General understanding of Incarnation
Before we move to our proposed assessment on Jesus as God
Incarnate Biblically, let us dive into the actual meaning and usage of the term
‘Incarnation’ itself.
Some general meaning of incarnation can be found as:
1.
Representation of certain quality of something,
2.
Instance of being alive on earth in a particular
form,
3.
Manifestation in a bodily form,
4.
A bodily form assumed by a god,
5.
Appearance in human form,
6.
A living being embodying a deity,
Source: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/incarnation
The terminology in Latin reads incarnatio i.e. ‘being
in flesh’.[i] The noun incarnation
derives from the ecclesiastical Latin verb incarno, itself derived from the
prefix in- and caro, "flesh", meaning "to make into flesh"
or, in the passive, "to be made flesh".[ii] All the above usage of
the term concludes the manifestation of a particular quality or being in a
human form. It is also defined as a state of assuming any particular
physical body by non-physical entity.
An Inevitable Doctrine
Incarnation of God the Son in Christ Jesus is a central
doctrine in Christianity. A Greek equivalent is found in Scripture: en sarki
[sarx]. For example, John 1:14 reads: “The Word became flesh (sarx egeneto).”[iii] The incarnation has its
relationship with Jesus’ pre-existence, trinity and hypostatic union. Theologically,
Jesus was already assigned as Savior who eternally existed with God the Father
and God the Holy Spirit, who appeared as Angel of Lord[iv] and theophany in Old
Testament and later incarnated in person of Jesus as a unique unity of two
natures: divine and human.
The
Son of God became man to enable men to become the sons of God.
—
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
The doctrine of Incarnation maintains that the divine and
human natures of Jesus do not exist beside one another in an unconnected way
but rather are joined in him in a personal unity that has traditionally been
referred to as the hypostatic union. The union of the two natures has not
resulted in their diminution or mixture; rather, the identity of each is
believed to have been preserved.[v] As one of the greatest
apologists C.S. Lewis has said God the Son became man to enable humanity to
become God’s sons. In this Hypostatic Union, two hostile natures were first
united but never intermixed. Jesus has two distinct but complete natures.
Immediately after passing through confusing dimension of the doctrine
‘Trinity’, we all meet another troublesome doctrine of Incarnation and
Hypostatic Union. Hence, the incarnation is to be understood in the light of
Trinity and Hypostatic Union.
Incarnation is presented as the emptying of Christ Jesus,
who was by nature God and equal to God (i.e., the Father) but who took on the
nature of a slave (i.e., a human) and was later glorified by God.[vi] The First Council of
Nicaea (325 CE) determined that Christ was “begotten, not made” and that he was
therefore not creature but Creator. The basis for this claim was the doctrine
that he was “of the same substance as the Father.” The doctrine was further defined
by the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE), at which it was declared that Jesus was
perfect in deity and in humanity and that the identity of each nature was
preserved in the person of Jesus Christ.
The Hypostatic Union
From bird’s eye view, two distinct natures united uniquely
in Jesus Christ during incarnation of God the Son. The two natures did not
intermix but were distinct making Jesus God-Man. Thus, this kind of incarnation
is one of the uniqueness of Christ Jesus and enabled him to be a mediator between
two realms. The incarnation also depicts God’s deep love and concern in
redeeming humanity by emptying oneself. Denial of incarnation is hence denial
of the gospel.
The incarnation has to be understood in light of the trinity
otherwise this can lead anyone to unbiblical conclusion. Usually, a
non-Christian hear that God became man or God sent his Son to
save us. These two statements can be confusion to them. Either God became a man
or God sent his Son for us. For them it sounds like polytheistic view or Avatar
like ideology. Now, if s/he is a Hindu, they have plenty of avatar ideology
such as Rama, Krishna, Narshimha, etc. In avatar, there is partial embodiment
of a deity and there is possibility of intermixing of two nature or even
vanishment of humanity. Another possible understanding is that Ganesha is also
a god, Son of God of Gods Mahadeva in Puranic Hinduism system. This is
polytheistic mind. However, the incarnation is neither of these two. Jesus was
neither a partial embodiment of deity/Avatar[vii] nor he was essentially a
separate god. In order to prevent these understanding, trinity is to be made
clear.
God became Man or God sent His Son?
We won’t be dealing with the Trinity[viii] in detail here. The
core milestone of the trinity is that God is one being, one essence who
manifests himself in three distinct persons. Each person is same in nature,
authority, power, glory and essence but distinct in their offices. Each person
is God and yet there are no three Gods. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each God.
Hence, God became man is no more contradictory than God sent his Son. The
former is dealing with essence while the latter is dealing with person. To be
more precise, God the Son became Man is what the former statement means while
God the Father sent God the Son is what the latter one conveys. The incarnation
was only undergone by God the Son.[ix] This is what we need to
comprehend. Since, trinity is relational, we understand that how much a Father
loves us that he sacrificed his beloved Son for our sake[x]. In another way, God the
Son was ready to die for our sake and calm the wrath of Father. This is why the
human terms Father and Son are used for first and the second persons. The more
we dive in trinity, the more we understand God’s love for us and his greatness.
There is nothing to be puzzled!
[i] https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/other-religious-beliefs-and-general-terms/religion-general/incarnation,
accessed on 6/14/2021, 11:10 am
[ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnation_(Christianity)#Etymology,
accessed on 6/14/2021, 11:11 am
[iii] https://mbcpathway.com/2021/04/21/the-doctrine-of-the-incarnation-2/,
accessed on 6/19/2021, 7:26 pm
[iv] The
Angel of Lord is said to be referring to preincarnate Christ. Although it isn’t
certain if the Angel was indeed Christ, there are specific occasions in Old
Testament to support the allusion was a also Divine being who has been equated
with the Lord. Watch for clarification: https://youtu.be/BNt5NKSse0Y
[v] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Incarnation-Jesus-Christ,
accessed on 6/14/2021, 2:22 pm
[vii]
For Avatar read: https://apologeticsimpact.blogspot.com/2021/01/gospel-to-hindu-world-episode-5.html,
accessed on 6/14/2021, 5:55 pm
[viii]
For trinity visit: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1mr9ZTZb3TWpnOJV09MuEAwbbQNCS6Qf
(in English)
https://apologeticsimpact.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-trinity-basics-in-nepali.html
(in Nepali)
Also: http://www.sakshitimes.net/blog/2007/10/08/a-brief-introduction-to-trinity-338/
[ix] http://www.sakshitimes.net/blog/2007/11/13/trinity-a-brief-study-249/,
accessed on 6/14/2021, 5:40 pm
[x]
Romans 8:32
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