Debunking the Myths of Christmas Sample

The Importance Of The Incarnation

The focus of Christmas in the Bible is not the date but the event of the Incarnation.

The birth of Jesus is known doctrinally as the Incarnation. The Latin verb incarno is derived from two words “in” and “carno,” meaning quite literally “to make into flesh.”

John 1:14 is clear: “The Word became flesh.” In other words, it was the Son from eternity who became incarnate, not the divine nature. The Son, who is in eternal relation to the Father and Spirit, willingly humbled himself and chose to assume a human nature in obedience to his Father and for our salvation.

In the Incarnation, the eternal Son who has always possessed the divine nature did not change or set aside his deity. Instead, he has added to himself a second nature, namely a human nature consisting of a human body and soul (Phil. 2:6–8).

But why is the Incarnation so important? The purpose of the Incarnation is to reveal God to man.

More than a festive way to spend Christmas, the doctrine of the Incarnation is perhaps the central truth in Christian doctrine.

Charles Spurgeon said, “The birth of Jesus is the grandest light of history, the sun in the heavens of all time. It is the pole star of human destiny, the hinge of chronology, the meeting place of the waters of the past and the future.”

The Incarnation was thoroughly supernatural and a demonstration of our triune God’s sovereign and gracious initiative to redeem His people (Matt 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38). The virgin conception was the time and means by which the divine Son added to himself a human nature.

The virgin birth or the virgin conception of Jesus is important, because Jesus had to be sinless in order to be the perfect sinless payment for our sins. If Jesus had a natural birth, then the sinful nature inherited from Adam would have been transferred to Him and He would not have been sinless.

So neither Mary nor Joseph had a part in the conception. It was a virgin conception – a supernatural birth.

As the Son incarnate, our Lord Jesus Christ in his life, death, and resurrection, reverses the work of the first Adam and forges ahead as the last Adam.

So, spend time thanking God for the Incarnation, which is the essence of Christmas.

Quote: The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation. - J. I. Packer

Prayer: Lord I will not understand fully the cost you paid to become man. But I thank you that you came and took my place and paid my price. Amen