Rev. Tim Ross’s lecture on “The Doctrine of the Incarnation

The Doctrine of the Incarnation, Or
How To Save The Planet Of The Butter People

Incarnation = “in flesh” – God came “in the flesh” in the form of Jesus Christ.
To help us understand it, we’re going to visit three planets.

Planet 1. Kolob
Question: Which religion believes the following?

The planet Kolob (situated in sector 2813 of the constellation of Cancer) is the nearest planet to the throne of God, and was the first thing God created. Jesus, then called Elohim, was a spirit child who was literally conceived by the union of God with one of his many spirit wives on or near Kolob. At this time Jesus was just a spirit being living on Kolob.

When the people of earth fell into sin, Jesus and his brother Lucifer came up with two plans to save it. God rejected Lucifer’s plan in favour of Jesus’, which is why Lucifer rebelled against God. Jesus’ plan was to come to earth, have physical union with Mary so that his own spirit being could be born as Jesus the man, pay the price for sin and so save all people.

In this way, Jesus is his own father. He is not the God who created all things, is a created being just as we are, but being the first and greatest, he is called the son of God.

Answer: Mormonism

The Mormons, along with other cults are happy to call Jesus “Son of God”, but it all depends on what they mean by “Son of God”. Most mean the Jesus was a son of God born or created by God, but is not the same as God. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, a member of the Trinity.

Discuss

Brainstorm

Think of words and phrases which you would use describe what it means to be God. What is God like?
Think of words and phrases which you would describe what it means to be human. What is it that makes us different from God?

Definition of Incarnation

Incarnation = Jesus was both sets of words.
The Christian understanding of incarnation is that Jesus was

FULLY God and FULLY human
BUT he was only ONE being and ONE person.

The incarnation in the Bible.

• Rom 1:1-4   The Good News was promised long ago by God through his prophets, as written in the Holy Scriptures. It is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: as to his humanity, he was born a descendant of David; as to his divine holiness, he was shown with great power to be the Son of God by being raised from death.
• John 1:1, 14 In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God… The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.
• Col 1:19, 2:9 For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God… For the full content of divine nature lives in Christ, in his humanity.
• Phil 2:5-8 The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death— his death on the cross.

Incarnation is easier to understand if we say what it is not:

• Not a hybrid
• 

• EG. A loganberry is cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, but the result is actually neither a raspberry or a blackberry).

• Jesus was not a cross between God and humans - Jesus was fully God AND fully human.

• Not an alloy
• 
• EG.Brass is made by mixing copper and zinc. It is mixture of the two ingredients and so is therefore neither fully one or the other.

• Not a chimera
• The chimera was a mythological animal with head of a lion, another head of a goat and a snake for a tale.
• In zoology, a chimera is one organism made up from genetically different tissues originating from more than one individual. The example of “Jane” is cited in medicine. “Jane” went to see if she was compatible for a transplant for a family member, but when she was tissue typed, she was told she couldn’t be the mother of her children, even though her husband was the father. It was discovered that she had the genes of two people in her body. She had started out life as two fertilised eggs in her mother’s womb, but these had fused into one, with her blood from one egg and her organs from another.
• Jesus wasn’t a human with a divine bit added on - Jesus was fully God AND fully human.
• Not a symbiotic organism
• 
• EG. Lichen looks like a single organism, but it is actually two different organisms; an alga and a fungus. They live in a symbiotic partnership and are so closely interwoven that they appear to be one organism.

• Jesus was just ONE person, not two closely intermingled - Jesus was fully God AND fully human

• Not an imitator
• 
• EG. Hover flies look like wasps but are really quite harmless.
• Jesus was not like God, he was God = he wasn’t like a human, he was human.
• Jesus was fully God AND fully human

The point is this, if it is possible for light to exist as wave and particle at the same time, surely it is not too much of a stretch to think of Jesus as God and human,

Why is the incarnation so important?

The short answer – It was the only way that eternal life could be made available for the human race.

Galatians 4:4,5 But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might become God's children.

The Bible talks about how human nature is fundamentally flawed.

Because of our flawed human nature, we haven’t the ability to match up to God’s perfect standard. Also, because we are flawed, we cannot fix this flaw ourselves.  We need God’s help

So in Christ, God comes as a perfect, unflawed human. And, because he is also God, he is able to deal with flawed human nature once and for all.

Only a perfect human can truly represent us, but only God can destroy power of evil and repair our relationship with Him. It needs one person who is both God and human to put things right.

When Jesus dies on the cross, it’s not just about forgiveness, it’s also about restoring our flawed human nature. When you put your trust in Jesus’ saving work that fundamental flaw in your human nature is repaired and your relationship with God is restored.

Paul describes this as us a becoming a new creation, like Jesus.

But all this can only happen if Jesus is fully human and fully God – if there is an incarnation.

Discussion – Hymn Study
Look at the following hymns (Hymns & Pslams 216 & 106)
What do the hymns have to say about the incarnation? Pick out the relevant lines that speak about incarnation.
What questions or problems do the hymns raise about the incarnation?

• 1 AND can it be that I should gain
• An interest in the Saviour's blood?
• Died he for me, who caused his pain?
• For me, who him to death pursued?
• Amazing love! How can it be
• That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
• 2 Tis mystery all: the Immortal dies!
• Who can explore his strange design?
• In vain the first-born seraph tries
• To sound the depths of love divine.
• 'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
• Let angel minds enquire no more.
• 3 He left his Father's throne above—
• So free, so infinite his grace—
• Emptied himself of all but love,
• And bled for Adam's helpless race.
• 'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
• For, O my God, it found out me!
• 4 Long my imprisoned spirit lay
• Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
• Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
• I woke, the dungeon flamed with light,
• My chains fell off, my heart was free,
• I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
• 5 No condemnation now I dread;
• Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
• Alive in him, my living Head,
• And clothed in righteousness divine,
• Bold I approach the eternal throne,
• And claim the crown, through Christ, my own.
• Charles Wesley (1707-88)
• 1 HARK! The herald-angels sing
  Glory to the new-born King,
  Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
  God and sinners reconciled.
  Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
• Join the triumph of the skies; With the angelic host proclaim: 'Christ is born in Bethlehem.'
• Hark! The herald-angels sing
• Glory to the new-born King.
• 2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
  Christ, the everlasting Lord,
  Late in time behold him come,
  Offspring of a virgin's womb.
  Veiled in flesh the Godhead see!
  Hail, the incarnate Deity!
  Pleased as man with men to dwell,
  Jesus, our Immanuel:
• 3 Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
  Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
  Light and life to all he brings,
• Risen with healing in his wings.
• Mild he lays his glory by,
• Born that man no more may die,
• Born to raise the sons of earth,
• Born to give them second birth:
• Charles Wesley (1707-88)

Questions you might like to think about:

And Can it be vs 1,2 says, “Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” And “Tis mystery all, the immortal dies…”

Did God die on the cross? If so, how can God die?

 “Emptied himself of all but love” (And can it be, vs3) and “Mild he lays his glory by” (Hark the herald angels sing, vs3)

What does this imply about God becoming human? How does this fit with the incarnation being fully God and fully human.

Planet 2. The Planet of The Butter People

The Butter People need to be saved. What has happened is this:

Imagine that you are an all powerful being with the power to give Ambrosia to anything you create. You are the embodiment of Ambrosia itself, which has the ability to keep things eternally fresh.

You have made a planet of butter people and when you made them, you gave the butter people a choice; either they could obey you and have their lives filled with Ambrosia, or they could do what ever they wanted. The Butter People didn’t like the idea of having someone tell them how to run their lives, so they chose to reject you and do what they wanted. The result is that, without your Ambrosia, they have all gone rancid, and of course, once something goes rancid, it cannot become fresh again all by itself.

There is only thing that will reverse all the effects of rancidness and make them fresh again - your Ambrosia.

The question is, how can you give them your Ambrosia? How can you get Ambrosia into the Butter People. You see, Ambrosia is so fresh and pure, you can’t just put into anything rancid. You can only put Ambrosia into a non-rancid Butter Person and then that non-rancid Butter Person might somehow share it with the other Butter People. But, how can you do this when every single Butter Person is completely rancid?

There is only possible solution. You will have to become a Butter Person yourself and take Ambrosia with you. Then you will be would be a combination of fresh Butter Person and Ambrosia. You will be one of them and be able show how wonderful Ambrosia really is. You will also be able to share Ambrosia with those rancid Butter People who want it, and so make them into fresh Butter People once again.

It’s a good plan, the one remaining question is how to be a Butter Person and be Ambrosia at the same time.

Let’s have a look at some of the options:

(Listen to or watch the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” moment from Vicar of Dibley)

• You could just go in disguise and pretend to be a Butter Person – this is
• Docetism Jesus wasn’t butter at all, he just looked like butter
• Docestism is the belief that Jesus only seemed to be human, but really he was just God in a human disguise.
• This won’t work, the only way you can change the butter people is to become one them. The only way God can change our flawed human nature is to become completely human.
• You could make a new fresh, non-rancid Butter Person, test it and tempt it to disobey you, and if it passes all the tests you could give it your Ambrosia. This is
• Adoptionism Jesus was just butter, with added vitamins
• It claims that Jesus was just an ordinary human like you, but he was tested by God in the wilderness and then was adopted as God’s Son when he was baptised and given divine powers. Jesus did not exist as a member of the Trinity before he was born.
• But being just a butter person is not enough. Even a very, very good butter person will go rancid. Being just human is not enough to overcome the power of evil.
• You could become part Butter Person and part Ambrosia so that the body and limbs were Butter Person but the head and heart were Ambrosia. This is
• Apollinarianism The unimportant ingredients of Jesus were butter, but the bits that count were Ambrosia.
• According to Apollinarianism, Jesus was a kind of chimera - he had a human body and emotions, but a divine mind and soul.
• This means that Jesus was actually neither fully human or fully divine.
• To make it easier to integrate yourself into a Butter Person, you could actually leave some of the qualities of Ambrosia behind. This is
• Kenosis Jesus was butter and Ambrosia mix, but not pure Ambrosia.
• From a Greek word meaning “to empty”.
• Kenosis says that Jesus gave up some of His divine attributes while He was a man here on earth. These attributes were omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. (EG. Mk 13:32)
• This sounds reasonable in theory, but, if true, then Jesus wasn’t fully divine and salvation would be impossible.
• The Son of God didn’t “give up” some divine attributes, as the earlier quote from Colossians shows, “all the fullness of God dwelt in him”. Instead, we can perceive how God allowed his divine nature to be limited by his human nature. A human body is not able to be in all places at once, a human brain is not capable of holding all possible knowledge.
• You don’t have to become a Butter Person. You could just integrate yourself very closely into a particularly good butter person’s life, so that they carry the Ambrosia around inside them. This is
• Nestorianism Jesus was butter and Ambrosia, but not united as one, they were just churned together really well.
• The idea in Nestorianism is that Jesus had two natures which were joined together in him. They were not actually united as one, but actually more like two personalities working harmoniously inside one person, which sounds rather like Lichen.
• Incarnation, on the other hand says that Jesus was one being who was both fully human and fully God, with no separation.
• You could forget about the whole Ambrosia thing and just make a really good Butter Person to be an example to them, so that hopefully they will see how nice he is and become nice too. This is
• Subordinatism Jesus was just butter, nothing more, he was just really good butter.
• In subordinatism there is no trinity, just God. Jesus was just a man, nothing more, but he was the most perfect example of humanity, as his act of self-sacrifice shows. His death has no affect for us, it was just an example to us and ought to inspire us to reach for God’s moral standards for us.
• This means that the fundamental flaw in human nature is not dealt with at all – we just have to try and perfect ourselves. Surely human history, and the newspapers, prove that, in spite of having had Christ’s example for 2,000 years, the human race has not ceased to be selfish and sinful.

In order to destroy the power of rancidness and keep the Butter People eternally fresh you have to be 100% Butter Person AND be 100% Ambrosia at the same time. The incarnation requires that God’s Christ be 100% God AND 100% human.

Planet 3. Earth

Finally we come to the third planet, Earth, where a man dies on a cross – except that he wasn’t just a human, he was also fully God. Because of that, God was able to change human nature itself and make eternal life accessible to anyone who wants to receive it.

2 Cor 5:17-19 God was in Christ reconciling himself to the world.

The incarnation is the central doctrine of Christianity. The whole Christian faith hangs on the belief that Jesus was fully human and fully God. The incarnation is the reason why his sacrifice on the cross “works” for us.

Without the incarnation, without Jesus being both human and divine, the door to eternal life remains closed, but Jesus said “I am the Way… if you have seen me, you have the Father… I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John chapter 14)

Simply put, in the incarnation of Jesus, God shared in what we are so that we could share in what God is.

Handout

The incarnation in the Bible.

• Romans 1:1-4   The Good News was promised long ago by God through his prophets, as written in the Holy Scriptures. It is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: as to his humanity, he was born a descendant of David; as to his divine holiness, he was shown with great power to be the Son of God by being raised from death.
• John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
• 1:14 The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.
• Colossians For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature
• 1:19 of God.
• 2:9 For the full content of divine nature lives in Christ, in his humanity.
• Philippians The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had
• 2:5-8 the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death— his death on the cross.

(Quotes from the Good News Bible)

Galatians 4:4 & 5

• But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might become God's children.Discussion – Hymn Study

What do the following hymns have to say about the incarnation? (Pick out the relevant lines)
What questions do they raise about the incarnation?

Hymns & Pslams 216

• 1 AND can it be that I should gain
• An interest in the Saviour's blood?
• Died he for me, who caused his pain?
• For me, who him to death pursued?
• Amazing love! How can it be
• That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
• 2 Tis mystery all: the Immortal dies!
• Who can explore his strange design?
• In vain the first-born seraph tries
• To sound the depths of love divine.
• 'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
• Let angel minds enquire no more.
• 3 He left his Father's throne above—
• So free, so infinite his grace—
• Emptied himself of all but love,
• And bled for Adam's helpless race.
• 'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
• For, O my God, it found out me!
• 4 Long my imprisoned spirit lay
• Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
• Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
• I woke, the dungeon flamed with light,
• My chains fell off, my heart was free,
• I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
• 5 No condemnation now I dread;
• Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
• Alive in him, my living Head,
• And clothed in righteousness divine,
• Bold I approach the eternal throne,
• And claim the crown, through Christ, my own.

Charles Wesley (1707-88)

• Hymns & Pslams 106
• 1 HARK! The herald-angels sing
  Glory to the new-born King,
  Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
  God and sinners reconciled.
  Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
• Join the triumph of the skies; With the angelic host proclaim: 'Christ is born in Bethlehem.'
• Hark! The herald-angels sing
• Glory to the new-born King.
• 2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
  Christ, the everlasting Lord,
  Late in time behold him come,
  Offspring of a virgin's womb.
  Veiled in flesh the Godhead see!
  Hail, the incarnate Deity!
  Pleased as man with men to dwell,
  Jesus, our Immanuel:
• 3 Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
  Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
  Light and life to all he brings,
• Risen with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth:

Charles Wesley (1707-88)