Why the Incarnation? Why must God become a man?
Incarnation means the living embodiment of a deity. It is how God became man in the person of Jesus Christ.
The Incarnation is factual, real and true.
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called THE SON OF GOD. (Luke 1:35 KJV)
Two things you must know:
- Jesus is God
- Jesus is a man
The above two points summarise the incarnation; summarise salvation for you.
That man that was born in Bethlehem of Judea in one Palestine some 2,000 years ago as you heard of it is not just a man, He is God, He is man; anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellow men, because He would take away our sins.
He is God
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2 KJV)
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14 KJV)
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, THE MIGHTY GOD, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 KJV)
So Jesus is not your equal.
But unto the Son [he saith], Thy throne, O GOD… (Hebrews 1:8 KJV)
He didn't come into existence when you came in. He existed before you.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] FROM OF OLD, FROM EVERLASTING. (Micah 5:2 KJV)
Thus, this Jesus existed before time began.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2 KJV)
In fact, He created everything including you!
But unto the Son [he saith]… And, Thou, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: (Hebrews 1:8-10 KJV)
He is by all means God
Although he was in the form of God and equal with God, he did not take advantage of this equality. (Philippians 2:6 GW)
I and [my] Father are one. (John 10:30 KJV)
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is THE TRUE GOD, and eternal life. (1 John 5:20 KJV)
He is not just one of the regular religion creators. He is not one great man that lived in history. He is not one of those movement creators. Don't see Him as you see the Marxist, the Socratists, the existentialists etc. This one I'm talking of is God.
He is not a way shower. He did not come to tell us how to get to God: He is God. He did not come to deliver a message from God to us: He is the message of God. "And the Word {the message} was made flesh, and dwelt among us…" (John 1:14 KJV)
He is not a prophet. He is not a seer. He didn't come to declare God's message and to prophesy, He is the fulfilment of all prophecies, and better put, He is the spirit of the prophets that ever lived.
For the substance (essence) of the truth revealed by Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy [the vital breath, the inspiration of all inspired preaching and interpretation of the divine will and purpose, including both mine and yours]. (Revelation 19:10 AMP)
See that you accept this truth that Jesus is not just one Israelite somewhere who was claiming to be the Lord of all the earth. He needs no one to attest to whatever He says, because He Himself is the truth and there is no lie in Him.
…that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (1 John 5:20 KJV)
If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. (John 5:31 KJV)
Having understood that, we must also come to agree that this God became flesh wholly. Jesus is fully human! And in this, He did spirit, soul and body.
If Jesus had been God in His spirit, then with a human body, that would have been deception. That would be meaningless.
Why then would He need the Holy Spirit if His spirit is already the Spirit of God?(Matthew 3:16, John 1:32-33)
Why then would He have to learn if He had a God-kind of mind? Why then would Jesus be running at the threat of some who said they would kill Him? Can God die? That would mean He never died for our sins, He was only deceiving everyone. But "He did not take advantage of His equality with God" (Philippians 2:6)
…in that He became like men and was BORN A HUMAN BEING. And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! (Philippians 2:7-8 AMP)
Obedience is a human term. God does not need obedience. Or obedience to who? Who must God submit to? Who is God subject to? Death isn't possible with God. God needs no protection, but Jesus needed all these. God neither sleeps nor slumber, but we saw Jesus who was asleep even in spirit so as not to know by flesh or by spiritual perception that the boat He was in, was already sinking.
Jesus is God become man today!
For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS (1 Timothy 2:5 AMP)
But not as the offence, so also [is] the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, [which is] by ONE MAN, JESUS CHRIST, hath abounded unto many. (Romans 5:15 KJV)
This must not just be the opinion of some sect: it is very crucial in salvation! And you cannot be born again without it! I put it to you that you are an antichrist if you reject this truth, for he has said:
many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7 KJV)
And every spirit that confesseth not that JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist (1 John 4:3 KJV)
Because:
And THE WORD WAS MADE 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. (John 1:14 KJV)
Having established that Jesus is not one of the usual world-shakers, being the very true God, also that Jesus came as a full human being; let us understand now, the very essence of this incarnation. Why must He become a man? Can't He just do it magically or miraculously and evade this stage in redeeming the fallen man?
Ha ha haaa!!! It is only funny to talk like that. And we must first establish that "my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 55:8 KJV). And that "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death." (Proverbs 14:12 KJV). The fallen man cannot know how his redemption will come because he is blind and in fact, dead. There is none that understandeth (Romans 3:11). But today, we can understand why God must go through some "due process" so that our redemption can be legal, justified and "to the uttermost".
Righteousness must not be compromised for mercy sake, neither mercy for righteousness' sake.
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed [each other]. (Psalms 85:10 KJV)
From man, came the fall; from man must come the restoration.
But not as the offence, so also [is] the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, [which is] by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. (Romans 5:15 KJV)
For since by man [came] death, BY MAN [came] also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:21 KJV)
God must not interfere, except He will do it as a man.
No man on earth is qualified to do this since "in Adam, all died".
No one could stand to redeem man. No, not one.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10 KJV)Not the law-abiding Jews; not the law-keeping Pharisees.
for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; (Romans 3:9 KJV)
NONE OF THEM can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him-- For the ransom of a life is too costly, and [the price one can pay] can never suffice-- (Psalms 49:7-8 AMP)
No prophet of the Old Testament could do it: no not one!
Neither God's companion Enoch, nor just lot, nor fiery Elijah, nor God-fearing Job, nor lamenting Jeremiah; all the prophets had to enquire and search diligently, in anticipation of the salvation hope to come.
It became Him to take the redemption step
For it became him, for whom [are] all things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10 KJV)
It must be a human seed
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and HER SEED; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15 KJV)
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, MADE OF A WOMAN, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law (Galatians 4:4-5 KJV)
A high priest must be human
For every high priest TAKEN FROM AMONG MEN is ordained for men in things [pertaining] to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: (Hebrews 5:1 KJV)
The one that must mediate for men in the presence of God must be a man. "For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5 AMP).
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 KJV).
And why must he be a man, one of the many reasons is that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest (Hebrews 2:17)
He must have blood
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; (Hebrews 2:14 KJV)
God cannot have blood: only a man can. And without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22). Therefore, there must of necessity be a red-blooded man who is spotless to carry out this redemption task.
He must BY HIMSELF purge our sins
Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins IN HIS OWN BLOOD… (Revelation 1:5 KJV)
…when he had BY HIMSELF PURGED OUR SINS… (Hebrews 1:3 KJV)
but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice OF HIMSELF. (Hebrews 9:26 KJV)
He must not again use the blood of calves and bulls to offer for cleansing. We already have men empowered by law to do that (Hebrews 8:4). Besides, that will only purify the flesh as usual (Hebrews 9:13), and can never take away sins (Hebrews 10:11). It also cannot purge the conscience from dead works once and for all.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:13-14 KJV)
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:11-12 KJV)
Goats and other beasts have transiently been used to deal with sin hitherto, someone without spot must come now and present HIMSELF, not a goat, to make an everlasting reconciliation this time.
Hmmm!!!
Therefore, the question of "who will go for us? Who shall we send?" is not one that Isaiah can answer to. It's not one that Abraham can answer. Ezekiel could not have stood in this gap: he is an unqualified mediator. What about Moses? He was already concluded under sin. What about the angels? Woow!
But why not angels?
Angels are not and cannot be sons
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1:5 KJV)
Angels cannot and should not be worshipped
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10 KJV)
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Luke 4:8 KJV)
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and WORSHIPPING OF ANGELS, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind (Colossians 2:18 KJV)
He that must come must not violate God's pre-existent word. Whatever will be worshipped must be God. He must be subject to none. But angels are not to receive worship. They are natural subjects.
And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. (Hebrews 1:6 KJV)
In conclusion, having seen that it cannot be the mortal man to redeem man; it cannot be angels because they are not sons and they are not to be served: we see more evidently why it became him by whom are all things and for whom are all things to be found in fashion as a man and suffer unto death, that he might by death destroy him that had the power of death and bring about a multiplication of sons, redeeming us perfectly and ultimately.
Knowing this therefore, we ought to put our hands off all we've been holding tight to: our self acclamations and righteousness, our pride, headstrong and obstinate course. They that believe have ceased from their own works.
What in this world is as great as the Father's love toward us. Why not give up unto a life simply devoted to Him. Clearly, Christ's love guides us. We are convinced of the fact that one man has died for all people. Therefore, all people have died. He died for all people so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for the man who died and was brought back to life for them. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15 GW)
Let Go: let God today!
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You are blessed!
