The Incarnation

Definition
That act of grace whereby Christ took our human nature into union with his Divine Person, became
man. Christ is both God and man. Human attributes and actions are predicated of him, and he of whom
they are predicated is God. A Divine Person was united to a human nature ( Acts 20:28 ; Romans
8:32 ; 1 Corinthians 2:8 ; Hebrews 2:11-14 ; 1 Timothy 3:16 ; Galatians 4:4 , etc.). The union is
hypostatical, i.e., is personal; the two natures are not mixed or confounded, and it is perpetual.
- Easton’s Biblical Dictionary

John 1
1
 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
2
 He was with God in the beginning. 
3
 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 
4
 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 
14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only
Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

Romans 5 (Purpose of the Incarnation)

15
 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did
God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 
16
 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and
brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.

Hebrews 2
17 
For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a
merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the
people. 

The Incarnation: What do we mean by the incarnation?

1. When we speak of the incarnation, we mean that God became a man. Expounded upon, this truth states that
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, is very God, holy and transcendent, who condescended to become a man,
with a fully human nature coexisting with His divine nature as God. He was born of a virgin, which originates
from the first proclamation of the gospel immediately after Adam’s fall: “And I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:
15). Being a “seed” indicates Christ’s human birth. Being the seed of the woman indicates His virgin birth, thus
maintaining all deity in His divine nature. The bruising of Christ’s heel speaks of His death by crucifixion. The
bruise or crushing of the serpent’s head indicates the destruction of Satan’s power and, furthermore, indicates the
sufficiency and supremacy of Christ’s sacrificial death. The truth of Christ’s glorious deity is essential because it
is important to know who has saved us; otherwise, our worship is in vain. This truth is also important because the
salvation, which is of the LORD (Jonah 2: 9), is supremely powerful to save and sufficiently powerful to preserve
that saving work to the end.
2. By it, we also mean that Christ, as a Man, lived a holy and righteous life. Born as a babe, like every
descendent of Adam, but of a virgin, He is like no other man who was, or ever will be born. His being born like
any other descendent of Adam indicates Christ’s complete humanity, yet, it also speaks of His unique character by
His holiness unto God and His sinlessness among men. He was made subject to every infirmity and affliction
common to man, yet He endured. He was tempted in every way, like as we are, yet He was without sin: holy,
blameless, undefiled, and always pleasing to the heavenly Father. His thinking was of the purest thoughts unto
godly obedience to His Father. His heart harbored no vain or selfish grudge. Every utterance of His mouth was
heavenly, having no guile, nor deceit, nor slander, nor gossip, nor malignity. His every deed was honorable and
honoring before every vestige of heaven. He was the only righteous Man who ever lived, the only pious Prophet
who spoke truth in purity and equity, the only Jew who ever kept the entire law perfectly, and the only Son who
ever obeyed His Father sweetly, completely, lovingly and sincerely. The truth of Christ’s righteous humanity is
essential because it is important to recognize that the sins and corruptions held, harbored and inherited in the flesh
of every man, woman, and child since Adam’s fall, and because of his fall, are so heinous and so offensive against
God, that to save mankind from their sins, it took nothing less than God condescending to be clothed in the
likeness of men (Philippians 2: 6, 7). A denial of Christ’s humanity is not of God (1 John 4: 3).

5 Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled By Christ’s Birth

1. The Messiah Would Be Born in Bethlehem

“But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathaha least among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in
Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.” - Micah 5:1

2. The Messiah Would Be From The Line Of Abraham.

“In your descendants all the nations of the earth will find blessing, because you obeyed my command.” - Genesis 22:18

3. The Messiah Would Born Of A Virgin

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be
called Emmanuel.” - Isaiah 7:14

4. The Messiah Would Be A Descendant Of Jacob

“A star shall advance from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel” - Numbers: 24:17

5. The Messiah Would Be A Descendant of David

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” - Jeremiah 23:5