INCARNATION
Theological and Apologetic Issues
Is Jesus God in human form?
Incarnation
(Latin in and caro, stem carn) literally means ‘in the
flesh.' Theologically the term incarnation refers to the act
whereby the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word
(Gk. Logos), without ceasing to be what He is, God the Son, took into
union with Himself what He, before that act, did not possess, a human nature,
“and so [He] was and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures and
one person, forever” (West-minster Shorter Catechism, Q. 21). So incarnation
is the union of human nature with the Word when He assumed a human nature in
the womb of the Virgin Mary. This means that His human nature was permanently
united to His divine nature, and He will remain fully God
and fully man, yet one person, forever. The biblical support for this
doctrine is enormous (John 1:14; Rom. 1:3; 1:8; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:7-8; 1 Tim.
3:16; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7; Rev. 5:6-9). The orthodox Christian belief comes
from the Chalcedonian definition, which teaches that in the one person
(hypostasis) of Jesus Christ there concur two natures, a complete humanity and
a complete divinity, and that they are united in His person “without
confusion, without change, without division, without separation”.1
In other words, Christ is both God and Man, ‘Perfect in divinity, perfect in
humanity; truly God and truly Man’. This confession is the core of
Christianity (Col. 1:19-20).
This understanding of Jesus is attacked by
non-Christians, sub-Christian cults, and liberal theologians. Critics raise
many questions – Why should God incarnate? Is it possible for God to become
man? Is Jesus really God-incarnate? Did Jesus and His earliest followers
really believe that in Him God became flesh and dwelt among us?
In this article we will respond to some of these questions and focus
mainly on the question: Is Jesus God-incarnate?
Why should God incarnate?
It is obvious that we are all finite. Finite
man (human beings) cannot know the infinite and invisible God. Man can only
know about God, but cannot know God, because the gap between the
Infinite and the finite is always infinite and the finite cannot cross the
infinite gap and reach the Infinite (God). Therefore, if man has to know or
reach God, God should take
initiative and show the way. This perhaps is why there is the idea of God
appearing in human history as a man in some major religions like Hinduism
(avatars) and Christianity (incarnation).
The second reason why God should incarnate is
the problem of sin. Man is an incurably religious being and has always been
seeking to find the truth about God and to know God. In fact, religion is
about man trying to reach God. The
word ‘religion’ (Latin re, and legion) means reconnecting.
So the universal religious quest is to reconnect with God. This implies that
something went wrong somewhere, and humans lost their connection with their
Creator. The Bible says that human sin, which is the tendency to be
self-centered, separated man from God and brought all the evil consequences
like envy, fear, loneliness, suspicion, guilt, restlessness, corruption, crime,
immorality, and death. Sin is a congenital
disease among humans. We are born with its infection in our
nature. This perhaps is why our ancestors prayed (expressing a
desperate cry of their hearts) saying, Papoham,
papakarmaham, papathma, papasambhava. Thrahima kurpaya deva
saranagatha vatsala. Anyada saranam nastitvame va saranam mama, which
means “I am sinful in my thoughts, sinful in my deeds, sinful in my nature,
and am sinful by birth. Except for you, none can help me, O God. Please have
mercy on me.” A Jewish man (Paul) said like this: I have the desire to do
what is good, but I cannot carry it out and the evil I do not want to do, I
keep on doing. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of
death? (Rom. 7:14-25). The Bible says that all humans have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, and that the result of sin is death (Rom. 3:23;
6:23). If we just look into our own hearts and look around we can recognize
that sin is a real problem.
Some say that we should not call man a sinner
because of their belief that man is good or divine. But if that is so, where
has the tendency to steal, lie, murder,
cheat, and so on come from, and why do we need police stations, courts of law,
anticorruption bureau, and so on? Why do we lock our doors and not trust our
fellow humans? Reality confirms the fact that we are sinful and we need a
saviour. This is the second reason why God
needed to come into the history of mankind - to pay the penalty for human sin
and grant us forgiveness for sin and salvation from all the consequences of
sin, including the eternal separation from God. In brief, God needed to
incarnate for our redemption. This must be the case, because only a true human
can suffer and die and only a true divine person could give that suffering an
infinite value. Moreover, only an infinite God could bear the full penalty for
all the sins of all the people. Any finite creature would be incapable of
bearing that penalty. So when Jesus suffered, it was God the Son who suffered
on the cross in His humanity. Also, only someone who was truly and fully God
and human could be the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).
The third reason why God needed to incarnate
is to give us a much fuller revelation of Himself. God reveals Himself in
different ways – through Nature, our conscience, His acts in history, and
the Scriptures. We can know about God to some extent through all these. But
for us to know more about God and to
know Him personally, God has to come to us. So in Christ God came personally
and has given us an incomparably more intimate revelation concerning His
nature and the plan of salvation through His own person and work. This is true
because only God can reveal God to us adequately.2
“The great God who made this world actually came down to the world that He
had made, and walked and talked with the people whom He had created. . . .
that is the marvel of the incarnation.”3
So, according to the Bible, Christ is the final and perfect revelation of God
to men (Heb. 1:1-4; John 1:14,18). Incarnation has not only made it possible
for God to provide redemption for mankind, but it also made possible a much
fuller revelation of God to mankind. Now let
us focus on the second question.
Is
it possible for God to become a man?
Many wonder how God could become a man or
take humanity upon Himself either because of their conception of God’s
‘impassibility’4
or because of their understanding about the nature of man as basically an
animal that evolved from the lower forms of life (this might entail that God
and Man are incompatible). But the divine and the human, though distinct from
each other are not foreign to each other or mutually exclusive. Since man is
created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27), and man is the most God-like
creature in the entire creation, a union between the Divine and the human was
definitely within the realm of possibility, and given God’s desire to rescue
man from sin and its consequences, is seen to
be the most natural and effective method. Divinity and humanity are not
contradictory categories. They are more like a set and a sub-set (Ps. 82:6;
John 10:34). We are not talking about the
existential (sinful, post-fall), but about the essential or original
(sinless, pre-fall) humanity here. So Jesus’ humanity was not the humanity
of sinful human beings (that we are familiar with), but the humanity possessed
by Adam and Eve before their fall. So
Divinity and humanity are not incompatible categories, and God could
assume the form of man, because man was made in the likeness of God. God could
not take upon Himself a nature wholly foreign
to His own, nor become that which is altogether unlike Himself. This is
why “God chose to become incarnate in a creature very much like Himself. It
is quite possible that part of God’s purpose in making
humanity in His own image was to facilitate the incarnation that would
someday take place.”5
Let us now consider the third and final question.
Is Jesus really God-incarnate?
There
have been many that claimed to be and some that are claiming to be the
God-incarnate or God in human form. But how can we know who the real
God-incarnate or God-man is? It is important for us to have some criteria6
that will help us to know who the real God-Man is, among the many claimants!
So if God became a man, then we would expect Him to:
1. Have a supernatural entry into
human history. Why? Because, a child born naturally will be a natural human
child and cannot be looked upon as God in the human form. Jesus alone had a
unique entrance into human history through virginal conception. It was
foretold by the prophets (Gen. 3:15; Is. 7:14) and confirmed by the gospel
accounts (Matt. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-38; 2:1-7). Virgin birth made possible the
uniting of the full deity and full humanity in one person, and the person born
was God-Man (not just God nor just a man). Some people wonder if virginal
conception is possible. But if there is an all-powerful God, then this is not
a difficult thing to believe. God did it in His power (Lk. 1:35).
2. Be sinless. Why? Because, the one
who comes to save sinners should be free from sin. Just as a blind man cannot
show the way to another blind man, a sinner cannot save another sinner
(Ps.49:7-9; Heb. 9:11-28; 10:1-18 ). Virgin birth made it possible for
Christ’s true humanity without inheriting the corrupted moral nature. The
sin nature that could have possibly been transmitted to Jesus from Mary was
prevented by the work of the Holy Spirit
(Lk.1:35).7
Jesus demonstrated sinlessness in his character. His sinlessness is
established by the testimonies of Jesus Himself (John 8:29), His friends (John
6:69; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5; Heb. 7:26;
2 Cor. 5:21; Lk. 1:35), His enemies (John 8:46ff), others
(Matt.27:19,24, 54; Lk. 23:41) and ironically Pilate who sentenced him (John
18:38; 19:4; 19:6).
3. Have
an acute sense of difference from other men who are mere men. Why?
Because, it would be odd for God in the human form to forget that He is God
and not just a man, and then to realize suddenly that He is God. And Jesus
demonstrated that sense of difference throughout His life in the world in His
words and deeds (Lk. 2:49; John 2:13-17).
4. Speak the greatest words ever
spoken or teach the greatest things ever taught by any man. Why? Because, the
infinite wisdom of God should be reflected in His teachings and His words
should have unparalleled impact. History bears testimony to the fact that
Christ’s words have impacted mankind more profoundly than the words of any
other person in history. The famous historian W. E. H. Lecky, not a Christian
himself observes,
The
character of Jesus has not only been the highest pattern of virtue, but the strongest incentive in its practice, and has
exerted so deep an influence, that it may be truly said that the simple record
of three years of active life has done more to regenerate and to soften
mankind, than all the disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations
of moralists.8
5. Have
universal and lasting influence. Why? Because, it would be odd for the God of
the Universe to be the god of a tribe or small group of people when He comes
into human history to reveal Himself, and for His influence to be limited and
temporary. Christ’s influence on human history and life is universal,
lasting, and unparalleled. He is the focal point of our history and without
Him we cannot make sense of our history.
6. Satisfy the spiritual hunger of
mankind universally. Why? Because if the God of the Universe comes into human
history to save all mankind, it would be odd for Him not to satisfy the
spiritual hunger of mankind universally. Jesus has satisfied and is satisfying
the spiritual hunger of people from every tongue and nation.
7. Demonstrate supernatural powers.
Why? Because, when the God of the Universe or the Creator God enters into the
space-time universe, He should demonstrate power over His own creation.
Otherwise, we cannot be sure that He is the God-incarnate. Jesus uniquely
demonstrated power over nature, disease, and death.
8. Exercise power over death. Why?
Because, death, which is a consequence of sin, is the ultimate destroyer of
meaning in human life. So if God comes to deliver us from sin and death and to
give us hope of eternal life, He should demonstrate power over death. Jesus
demonstrated His power over death when he called dead people back to life, but
more importantly when He came back
to life (resurrected) on the third day.
If
God has come into the world in the form of
a man and if we have to accept the claims of a person to be the
‘God-man’ and the saviour of the
world, the above eight criteria should be fulfilled in His birth, life
and death. If these eight aspects are not true of any person who has claimed
to be or who is believed to be, God in the human form, he can be looked upon
as a man only, but not as God-man. This is like saying that if a triangle
exists it must have three sides and the sum of the three angles should be 180o.
Jesus Christ is the only one who fulfils the above criteria, and hence
qualifies to be the God-incarnate. Incarnation (the infinite, omni-potent, and
eternal God, the Son becoming man and joining himself to a human nature
forever) will remain for eternity the most profound miracle and the most
profound mystery in the entire universe.9
And, God has done this for us so that we might know Him and enjoy Him forever.
- Santhi & Sudhakar Mondithoka
1
John Macquarrie, “Incarnation” in The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern
Christian Thought, Ed. Alister McGrath (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.,
1993), 271.
2
Loraine Boettner, Studies in Theology (Washington: The Presbyterian and
Reformed Publishing Company, 1983), 205-206.
3
Ibid.
4
A high and lofty view of God wherein He is not affected by His creation at
all.
5
Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
1998), 753.
6
Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Nashville:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), 285-328. I have got most of the criteria from
this chapter and over the years I have done my own study and am convinced
about their validity.
7
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub.House,
1994), 531.
8
W. E. H. Lecky, History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne,
2nd ed., 2vols. (London: Longman, Green, 1869), 2:88.
9
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p 563.
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