The Marvel Of The Incarnation

Purpose: To explain the nature of Christ's incarnation.

Aim: I want the listener to sense the impact that Christ's coming had on mankind.

INTRODUCTION: "The best way to send an idea," said scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, "is to wrap it up in a person." The theological word for all of that is "Incarnation," meaning "in the flesh." Jesus was the Incarnation of God. Jesus was the way that God sent His "idea" to humanity; there was and is no better way!

A little girl put it very simply when she said, "Some people couldn't hear God's inside whisper and so He sent Jesus to tell it out loud." One of the early church fathers whose name was Ignatius explained that "by the Incarnation, God broke His silence."

The first five verses of this Gospel give us an introduction to the whole book. Look at them: John 1:1--5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (NAU)

Those words sound very strange to our ears, but as you read through the Gospel of John these words take on a fuller and very exciting meaning.

Verses 14-18 are an excellent example. After we read the expression THE WORD three times in verse one John declares dramatically in verse 14, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

"The Word, that living expression of God, tells His truth out loud and sees to it that God's creation is in touch with the God's power and glory. We are brought into the personal presence of the lover of our souls. How great that blessing! How wonderful is that gift." [1]

Notice with me how our text points out how marvelous the story of Christ's appearance on earth really is. I will do this by asking two questions.

Vs.14-15 I. What Does the Incarnation tell us About Jesus?

The oldest book in the Bible declares the hope that we can see a physical God. Job 19:26 "Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; (NAU)

Vs.14a A. His incarnation is unique "became"

In the phrase "the Word became flesh" the verb, "became," means "to enter a new condition; to come to be what has never been before."

1096 BECAME ginomai {ghin'-om-ahee} ...

1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being

2) to become, i.e. to come to pass, happen [2]

Verse 12 uses another form of the same verb: John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, (NAU)

When we become Christians we become something we have never been before. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (NAU)

So also when Jesus became a human on Christmas, He became something he never was before. Because of the virgin birth of Christ by Mary, Jesus is the one and only God-man.

This is why John calls Jesus "the only begotten from the Father" The marginal reading is, "unique, only one of His kind." Jesus became flesh. Think about it. The word "flesh" refers to the material part of man. Than which feels weakness and suffers sickness.

Vs.14b B. His incarnation is eternal "became flesh"

"John does not say He became man or even body, but "flesh"--a crude, blunt word for sophisticated Greeks who assumed that the body would eventually be cast aside. The living God has made His great, decisive move in coming among us in the flesh!" [3]

Even more astonishing is the truth that Jesus took on a human body for forever! He was born into a human body, He died in a human body, He was raised from the dead in a human body, He ascended into heaven in a human body, He is seated at the Father's right hand in a human body, He will return to earth in a human body. When John saw a vision of Christ in heaven he saw a man:

Revelation 1:12-13,17-18 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. (NAU)