a se meaning 'from oneself'), expresses His perfection of self-sufficiency, as stated in Isaiah 44:6 - 

“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me."

    We could speak of other attributes. The point is that God alone is "completely complete" or "incapable of improvement" in regards to His perfection. 

    To summarize, Thomas Aquinas, in the section of his massive work "Summa Theologica" on the topic of Divine perfection, He comments on how God's perfection expresses how He possesses all excellencies of life and wisdom in-and-of Himself, never lacking nor in want. The sun may shine on various objects and possess the qualities of the objects upon which it sheds its light. Still, the sun exhausts its fuel and requires objects for us to appreciate its light. God on the other hand requires neither ourselves nor His creation, since His light is both inexhaustible and undiminished with or without us.  

Applying Divine Perfection To Our Everyday Lives

    So how can God's Divine perfection help me out in everyday life? Three areas come to mind.

1. Worship. 

    For one thing, God's Divine perfection means He is worthy of my worship. When I preach on Sunday morning, sing songs of praise or live daily for Him - I find He alone is worthy. Revelation 4:11 demonstrates how God's perfection is cause for worship around His throne in Heaven:

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

2. My thought-life. 

    The 11th century theologian Anselm of Canterbury described God in His perfection of being as:

"the greatest conceivable being, apart from which nothing can be greater conceived". 

    In other words, if I could think of a greater being, then that being would be God. How I think of God is related to my worship of Him. Remember, the God of the Bible is incapable of improvement. Hence, He alone is worthy of my thoughts, my time, my worship. The fact that God by definition is a being of which no other greater being can be imagined (since He possesses attributes like omniscience, omnipotence and all-goodness), then He alone is Perfect, since He is completely-complete or perfect. 

3. Knowing Jesus better.

    A final application of Divine perfection relates to how one thinks of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Divine Person of the Son came to incarnate Himself in true humanity (see John 1:14; Philippians 2:4-11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 2:11-14). Touching His divinity, Christ never changes (Hebrews 1:8) and is the same yesterday, today and forever (Revelation 1:8). By way of His incarnation, we discover that Christ took unto His Person a truly human nature so that I as a human being could somehow participate, have access to and enjoy the otherwise inaccessible Divine Perfection of which He shares with the Father and Spirit as One God (see Romans 9:5; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Peter 1:3-4). 

    Christ alone, as truly God and truly man, bridges by His Person the otherwise inaccessible, infinite divide between God in His infinite perfection and everything else.  Christ alone makes knowing God in salvation not merely a possibility, but a reality for those who by grace through faith trust in Him as Savior, Lord and Treasure (see John 14:6; Acts 4:12). 

Bird's-eye view of Bible - Why the incarnation is important for you today - Jesus raised from the dead, ascended into Heaven and is coming again

Introduction:

        Whenever we come to the New Testament, we see the following truths about God:

1. God is One God and three "Who's", a Unity of Deity in Three Persons - i.e. a "Trinity". Each "Who" or "Person" of the Trinity is truly God and identified as Father, Son and Spirit. 

2. The doctrine of the Trinity is composed of three main truths: 

a. God is "One God", who is first revealed as "the Father" in the redemptive work of God to Israel. 
    
b. Second, the Son, revealing Himself in the flesh as the historical Jesus, is the decisive revelation of God in history who, as truly God, came to be truly man for us. Jesus' miraculous birth, fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, miracles, substitutionary death, resurrection from the dead and ascension all affirm Him as truly God, equal with the Father and Holy Spirit. As we read Jesus' self-described Divine actions, titles and abilities, as well as His claims of being "One" with the Father, we see the Deity of Christ as the second great truth comprising the Trinity. 

c. The third truth comprising the doctrine of the Trinity is that of the 
Personality of the Spirit, who is also truly God as much as the Son and the Father with the same perfections that come with being God.

      I mention the above truths recorded in the New Testament so as to understand how Jesus' incarnation is situated within the Biblical doctrine of God generally and revelation of the Son specifically. The incarnation of the Son of God was discussed in a prior post in this series that I wrote a number of weeks of go and is found in the link here: http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2020/04/birds-eye-view-of-bible-why-incarnation.html    

What is meant by "incarnation".

      To understand what is meant by the term "incarnation", we can look at the introduction or "Prologue" to John's Gospel. John 1:1 begins by distinguishing the Person of the Son (called by the title "The Word") dwelling in eternity with the Father (called by the general title of deity: "God") as seen in the first part of the verse: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God". Next we see the Word distinguished from another Divine Person whom we know is the Father but is called "God": "and the Word was with God". 

       When we go down to John 1:14, we discover that the Word (that is, the Divine Person of the Son) entered into our world to live life as a man: "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The eternal Word or Son came to be "incarnated" or "in the flesh". Put another way, the Son, having always existed as truly God, came to express Himself a second way by becoming truly man, while still remaining truly God. 

Why the incarnation of the Son of God?

       Having defined the event of Christ's incarnation, we are reminded of two reasons why the Son of God came to be man that we looked at in the prior post of this particular series (see the link above). 

      The first reason why the incarnation is so important was for Jesus to provide righteousness (that is, so that God could count those who receive Jesus by faith as right with Him). The second reason for the incarnation was so that Son of God could, by His death on the cross, redeem us for the forgiveness of sins (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10; 1 Peter 3:18). What follows are two other reasons why the incarnation of the Son of God is vital for our understanding today. 

The third reason the incarnation is important is so that Jesus could raise from the dead.

                What if Jesus had remained dead after his death on the cross? If Jesus had remained in His tomb, then everything we just said about His incarnation would mean nothing. Jesus' resurrection from the dead proved that all He achieved worked in living His perfect human life and death for sinners. 

       Jesus' resurrection could only take place if He first died on the cross. In order for Jesus to qualify as the perfect sacrifice for sinners on the cross, He himself had to live a sinless human life. For Jesus, to live a perfect human life meant He, as truly God, had to have His humanity conceived in the the Virgin Mary's womb. The uniting of a truly human nature to the Person of the Son who already possessed (and remained so) to retain a truly Divine nature, is what is called "the hypostatic union". Quite literally, the uniting together of a "truly divine nature" and "truly human nature" in One Person, the Son, is the result of the miracle of the incarnation. 

        As man, He could die and be raised. As God, all He achieved would have infinite value. Because Jesus raised from the dead, all who receive Him by faith are counted as being right with God (Romans 4:25) and forgiven of their sins (1 Corinthians 15:20). 

The final reason the incarnation is important is so that Jesus can reign as King in Heaven.

                We have considered three main reasons why the incarnation is so important, so that the Son of God could provide: 

1. Righteousness, that is, the right to 
    be in God's presence.

2. Redemption, which is to say, 
    forgiveness of sins and.....

3. Resurrection, so He could raise from 
    the dead. 

      What did Jesus do after He raised from the dead? We know from the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) that Jesus appeared on a dozen occasions to groups and individuals, to believers and those who had yet to believe that He had risen. After forty days, Jesus had His disciples gather outside of Jerusalem for them to witness His going up into Heaven (Acts 1:11). Jesus' "going up" is what we call His ascension, meaning He inaugurated His reign the true King of the church at the right hand of the Father. 

       Jesus retained His physical humanity and revealed in heaven, once again, what He had always been and ever will be: truly God. Now He reigns as the God-man, praying for believers and ready to return to earth to rescue His people and judge the world (1 Thessalonains 4:13-18; Acts 17:31). This theme of "incarnation" is vital for understanding the New Testament, the Christian life and salvation.

Four reasons for Jesus' virgin-birth

Luke 1:35 "The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God."

Galatians 4:4-5 "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."

Introduction:

      Have you ever received a gift that you didn't know what to do with once you had received it?  Some gifts are that way. Whenever we consider the sending of the Son of God – the Lord Jesus Christ – His virgin-birth was the greatest gift ever given. Sadly, very few people grasp why God the Father sent the Son into the world to become man for us. So, why did the Son of God come into our world through the virgin birth? What spiritual significance did it have? Why does it matter to you? Today’s post will center on answering these questions.  

1. Foundational to human salvation - 
    Luke 1:26-31.
    
    We read in 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.”  

     The victory of Jesus over Satan was never in question, since it was predicted He would, “bruise the serpent’s head”. Matthew 1:21 points us to the identity of the “seed of the woman” in Genesis 3:15, 

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 

     What the virgin birth achieved was the bringing-in of the Savior to accomplish the foundation of human salvation. But notice another reason for the virgin birth…

2. Fulfillment of prophecy - Luke 1:32- 
    33.

     J. Barton Payne’s, “Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy”, lists 127 prophecies fulfilled by Jesus in the course of His first coming. God’s prophetic plan included both good and ill decisions in the bringing about of His prophetic purposes. The question before us is this, “how would God deal with what otherwise would had been a major conflict in His prophetic plan?” 

     Prophecies in the Old Testament describe how God would bring about an ultimate descendant from David’s bloodline to sit on Israel’s throne. Yet, we also read of how one of David’s descendants sinned so badly that God cursed that very bloodline. Jeremiah writes in Jeremiah 22:30, 

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah.’” 

     In Joseph’s lineage, recorded in Matthew 1, we find the dreaded cursed-man, Jeconiah, that we read about in Jeremiah (see Matt 1:11). The value of Joseph’s bloodline was to provide legal proof that Jesus had rights to the throne of Israel. However, because of Jeconiah, this otherwise legal bloodline was also cursed. Thankfully, God had already “fool-proofed” the plan of salvation in both its historical, spiritual and prophetic portions. Joseph would not be the biological father of Jesus’ humanity. 

     However, Luke’s Gospel informs us that Mary was also a descendant of King David, reckoned by way of a different descendant of David, hence, a non-cursed bloodline. The virgin birth ensured Jesus’ humanity would both legally make Him heir to the throne while Mary’s made him biologically an heir to the throne. Only in Christ can all conflict cease, and thus, fulfill every prophecy. But notice a third reason for the virgin birth…

3. Fundamental to Jesus’ mission -            Luke 1:34-35.

    The prophet Micah wrote the following words over six-centuries prior to Jesus’ coming in Micah 5:2, 

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” 

     Jesus had a mission that required Him, as truly God, to also be, truly man. Other Old Testament scriptures allude to the pending virgin-birth, as we find in Jeremiah 31:22, 

“How long will you go here and there, O faithless daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—A woman will encompass a man.” 

     Indeed, the one “encompassed by a woman” with respect to his humanity would also be eternally Divine. Jesus came to live, to die, to rise from the dead and ascend into Heaven. His mission was clear: pay the price for sin, defeat Satan and become the mediator between God and His people (see Luke 19:10; 1 John 3:8; 1 Timothy 2:5). But now let’s consider a fourth reason for the virgin birth…

4. Forwards us to the cross - Luke 1:36-
    38

     Luke 1:37 has an angel responding to Mary in her question of how she, as a virgin, to bring forth the Son of God in human flesh with the following statement: “nothing is impossible with God”. That word, “impossible”, as it appears in the original Greek text, occurs only one other place in the entire New Testament - Luke 18:26-27. Luke 18:26-27 reads this way, 

“They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” 

       Shortly after Jesus spoke those words to His disciples, He then made a prediction about His pending death and crucifixion within a span of a few verses. Notice how God’s ability to bring about the virgin-birth conception is tied directly to the salvation He would accomplish through Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Preachers of old have well said: “the shadow of calvary ever falls on the cradle at Bethlehem.” 

Closing thoughts:

So today we have learned four reasons for the virgin birth:

1. Foundation to human salvation
2. Fulfilled prophecy
3. Foundational to Jesus’ mission
4. Forwards us to the cross

Thank the Lord for the greatest gift that could ever be given – Himself as the Person of the Son, taking unto Himself a true, human nature, through the virgin-birth-conception. 

Part Three - Divine Simplicity, The Incarnation And Why The Incarnation Of The Son Of God Took Place

Colossians 2:9 "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."


Introduction:

In our last post, we considered the following subjects that occupied our reflections upon Christ's appearances in the Old Testament:

1. The Old Testament's overall revelation of the Son of God. 

2. We also spent some time considering what light is shed upon the Son's pre-existence and deity by the doctrine of divine simplicity. 

3. As we studied these important subjects, we found out how the doctrine of Divine simplicity enables us to talk meaningfully of God's revelation of Himself in our world. 

For readers wanting to review the last post, simply click on the following link here: 

http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/09/part-two-doctrine-of-divine-simplicity.html

The state of the Son in relationship to Old Testament history was that as the Second Person of the Trinity before the incarnation. Anytime the Bible uses titles such as "The Angel of the Lord" or "The Word", such references point to the Son before His incarnation. The title "Son" speaks specifically to His pre-existence in eternity with the Father and Holy Spirit as One God. In today's post, we want to focus attention upon the coming of the Son of God into our world. By exploring the Son's incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth, we will see how this event relates to Him retaining a Divine nature that is described by the doctrine of Divine simplicity. 

The Doctrine Of The Incarnation: Expounding On How God the Son Came Into Our World And What Took Place When He Came To Be A Man

Theologian Wayne Grudem has written the following heading to define the incarnation on page 554 of his major work, "Systematic Theology": "deity and humanity in One Person of Christ". When we speak of the "incarnation" or "enmanning" of God the Son as Jesus of Nazareth, we refer to that act in which He, as a Divine Person, came into this world to partake of the additional experience of what it was like to be a man. The event itself entailed two main miracles: 

1. The virginal conception and birth through Mary, which explains how He came.

2. The hypostatic union. This miracle involved the joining of a truly human nature unto His Personhood. As the Divine Son of God, He already bore all the properties associated with true deity. The hypostatic union describes "what took place" in the incarnation, namely, He assuming unto Himself a second, truly human nature, with all of its attendant properties. 

The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 does a fine job of summarizing what occurred in the incarnation of the Son of God:

"In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin." 

Why The Incarnation Of The Son Of God?

The incarnation describes what took place when the Person of the Son of God united true humanity and undiminished deity within Himself as a Divine Person. New Testament texts such as Matthew 1:20-23; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-14; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-16; 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:15-16 and Hebrews 2:11-14 testify to this point. One may ask what would prompt the Divine Person of the Son to so united to His Person a human nature? Moreover, does the doctrine of Divine simplicity have any compatibility to the doctrine of the incarnation?

Three major thinkers in the history of the church aid us in answering this question: Athanasius, Anselm of Canterbury and Thomas Aquinas. I mention these three thinkers due to their consistent adherence to the doctrine of Divine simplicity, which they saw as shedding light on the Bible's teaching about the God of the Bible, and the incarnation. In the quotes below, I will mention how each of these writers answer the question of: "why the incarnation", followed by a reference to what they affirm about the doctrine of Divine simplicity. These references will show the reader how histories greatest Christian thinkers saw no conflict between the Doctrine of Divine Simplicity and The Incarnation. 

First, Athansius of the fifth century, explains why the Son became incarnate in his work, "On The Incarnation":

"The Word, then, visited that earth in which He was yet always present ; and saw all these evils. He takes a body of our Nature, and that of a spotless Virgin, in whose womb He makes it His own, wherein to reveal Himself, conquer death, and restore life."

Athanasius expresses his belief in the Divine simplicity of the Divine nature of God, shared by the Triune Persons in his work - "On The Trinity", by the following statement: "nor is the Trinity a blend of creative and created being." As touching the deity of the Son, we can say similar remarks as expressed by Athanasius.

Secondly, the 11th century theologian Anselm wrote a major work on the incarnation entitled: "why God became man", expressing why he thinks Christ became incarnate in terms of achieving God's original purposes in creating humanity, which fell into sin:

"that this purpose could not be carried into effect unless the human race were delivered by their Creator himself?"

As Athanasius did, Anselm too subscribed to the doctrine of Divine simplicity in chapter 12 of his classic work on the doctrine of God: "The Proslogion" - "But, clearly, whatever You are You are through Yourself and not through another."

No other writer affirmed the doctrine of Divine Simplicity more extensively than did Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas, in his massive work: "Summa Theologicae" offers his answer as to why the Son became incarnate in Part 3, Question 1, Article 1, of the same work: 

"Hence it belongs to the essence of the highest good to communicate itself in the highest manner to the creature, and this is brought about chiefly by "His so joining created nature to Himself that one Person is made up of these three—the Word, a soul and flesh," as Augustine says (De Trin. xiii). Hence it is manifest that it was fitting that God should become incarnate."

Aquinas devotes a long section near the beginning of "Summa Theologicae to the doctrine of Divine Simplicty. The fact we find him affirming both doctrines in the same work demonstrates how he saw no issue in affirming Divine Simplicity and the incarnation of the Son of God.

Applications And Closing Thoughts For Today

We aimed today to consider the meaning of the incarnation of the Son of God, the reason for it and how the incarnation is compatible with the doctrine of Divine Simplicity. We referenced key New Testament passages and saw how great Christian thinkers handled these issues. So why are these considerations important to us? Let me suggest three pastoral suggestions:

1. If we can come to know the Lord Jesus Christ on a deeper level, ought we not love Him enough to think harder about Him (see 2 Peter 3:18)?

2. We ought to see how magnificent Christ is by virtue of what He came to reveal to us about God and our own humanity. He, as truly God, makes God accessible to us by way of the true humanity which he assumed and still retains for our sake. This ought to bring comfort to the Christian, since Christ, as man, can empathize with us, while as God, He is not caught off guard by what is going on in our lives (see 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1-2).

3. By exploring the thoughts of others in Christian history, we can discover the rich faith of which we're a part. We can praise God for how various questions we find ourselves asking today were addressed many centuries ago.  

Part One: The Doctrines Of Divine Simplicity, The Trinity And Christology

2 Peter 3:18 "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

Introduction:

The only good thing that is not "too much of a good thing" is taking the time to think more deeply on God, His nature and His attributes. Such a study of God is what theologians refer to as "Theology Proper" or "The first thing in the study of God", namely, "God Himself". A little while back, I did a series of posts that introduced readers to what is called "the doctrine of Divine Simplicity" (or, DDS). This doctrine has its roots into the earliest days of the church and arises most naturally from considerations of certain Biblical statements and doctrine about the God of revealed scripture. 

We began that series by presenting the historic definition of the doctrine, "God is not composed without parts", and spent considerable time expounding upon what is meant by such a statement. We then spent time testing to see if the doctrine could withstand contemporary objections which claim that such a doctrine makes it impossible to talk coherently or clearly about God. Then finally, we took the last few posts of the series to see how compatible the DDS was with the doctrine of the Trinity. 

For those readers interested in reviewing the full series on the doctrine of Divine simplicity, simply click on the links below:

http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/07/part-one-introducing-doctrine-of-divine.html


http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/07/part-two-biblical-support-and.html

http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/08/part-three-doctrine-of-divine.html

http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/08/part-four-doctrine-of-divine-simplicity.html

http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/08/part-five-compatibility-of-doctrines-of.html

http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/08/part-six-doctrine-of-divine-simplicity.html


The compatibility of the doctrine of Divine simplicity with the doctrine of the Trinity

As mentioned above, we introduced the doctrine of Divine simplicity as that teaching which asserts that God, by His very nature, is not composed of parts. Divine simplicity equates "what God is" in terms of His essence with "how God is" in terms of His existence. This means that, in God, there never was a time where He added any of His attributes. Biblical passages that affirm "God is" something (such as "God is light" 1 John 1:5; "God is love" 1 John 4:8; "God is holy" Isaiah 6:3) alert us to the truth of God's existence and essence being the same. 

God's Divine simplicity affirms that God has had all of His perfections from all eternity and thus is equal to all of His perfections. God's properties or qualities do not "compose" God like lego bricks would, say, a "lego man". All other created beings (humans, angels, universes, planets, animals) begin as potentially what they could be and grow to become, in actuality, what they're designed to be. 

God, is, in the words of the Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas, "pure actuality". When Aquinas describes God as "pure actuality", he means that all that God is has always existed in total perfection, from all eternity. Thus, we have in the doctrine of Divine simplicity a way to explain how God is one God. 

So then, in understanding "what God is", the doctrine of the Trinity aids us in answering the question: "who is God"?The doctrine of the Trinity, as we explored in the above mentioned series on Divine simplicity, affirms that the three Persons (or hypostases, subsistences) of the Trinity each bear this simple, undivided, eternal nature of deity. As one theologian as aptly expressed the doctrine of the Trinity: "God is 'One God' and 'Three Who's'". 

As the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each bear the properties of Deity, they all three share and participate equally and eternally as the One God of revealed scripture (see Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Psalm 110:4; Proverbs 30:5; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). Divine simplicity affirms no division nor "parts" composing the divine nature of God. 

When it comes to the Triune Persons, the DDS does not prohibit the distinct Persons of the Trinity from bearing the Divine nature as bearers of such Divine properties. With respect to the doctrine of Divine simplicity, it is the nature, not the Persons, which are its focus. So what's the practical take-away from these admittedly deep considerations? 

The doctrine of the Trinity, when conjoined with the doctrine of Divine simplicity, explains how such a Divine being can truly interact with our created world in history, answering prayers and revealing the books of the Bible. The broader discussion of the Trinity is connected to another, more particular conversation about the second Person of the Trinity - namely, the Son.

Defining Christology and Its Relevance to the discussion of Divine simplicity

The doctrine of the Trinity is the Biblical consequence of the New Testament authors' testimony about three truths about God: Biblical monotheism, Jesus Christ as "God in the flesh" and the Personality of the Holy Spirit. The second of these truths will occupy what follows in the remainder of this post. Anytime we study the Person, natures and work of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Old and New Testaments and expounded by the work of systematic theological reflection, we call such a study: "Christology". 

To expound somewhat more, Christology, as a major branch of Christian theology, concerns itself with the following:

1. Understanding how the second Person of the Trinity, the Son, became incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth.

2. The meaning(s) associated with Christ's atonement for sin.

3. The significance of Christ's resurrection.

4. Christ's ascension into heaven and His current functions as the exalted Prophet, Priest and King.

5. Explaining how and what Christ will do upon His return to bring this current age to a close to bring about the age to come. 

New Testament passages such as Philippians 2:5-11; 3:8-10; Hebrews 12:1-3 and 2 Peter 3:18 urge us to know Jesus and to think deeply on His Person, His two natures (truly Divine and truly human) and His work of salvation on our behalf. To say that Christology is important is a vast understatement.  

Thus, the one final test of whether or not the doctrine of Divine simplicity (DDS) is useful for communicating the Bible's revelation of God is the doctrine of Christ. If the DDS is in anyway compatible with the doctrine of the Trinity, then does it follow that such a doctrine can work within the framework of the Bible's revelation of Jesus Christ as One Person who is truly God and truly man? How well this question is answered will determine the Biblical usefulness and accuracy of the DDS explaining the Bible's portrayal of the Triune God and Christ in particular. 

More next time....

How You Can Know That The Incarnation of the Son of God Was a Historical Event

Hebrews 2:3-4 "how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will."

Note to reader: A more thorough blog series on arguing for the miracle of the incarnation has gotten underway over at my other blogsite: www.biblicalexegete.wordpress.com. Readers are invited to dig deeper as further posts will be forthcoming. To God be the glory!

Introduction:

As we begin today's post, we turn our attention to the focal point of this time of year: advent. Advent is a season on the Christian calendar that celebrates the historical event of Christ's incarnation or His act as God coming into this world to take unto His person true and genuine humanity. The event itself entailed two other important miracles: the virgin/birth conception, which explains how He came and the hypostatic union, or the joining unto His Person a truly human nature, and thus He in His Person being the union of true humanity and undiminished deity. Statements such as these reveal how much Christianity is predicated upon mighty miracles. Today's post will attempt to communicate how one might champion the incarnation and the miracle working of God in the course of this advent season. 

What is a miracle?

First, a miracle is a highly irregular event in terms of its frequency and features compared to what we would term regularly occurring events. Secondly, based upon Dr. William Lane Craig's definition, a miracle is a naturally impossible event - meaning that given naturalistic explanations, events such as Christ's incarnation and resurrection could not happen by natural causes. Of all the sorts of explanations that could be offered, the best explanation for these events would be shown to be a supernatural one.  

Therefore, since non-natural events, as well as natural events do occur in our world, and being that non-natural events (such as Jesus resurrection) has been shown to occur, then it only stands to reason that the God of the Bible exists. 

Some further thoughts on "irregular events" and why miracles can be legitimately considered as part of our world

This point about irregularity is important because so many skeptics will say that miracles are impossible, being that in the normal course of human experience, no such event can happen? However, if there are irregular events that can occur in history, which may not be experienced regularly by human beings, then does that rule out the miraculous? 

For instance, when I lived in central Florida, there was one year where the storm paths of three hurricanes in once season criss-crossed over the very neighborhood where we lived. For even one hurricane to make it that far inland into central Florida had not occurred in 40 years. Imagine the less likelihood of three hurricanes and their storm paths all intermingling with one another in one season? 

An argument for the validity of miracles in our world

Are we saying that this highly irregular pattern of hurricanes constitutes a definite miracle. Hardly. There are obviously other traits that need to be considered before saying something is a definite miracle. Consider the following logical statement:

#1 We see the possibility of irregular events occurring in the world; 

#2 and miracles are by definition irregular events 

Therefore it can be rightly concluded that miracles can occur in this world. 

What bearing the possibility of miracles has on the incarnation and virgin birth of the Son of God

In establishing the possibility of miracles in our world, we can then begin to make a case for the most important miracle upon which we celebrate Christmas - namely Christ's incarnation through the virgin birth conception. The rest of this post represents more of a sketch, rather than fully completed argument for the historical reality of the virgin birth. Notice the following argument:

#1 Miracles are non-natural events that are naturally impossible events. Only natural events that are naturally possible can occur if in fact the God of the Bible does not exist

#2 History's task is to recount all events that occur, including naturally possible & naturally impossible events

#3 The Gospel records document Jesus' incarnation and virgin birth/conception and have been shown under close scrutiny to be reliable documents

#4 Jesus' incarnation/virgin birth was a miraculous event that could be classified as occurring as a result of non-natural causes

#5 Jesus' incarnation/virgin birth from the dead is a miracle that did occur in history

How methods of history can show the validity of treating Christ's incarnation as a historical event

Now this argument can be shown sound through means of criteria used in validating the historicity of certain events in ancient literature. I will briefly list a couple of those criteria as applied to the Christmas story:

1. Multiple attestation or support from multiple sources (hence Matthew and Luke's Gospel with regards to the genealogies and the 1st century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, in his "Antiquities of the Jews")

2. The criteria of embarrassment (Joseph contemplated divorcing Mary upon hearing her pregnancy would had been an embarrassing detail but which is a sign of being genuine fact)

3. Palestinian or 1st century Jewish setting. Matthew and Luke's use of genealogies; the possible reference of Mary and Joseph finding "no room in the inn" as a technical term pointing to the interior room of a home in and around Judea (i.e Bethlehem). 

Closing thoughts for now

We have shown through our brief study of miracles thus far that miracles are possible in this world. We have also given an example of a brief outline of how one might argue for the historicity and thus plausibility of the Christmas story as it pertains to the miracles of the virgin birth and Christ's incarnation. Hence, the virgin birth/incarnation can be considered as a fact of history.