Learning About Christianity from the Bible: The Incarnation

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' " 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

One of the central tenets of Christianity, the Incarnation, is supported by this passage. In short, the incarnation is the testimony that God the Son, the eternal Word, took on humanity in order to redeem mankind and reconcile us to Himself. Although God is transcendent spirit, he became man. How amazing! The eternal holy one became like us, for you and I!

The term "only begotten" Son conveys an important truth. When the Bible speaks of God's people as His children, it does so in terms of adoption:

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

And

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)

But of Jesus, the term "Only begotten" is used. The children of God are adopted children, but Jesus is the natural child, the one and only true "God" child. The ancient Nicene creed, recited in churches throughout the centuries says it this way:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

The Son was eternally generated by the Father. He came from the Father in eternity past. He was not created because He has always existed. There never was a time when he was not. The Father-Son relationship has always been. He is true God from true God. Elsewhere in Scripture it is described this way:

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. -Colossians 1:19-20

The Christian faith has always held that in Jesus was fully diety and full humanity. He was both genuinely human and genuinely divine. He was eternal "in the Father's bossom" and in time as the creed says "For us and for our salvation came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man."

Jesus came on a love mission, a rescue mission to save the lost sheep!