The Incarnation, Episode 1

 

He came as a Man

‘उहाँ आउनुभो मानिस भएर... (Uhaa aaunubho maanis bhaera)

बचाउनुभो क्रुशैमा चढेर ...’      (Bachaaunubho krushaima chadhera)

 

‘He came as a man ...

Rescued on the cross ...’

This is just a fraction of a Nepali Christian devotional song ‘Ramaaune karan’ (Reason of joy) composed by Adrian Dewan.[i] The chorus emphasizes Jesus is reason of our joy since he became a man like us and rescued us on the cross.

 

1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) reads:

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

 

He appeared in the flesh,

was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

was preached among the nations,

was believed on in the world,

was taken up in glory.

 

The context here is of course about Bishop and Deacon. Meanwhile in vs.16 Paul states something which isn’t any culturally bounded theme. He states manifestation of God in human flesh which was a core theme depicted in the book of John. Historically, the letter was actually written to Timothy to empower him in the leadership. Paul was focused and concerned with core Biblical theme. Because he was growing aged, he was aware of giving the authority of apostle to new leaders like Timothy and Titus.  

Paul precisely used a term ‘appeared in the flesh’.

Under a textual examination;

In word-for-word translated KJV, it reads ‘God was manifested in the flesh’.

In thought-for-thought translated NET, it reads ‘He was revealed in the flesh’.

In paraphrased translation NLT, it reads ‘Christ was revealed in a human body’.

Words selection are obviously different in different translated versions but let us zoom in our lens to whether the theme is same or not.

In Greek, it is He who, and other manuscripts it reads God.[ii]

Translation & Interlinear	Textual Analysis
KJV	God	Manifested	Flesh
Interlinear	theos	phaneroō	sarx
Contextual Usage	Godhead	To make visible	The body of a man
NLT	Christ	Revealed	Human body
Interlinear	Hos	phaneroō	sarx
Contextual Usage	Referring to a person	Revealed	The body of a man
NET	He	Revealed	Flesh
Interlinear	Hos	phaneroō	Sarx
Contextual Usage	Referring to a person	Revealed	The body of a man

 

Here, we observe three words in use: God, He who and Christ depending upon the translations. Was Paul referring to Christ? If yes, was he persuaded Christ was none other than God? He was previously Saul who was a religious extremist (Acts 8:3, 9:1-2; Galatians 1:13, 14, 23) until his miraculous transformation in Acts 9:1-22. Some critiques often consider Paul’s encounter with Jesus as a hallucination but vs. 7 makes it clear that it was his actual reality encounter. Later in Acts 9:19b-22, Saul immediately went into the synagogues and proclaimed Jesus as Son of God.

Paul wrote many of the New Testament books. Most theologians are in agreement that he wrote Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. These thirteen “letters” (epistles) make up the “Pauline Authorship” and are the primary source of his theology.[iii] Acts 20:19 tells us that he “served the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to [him] through the plots of the Jews.” Despite of sufferings and pain, he was fully submitted to God and he rejoiced in his pain for Christ’s sake. He wrote, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). In his most books in the NT, we can find marvelous doctrine on importance of Jesus’ crucifixion[iv], death and resurrection[v], and Jesus’ divinity[vi] and supremacy[vii].

Analyzing these all cases, Paul was convinced Jesus was none other than God who became a human to reconcile them with oneself. Just as John 1:1-3, 14 and 18, Jesus has been clearly depicted as God the Son, who eternally existed with God the Father, taking upon the flesh. This is known theologically as the ‘Doctrine of INCARNATION’.  

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[i] Video: https://youtu.be/PNfhzws95Yc, 1.08 sec onwards, 6/12/2021, 3:30 pm

[ii] https://www.blueletterbible.org/nlt/1ti/3/16/s_1122016, accessed on 6/12/2021, 4:42 pm

[iii] https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Paul.html, accessed on 6/12/2021, 5:35 pm

[iv] Galatians 6:14, 1 Cor. 1:18, Eph. 2:16, Col. 2:14

[v] Phil. 3:10, 1 Cor. 15:13

[vi] Phil. 2:5-11, 2 Cor. 5:19

[vii] Col. 1:15-20