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Who here loves a good mystery?
Whether it be in a movie, a television show, or novel that we read, We become consumed with the suspense Trying to figure out the clues which seem to be full of dramatic and unexpected outcomes, which keep us on the edge of our seats.
And as the plot thickens, as these twists begin to reveal themselves and everything starts to make sense. It seems to captivate our attention.
But unlike some of the mysteries that bring us simple entertainment, Every Christmas we are reminded of one of the greatest mysteries we will ever come across And it’s the mystery of the incarnation. This word incarnation itself isn’t something we hear every day. So, what exactly does it even mean? If someone came and asked you what you mean when you say incarnation, how would you define it? Well, the word “incarnation” comes from a Latin word which means “the act of being made flesh.” So, in theology, this word refers to this mystery that the eternal Son of God, the 2nd person of the Trinity, assumed human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.
We see in the gospel of John as he alludes to this mystery, John 1:14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us The Word, who John says at the beginning of his gospel, was with God and is God, He became incarnate, became flesh, and He dwelt among us. That’s a mystery in and of itself, and even though it may be hard to wrap our minds around it at times.
As Ernie described last week speaking of the hypostatic union, the eternal Son of God, the eternal begotten of the Father, the second person of the trinity, became flesh, and assumed a human body, Yet, He never altered his divine nature or ever set aside any of his divine attributes. Therefore, Jesus in His incarnation, was truly and fully God and truly and fully man Two natures, a divine and human nature in one person. Trying to comprehend all that is difficult, because there is mystery behind it.
I mean, listen to what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:16,
“By common confession”, meaning, everything that I’m about to say is of general agreement, uncontestable, undeniable, and most certainly, beyond question “great is the mystery of godliness”; these may be difficult to comprehend, but they are 100% true Look what he begins with. He, Speaking of Jesus Christ, God the Son, was manifested (meaning to become visible, to reveal, to expose publicly) He was revealed in the flesh” That’s amazing truth, yet great is this mystery!
And Paul, with full confidence in what he is saying, although a mystery, begins by speaking of the incarnation.“He was revealed in the flesh”
This, doctrine, is important to know, but it’s also one that is important to defend.
Because without it we have no hope.And all throughout church history, it has been defended from those, who I would assume were very intelligent people, but due the mysterious nature of this doctrine, refused to accept it as truth.
Just to give a few quick examples, Docetism, because the mystery was too complex for this group, they denied Christ’s humanity, they didn’t believe He was fully human, therefore, they denied that God had ever manifested himself in the flesh, therefore denying the inerrancy of Scripture of what Paul wrote and denying the incarnation.
The Arians denied Christ’s deity, Jesus was a real human, but he wasn’t really God, he was a created being, he wasn’t of the same substance as God the Father (homo-ousios), but only a similar substance to God the Father (homoi-ousios)
And at the first counsel of Nicaea (325) Arianism was deemed heresy.
And if that wasn’t enough, The Nestorians, they thought they came up with the answer, I mean this is simple math 100 (God) +100 (man) = 200 right? Therefore, they concluded if Christ is fully God and fully human, and if he possesses two natures (divine and human) therefore he must be two persons living in one body.
They were the first “so called” mental health experts diagnosing Jesus with multiple personality disorder.
Which then lead to the opposite effect, Eutychianism, who considered Jesus as a single person with a single divine nature, but the human nature was merely mixed in with His divine nature. So, in order to understand this logically, he was 50% God and 50% human equaling 100%. Therefore, He wasn’t fully God and he wasn’t fully human, he was something in the middleKind of like Jell-o, take some water, pour a box of powder in, and Walla some giggly substance is created. He was a hybrid of some sort.
The sad reality, as Ernie mentioned last week, is we battle similar heresies today, Whether it be the Muslims who see Jesus as a mere prophet The JW, who like the Arians, see Jesus as a created being, and deny his full divinity. Or the unitarian universalist who see Jesus as a moral teacher rather than God in human form.
And I believe all these come about due to the failure to dig deep and trust the inspired Scriptures, and know that even though we may not fully understand it, what God says in His Word is true God the Son assumed flesh, became a man, yet did not cease to be God Jesus Christ is fully God and fully Man Therefore, as we explore together the mystery of the incarnation, I want to concentrate on three key avenues revealed in God’s Word, where his redemptive plan for us is intricately woven into the mystery of this great doctrine And I want to approach this in a bible study format, focusing on a biblical theology framework while highlighting key OT passages where this mystery was always part of God’s sovereign plan my hope is that we will find more comfort and Joy in the Lord, come away with a better understanding of who God is and what He’s done, and praise the Lord with even more passion as we, “Come behold the wonderous mystery”
P1: The first avenue of the mystery of the incarnation is that it is based on the promises of God
We see the first promise mentioned right away in Genesis 3:15
As you know this verse comes after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, as they believed the deception of the serpent, by eating from the tree they were commanded not to eat, the tree of knowledge of good and evil And upon eating from this tree, both their eyes were opened, shame had entered their minds and hearts, they tried to cover themselves, and they hid themselves from God As this event unfolds, as God exposes their sin, He brings about consequences for this sin as well
Look at v 13-15 with me.
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
V 15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Verse 15, surrounded by the negative consequences Sin, we see the Lord relay a positive promise, which is known as the protoevangelium or “the first gospel” This is where God promises that the “seed of the woman” will bruise the serpent’s head.
And within this promise, God is implying, that a human descendent will come and undo the curse of sin that had taken place here in the garden of Eden. So in the wake of humanity’s disobedience, in the wake of man’s fall, this is the first hint of God’s intention to become flesh and defeat evil, Notice, he didn’t say the seed of man, he says the “seed of the woman” meaning this human will not inherit the sinful nature of Adam but will come with divine power to overcome what had been ruined. I’m sure they didn’t fully grasp the weight of what God said at that particular time, but they believed God’s words because we see throughout the OT, many expected this promise to be fulfilled in their lifetime. Just to give to you couple examples, Eve, having heard this promise firsthand, she was looking for this One who would reverse this curse right away. I mean look at the next chapter. In Gen 4:1 we see this, Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.” Now if you look at this verse, if you are using an NASB the words “the help of” are in italics, those are added words by the translators to make the reading flow more clearly. They are not in the original. So, if we were to remove those italicized words, it could literally read, “and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the Lord.” Now the preposition “with” indicates participation or involvement of some sort The object of the preposition is “the Lord” suggesting that Eve was acknowledging divine involvement in the birth of this child. Therefore, within the context of all that was happening, we could argue that Eve thought this child, with the Lord’s involvement was the “seed” that would crush the serpent’s head and reverse the curse. and of course, we know that wasn’t the case. But she was looking for the fulfillment of God’s promise. Another example, flip over to the next chapter, Genesis 5:29, listen to this. Lemech who fathered Noah says, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” This is familiar language to what God said to Adam in Gen 3:17-19
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”
Lemech looking to the same promise from God thought Noah would reverse the curse. And we know Noah, although he was a righteous man and was spared from the flood, he wasn’t the one who would undo the curse, and ultimately give man rest. But as you can see, they all, were continually looking for the mystery man, this incarnate person to fulfill what God promised back in Gen 3:15. They knew God was faithful and would follow through on this promise. And we know that too do we not? That’s why this mystery is so wonderful. Because we know how the curse was reversed we know what God says will happen, and we find comfort and joy in that. Yet the story isn’t finished yet is it? But we can find comfort in the promises of God as we begin to connect the dots knowing God has a plan and it begins with a promise of this mystery of the incarnation. I love how theologian Herman Bavinck describes the protoevangelium (the first gospel)
“The whole of Scripture is grounded in Genesis 3:15; it is the mother promise, the entire gospel in a nutshell.” John Calvin even observed, “The seed is the pledge of God’s favor, which alone will bring salvation, Christ, the incarnate one, must be the center to give fulfillment to all of God’s promises. This “seed” as we know, points forward to the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, in his incarnation, as God promised, would crush the serpent’s head as being both God and Man. Therefore, as we observe God’s promises in this great mystery, we find joy knowing many had longed for the fulfillment of this wondrous mystery coming to fruition. And we rejoice knowing Christ is the fulfillment of that promise. But not only can we rejoice in God’s promises that we see here, We can marvel at the prophecies we see as they relate to the mystery of the incarnation
P2: The next avenue I want to look at regarding this mystery is displayed in the Prophecies of God
So, in response to this promised seed who would bruise the serpent’s head, God expands on His promise, and the mystery deepens, and He begins to reveal to His people specific prophecies about the incarnate figure who would come to fulfill His redemptive plan. We see one of these prophecies in Isaiah 7:14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. Right away we can see connections to the Promise God made in Genesis 3:15 and here in this verse.This prophecy develops on the promise of “the seed of the woman” Here speaking that a virgin will be with child and bear a son What? that’s impossible, how can this happen?
But let’s remember, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26). And this prophecy, confirms the divine origin of the “seed” Jesus’ conception was not of Joseph, Mary was a virgin, so how does this take place? We’re told, it comes from “The Lord Himself” he will give you a sign right? It came about “through God the Holy Spirit “ Remember in Matthew’s gospel, Joseph, betrothed to Mary, found her to be with child. He knew this pregnancy wasn’t his doing, so he decided to send her away secretly, but he has a dream. Listen to what Matthew says, this is so important. (Matt 1:20)But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. What does that even mean? It means, through this mysterious conception, which was of the Lord himself, a work “of the Holy Spirit” This child was free from original sin, of inherited sin through Adam, ensuring that he could accomplish what was promised of God He would crush the serpent’s head by serving as the perfect redeemer, something only God Himself could accomplish! This mysterious baby conceived in a mysterious way would be fully man, and Fully God! But how do we know this for sure? Go back to the prophecy. What does the prophet Isaiah concluded with in Isa 7:14? A virgin will be with child and bear a son, “and she will call his name Immanuel” And what does Immanuel mean? I thought it name was Jesus? His name is Jesus, And Jesus literally means “YHWH Saves” and that’s exactly what the angel informs Joseph when he says, “you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins (Matt 1:21). but what does the prophet me then, why Immanuel? This is the glorious mystery coming to light. And Matthew tells us exactly what the prophet meant, doesn’t he? Matthew 1:23 he quotes this exact verse in Isaiah, but he adds something at the end “And they shall call His name Immanuel” it means “God with us.” Therefore, What God does through the prophet Isaiah is highlight the mystery of the incarnation by professing that He will become a man and dwell with His people. But He will not be a mere man, a man tainted with sin, No, He will be the God-Man, God Himself, to fulfil the promise made back in the Garden, and reverse the curse of sin. What glorious words to hear, Immanuel, God with us! “The word (who was with God and was God) became flesh and dwelt among us”
And what’s even more glorious about the prophesies God spoke through the prophets, is Isaiah expands on this even more in Isaiah 9:6
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
As Isaiah continues, brings into sharper focus this mystery. Because he reveals the identity and nature of this “seed” He reveals again, that a child will be born, a son will be given A real physical human will be present, born in human history But this is no ordinary child, he is divine, I mean look at the titles he lists reflecting back to this child His name will be called, Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Those are all titles that express and affirm His deity and role as Lord and Savior. Isaiah, again, points us directly at the mystery of the incarnation, where God Himself will be born as a child to one day rule with power and glory. And we find joy in that, even today, because we wait for the incarnate son, Jesus Christ to come again, when the government will be upon his shoulders, and all will see him just as he is, as wonderful counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, and prince of peace. As Ernie just preached on Christ’s humility by being obedient to death even death on a cross. But he’s about to preach on the glory of Christ’s humiliation, because after his obedient death, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” In that day, as we behold this wonderous mystery, we will glorify God the Father in his promises, we will glorify God through his prophecies, but lastly and most importantly we will glorify God for His purpose.
P3: The last avenue we see regarding the mystery of the incarnation is in the purpose of God
We don’t have to go very far from Isaiah 7 & 9 to look for this to be displayed
Because God’s purpose through the mystery of the incarnation is expressed abundantly clear in Isaiah 53. This prophetic passage unveils God’s purpose in sending His son in human flesh. It Highlights the redemptive work Jesus Christ accomplished through his suffering, death and resurrection. And we don’t have time to go through this extensively, but I want to give you five truths in this chapter as we meditate on the purpose of God in this wonderful mystery.
- The Purpose of God through the incarnation was to redeem fallen man (2-3)
As we’ve already talk about through God’s promise and prophecies, God’s purpose of the incarnation ultimately was to redeem fallen humanity. To crush the serpents head and reverse the curse brought about by sin. The incarnation brought this divine seed, this child, the son of God, into the brokenness of human existence. And the purpose was so he could endure rejection and sorrow on behalf of sinful humanity.
As Isaiah says in verse 3,
He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
He came humbly, a man of sorrows, to redeem fallen humanityHow did he do this?
- Next the purpose of God through the incarnation was for him to bear the sins of many. (4-6)
5 He was pierced for our transgressions…crushed for our iniquities…by His scourging we are healed…6 the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
The incarnation enabled Jesus Christ to be our substitute. He bore our sin, He took our punishment, with the purpose to reconcile us to God. 1 Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” Through him bearing our sins in His body on the cross, through His work alone, as we repent and believe in Him, we die to sin and live to righteousness, we have peace with God. Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What wonderful truths!
- Next, not only did he bear the sins of many, the purpose of God in the incarnation expresses to us that he was the perfect sacrifice we needed. (7)
The incarnation demonstrated that Jesus, this seed of the woman, was the spotless lamb who willingly offered Himself for the sins of His people. Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. I love, when seeing Jesus Walk past, John the Baptist called out, in front of the crowds, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And Peter in 1 Peter 1:18-19 you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. God displayed his purpose in the incarnation sending Jesus as the perfect lamb, the perfect sacrifice we needed,
- And because he is that perfect sacrifice we see next, He fully satisfied the wrath of God
Verse 10, the Lord was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief…verse 11, as a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied, by His knowledge of the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.” WOW! The incarnation demonstrates the plan of God in our justification as Jesus the God man, fully satisfied the wrath and punishment deserved for us. He is the propitiation (full satisfaction) for our sins 1 John 2:2. Even the writer of Hebrews says in 2:17, He had to be made like his brothers in all things …why, what was the purpose? To make propitiation, (to fully 100% satisfy the wrath of God) for the sins of the people. Folks, the incarnation is so amazing, because through it, we can rest assured that God’s justice has been fully satisfied as the God-man was born, as he lived, and as he died for us as our substitute. But it doesn’t end there. Even though the purpose of God in the incarnation demonstrated the seed of the woman would become a man and die in the place of sinful man. The incarnation demonstrates the God-man rising victorious, defeating sin and death, bringing eternal life to all who would believe.
- Therefore, the purpose of God in the incarnation demonstrates to us the triumph over sin and death (12)
We rejoice in this victory knowing that through His incarnation He secured our eternal hope because this suffering servant didn’t stay dead, no he arose! As the apostle Paul declared in 1 Cor 15:54-57,
But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, there is hope in this mystery, because one day the incarnate one will come again and rule as king of kings and lord of lords. As we’ve looked at this mystery, I ask how do you view the seed of the woman who crushed the serpent’s head? How do you view this child born of a virgin who is called Immanuel? How do you view this child, this Son who on his shoulders the governments will rest, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace? How do you view the suffering servant, who was smitten of God, crushed for our iniquities, bore our sins, who died in our place satisfying God’s wrath, rising again, defeating death, so through repentance and faith in Him, we can be justified to God. Those questions remind me of a song we sing mostly this time of year. And it asks those exact questions.
Who is He in yonder stall, at whose feet the shepherds fall?
Who is He who softly cries, who created earth and skies?
Who is he in deep distress, fasting in the wilderness?
Who is He the people bless, for his words of gentleness?
Lo at midnight who is he, who prays in dark gethsemane?
Who is He on calvary, who dies in grief and agony?
Who is he that from the grave come to heal and help and save?
Who is He who from His throne, rules through all the worlds alone?
It’s the Lord, O wonderous story
It’s the Lord the king of glory
At his feet we humbly fall,
Crown him crown him lord of all!
That’s the mystery of the incarnation, isn’t it? My prayer is we meditate on this even more, and praise the Lord with even more passion as we, behold the wonderous mystery”