"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. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:1-3).
Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is Himself God. He created everything there is and nothing exists that He didn't make. We have first hand testimony in the epistle of John, the incarnate existence of Jesus Christ. John, one of Jesus' twelve disciples, was eyewitness to the fact that Jesus was God in the flesh, whereby the disciples partook of this ministry here on earth.
Jesus is "The Incarnate Word." This particular term "incarnate" cannot be found in the Bible, but it is descriptive of Jesus in the flesh. "Incarnate" is a word which was coined to help us understand Jesus' transition into human flesh. The Son of God was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary. Galatians affirms this, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman under the law." (Galatians 4:4). Jesus is the eternal Son of God, yet He was born of a woman.
The Christian doctrine of "The Incarnate Word" teaches that the eternal Logos (Word), the second person of the Trinity, without diminishing His deity, took to Himself a fully human nature. This doctrine teaches that a full and undiminished divine nature, and a full and perfect human nature were inseparably united in the one historical and divine person of Jesus.
The doctrine of incarnation, sets Christianity apart from all other religion of the world. The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.
The Christian teaching that the Savior of the world is both divine and human, is certainly a mysterious mystery. The term incarnation literally means, "becoming in the flesh." The coming of Jesus in the flesh was a necessity for man's salvation. Whereby, Jesus took the form of a human. "And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8).
Christ is the living expression of God's feeling and will toward humanity. The essence of the gospel news is Jesus Christ. He is "the way, the truth, and the life" (Philippians 14:6b).
It has been said, "Christianity is Christ." The meaning behind this statement is of course, that Christ is the center and heart of the Christian truth. The Christian's gospel message is all about the Person, nature, and work of Jesus Christ. The gospel is a person who came as, "The Incarnate Word," took upon Him flesh, and dwelled among men. The gospel is Jesus Christ. God the Son, entered this world as a human being without ever ceasing to be God.
John depicts Jesus as, in the very flesh,"The Incarnate Word," the very presence of God. We cannot separate the humanity of Jesus from the divinity of Jesus. So when Jesus says that "He is the Bread of Life" that came down from heaven, to give His flesh and blood for us to eat, so that we might have eternal life, He is telling us that He feeds us through every aspect of His total being.
Matthew and John was eagle to make known that Jesus was a real person and that the disciples were handpicked by Him to be a part of His ministry. Therefore, they were afforded the opportunity to see an up close and personal Jesus. Not only Jesus in the flesh, but they witnessed the signs, miracles and wonders He performed. John was present for the "Sermon of the Mount" and the transfiguration.
Jesus in the flesh, they witnessed the fact that He was not a phantom of a spirit nor was He a mere illusion. It was through their personal contact with Jesus and His ministry that they were convinced without a shadow of a doubt he was human, in that he dwelled in the flesh and that He was also God, for no other could do the things He did.
God entered into human history and revealed Himself up close and personal. The astounding truth is that in Christ, God is encountered in a real, personal, historical, and tangible way. So, let's never forget, the doctrine of the incarnation is at the heart of Christianity. The fact that Christ "became human and dwelled among us" is vital to the truth of His substitutionary death and glorious resurrection. Apart from these truths, there is no salvation. God, the Son, entered the world as a human being without ever ceasing to be God.
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