Blake Long

From the scholar: “The supreme mystery of the Christian faith is the incarnation, the union of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ. In the incarnation, God, who is beyond all understanding, took on human nature, experiencing the fullness of humanity, yet without sin. This act of divine condescension demonstrates God’s love and grace, offering salvation to a fallen world. In Christ, we see both the holiness and the mercy of God revealed perfectly. The incarnation is not just a theological abstraction, but the foundation of all Christian hope.” (J.I. Packer)

For the laymen: We’d be hopeless without the incarnation. It is an integral part of the grand redemptive story, that God took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s important to note that the incarnation was an addition to Christ; that is, Christ always existed, but added a human nature to Himself at the incarnation. Two natures (divine and human), one person.

This reality of two natures, one person, is the hypostatic union, where Jesus is truly God and truly man. Jesus is not half God and half human; nor is he 90% God and 10% man. If you wanted to quantify it by a percentage, he would be 200%—100% God, 100% man. Though this deserves its own “thinking on theology,” it’s a vital part of the incarnation.

How it applies: Jesus condescended to Earth to take on human flesh, live a perfect life pleasing to God the Father, and die the death of sinners, absorbing the full brunt of the Father’s wrath. That is all for us. There’s nothing more practical than that!

The incarnation of Jesus Christ means salvation has been brought to us as a gift. The work has been done; “it is finished” (John 19:30). We can rest in what God has done for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Even more practically, the incarnation of Christ brings us assurance that we are in right standing with God as Christians. Our assurance doesn’t sway back in worth, but is grounded in Christ. Gone are the days of feeling like we have to climb the salvific ladder. Redemption was accomplished on our behalf—there’s no need to work for it! Jesus did the work for us.

The incarnation is far more than a pretty Christmas display. It is the shattering of this world; it is the very beginning of making all things new. Through the incarnation (and all else that Jesus did), we have hope.