What is meant by the Incarnation of Jesus?

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:18, 22-25).

Jesus was not the result of sexual relations between a male and female. Neither was Jesus created by God about 2000 years ago. Jesus was and is the eternal second Person of the Trinity; the Alpha and the Omega. He took on a human body through the virgin birth as the Holy Spirit prepared a body for Him in the womb of Mary. The body of Jesus was the result of the creation power of God through the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin called Mary. Jesus had two natures, one divine and one fully human, united in one Person; the Holy Son of God. Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us; the God-man. Jesus had to become a man to die for our sins. But Jesus had to be sinless. Yet, Jesus was tempted like us in every way. He suffered our emotional and physical pain. He experienced everything we do. He obeyed the law of God perfectly on our behalf. He was tempted by Satan like Adam and Eve, and every human being after them, but overcame every temptation. This was due to His divine nature.

There was no thought or stain of any sin in Jesus. The incarnation of Jesus through the Holy Spirit broke the sin-line of Adam which transfers the sinful nature to every human being born from Adam. Jesus had no sin nature. The sinless death of Jesus is the only atonement for our sins. The whole life of Jesus, including His death and resurrection is counted to us as righteousness when we repent and put our trust in Him.

Jesus also rose bodily from the grave and took with Him into heaven the glorified body in which all believers will be raised one day. If Jesus did not rose from the dead, His death for our sin means nothing. The penalty for sin is death. Jesus broke the penalty of sin by rising from the dead. His bodily resurrection means we will one day rose from the dead in a new glorified body as His. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead means the Father accepted his life and death as a sufficient sacrifice for our sin.

Jesus was not just a spirit passing through this earth for a while in a human body and left it in the grave to rose as a spirit. He appeared bodily to His disciples and they could touch Him and see the wounds. He ate and talked with them after His resurrection. Jesus' incarnation as the God-man was the final step in the Trinity's redemptive plan. Jesus will one day return bodily and every eye will see Him coming on the clouds as He left. He will appear a second time, not to save, but to judge everyone who disobeyed God's laws and rejected Him.

What is the real meaning of Christmas?

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)

Have you ever stopped to think about the real meaning of Christmas?

Much of the world looks at this day as a commercial holiday; a time to buy gifts for each other; a chance for children to sit on Santa’s lap; a time for families to get together around the dinner table. While these traditions are not wrong, is this really what Christmas is all about?

When you look at the world today I’m sure you can agree that there is a lot of evil in it. Switch on the news and you will hear about horrific atrocities committed daily by people around the world. We often look at ourselves and think we are good in comparison to these people however we fail to recognise the sin that lurks within our own heart. “None is righteous. No one does good, not even one.” (Rom. 3:10-18). All of mankind has fallen short of God’s holy standard. Have you ever lied, stolen, used God’s name in vain, hated someone? Due to sin, we are all part of the ultimate statistic, 10 out of 10 people die and we will all face God to give an account before Him. Are you ready for that day?

So what is the true meaning of Christmas? LOVE! God sent his Son to provide the only way for sinners to spend eternity with Him. He took the punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full and we are free from condemnation if we repent of our sin and put our trust in Jesus alone (2 Cor. 5:21). John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Read further -->> Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus ? This is the most contentious and divisive question that has ever been asked. No question has ever caused so much division. The apostle John wrote his letter with that question in mind. There were self-proclaimed prophets, in his day, who offered descriptions of Christ that were contrary to that of the apostles’. Some taught that Christ only “appeared” that way. Ideas like this flourished in the first centuries after Christ, as leaders in the church wrestled with the notion that God became man and died.

In 1 John 4:1-6,  John encourages his readers to learn to “test the spirits,” that is, to discern from among these competing views by examining what they teach about the person of Christ. He says in verse 2 that all who confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh and is from God are in agreement with the Spirit of God. Those, however, who oppose the Spirit of God by denying that Christ came in the flesh are antichrist.
What is the biblical answer to the controversial question: Who is Jesus? In John 8:58 Christ says, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Colossians 1:15-20 says He is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation … by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth … in Him all things hold together.” Paul says in Phillipians 2:6 that Christ was the “very nature” and form of God.Hebrews 1:1-3 says that “the Son was the exact representation of God’s being.” Titus 2:13 refers to Him as “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Jesus is God in the flesh, the only Savior of mankind, sent to redeem the souls of the lost, with the authority of God Himself, being God Himself.

On just about any nightly-news talk show you can hear someone giving an opinion about Christ. Christ is characterized in various ways: desert mystic, political rebel, delusional prophet, the first self-actualized human being, fictionalized savior, unwitting pawn in a societal upheaval, and so on.

John judges any claims about Christ, which contradict the Spirit of God, to be false. The idea of an infinite God taking on human form and suffering a brutal death at the hands of wicked men is difficult to contemplate. Yet, this is the Gospel in all it’s simplicity and complexity. Many fall away because their attempts to separate the humanity of Christ from His divinity are irreconcilable. But you, who are from God, have overcome these kind of false teachings, because “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

This is published by permission from Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. © Tabletalk magazine. Website: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/who-jesus/