The Incarnation
(the Bible doctrine)
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Virgin: Almah vs Betulah, LXX = Parthenos=virgin,
A virgin, not THE virgin
Immanuel = God with us (see Isaiah 8:8,10)
This time of the year, like it or not, true or not, we are reminded of the incarnation
Some devoted Christians use this time for testimony, to further the Gospel
In some sense there is a compromise with idolatry in it, but there is also some truth
Christmas pageants tell the story and even unbelievers want to hear it.
Even atheists find themselves singing about God's good will to men.
Even if some compromise with error, we all have errors of various degrees, and we should be careful in judgment.
(God may be more upset with our attitude in traffic than with another's use of Christmas)
That said, the exhortation is to buy the truth, be not yoked unequally
There are differences between Catholic and Protestant experience in salvation: (both need salvation)
Christ's mass is highly objectionable to many saved out of Roman Catholic Idolatry:
Christ given a day like so many "other" saints.
Veneration of Mary, prayers to dead saints, honor to images, superstitious regard of places, relics, days.
Salvation itself depends upon the idolater's willingness to renounce it.
Protestants are not traditionally idolatrous.
Christmas is to Protestants a holiday to celebrate the birth, not a mass said in honor of Christ
No inordinate exaltation of the Virgin Mary or her salutation by Gabriel
No confession, no pennance, no processions, no incense, no baby Jesus passed around to kiss
Protestants are saved by accepting traditional Protestant doctrine, not by rejecting it.
The observance of Christmas by Protestants is error, or confusion, not directly idolatry.
The issue among them is the balance between purity and liberty, and they come to different conclusions.
However, there is no room to perpetuate falsehoods about Christmas
Christmas is a Roman Catholic tradition, not a Bible tradition, not a Christian tradition
Jesus was not born on the winter solstice of the ancient Julian Calendar (we can know when, but most don't care when)
Evergreens (trees, holly, laurels, etc.) have no Biblical meaning, and some Biblical warning (e.g. Jer 10)
The modern holiday is a mixture of pagan holidays (Saturnalia, Brumalia, Sol Invictus),
ancient European pagan customs (yule logs, mistletoe, spirit of the north pole, reindeer, etc.)
and Roman Catholic traditions (Saint Nicholas, candles, posadas, veneration of Mary, etc.)
Saint Nicholas is not to be prayed to or venerated, does not watch over orphaned children, etc.
(and does not know when you've been sleeping, awake, bad or good, etc.)
Santa Claus is an imaginary substitute for God in children's minds (and the preferred God of most adults)
The extreme commercialism and self-indulgence associated with Christmas is evil, and should be avoided
Incarnation of God -- God in the flesh
Distinctive -- Only Christianity among modern major religions,
although many ancient religions had deities becoming human
these imaginary deities were petty immortals anyway, scarcely better than human
Objectionable to Jews, Gnostics, Arians, Unitarians, Muslims, JWs, etc.
it supposedly mirrors pagan concepts of deities becoming human & v v.
(Both Jews and Muslims object to Christianity for pagan concepts introduced, justly!)
the deeply humiliating concept of Almighty God as human (see below)
Astonishing -- Presupposes some irreplaceable aspect of creation itself, for God to do such a thing
Introduces Logical Absurdities
Irrational to imagine Creator becoming creation (Christians take it for granted)
God the origin - begotten, born (confusion of Mary as Mother of God)
Implies a change in the Godhead, taking on a new form, permanent form
(theological argument over eternal sonship of Christ notwithstanding)
God completely self-sufficient, needing nothing from without himself to exist
How an Almighty can suffer pain, hunger, or death
Son of God -- Old Testament Promise
Jews between the testaments expected Messiah to be divine, pre-existent, miraculous
(according to Josephus, Tacitus, 4 Ezra, 1 Enoch, DSS, targums, etc.)
Isaiah 7:14 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 9:6 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.
Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. (Acts 13:33, Heb. 1:5, 5:5, John 1:14,18, 3:16,18, etc.)
Psalms 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Psalm 89:20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: 27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
Mat. 1:18-25 20 ... Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Isaiah 7:14)
Why a virgin? Original sin passes through the father?
Holy DNA, only begotten son of God, the body itself was deity incarnate
Luke 1:30-35 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 35 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.
God in the Flesh -- New Testament Doctrine
John 1:1-4,14 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.
1 Tim. 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Hebrews 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
1John 1:1,2 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested,
1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom. 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Tabernacle of God
Incarnation is not the birth, but the conception, or in some sense both, God dwelling with men, God taking on flesh, "tabernacling" with men.
Jeremiah 23:24 Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
1Kings 8:13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
1Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
Acts 7:44-48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exodus 29:45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
Leviticus 26:11 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
2 Sam. 7:5-6 Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
Hebrews 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Psalms 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psalms 76:2 In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.
Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze. 11:16 yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
Eze. 43:7-9 and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.
Joel 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
Rev. 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
2 Corinthians 6:16 as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God,
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
2Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2Peter 1:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
John 2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
Heb. 9:3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
Heb. 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Fulfillment in Joseph and Mary
The solemn feasts in the Law of Moses were figures to be fulfilled by the Messiah.
Passover was fulfilled in the death of the Messiah (to the day and hour),
Firstfruits fulfilled in the resurrection
Ingathering fulfilled in the rapture
Gleanings fulfilled in the gathering of the elect
Pentecost fulfilled in the coming of the Holy Spirit,
Unleavened bread to be fulfilled at the marriage of the Lamb,
Atonement (of Israel) to be fulfilled during the Tribulation,
Trumpets to be fulfilled at the advent, etc.
The feast of Tabernacles was fulfilled in the birth of Christ, and again in the New Earth (Rev. 21.3)
Tabernacles occurred on the seventh month from the 15th to the 22nd, (averaging our October 9-16), everyone had to dwell in booths, and every fiftieth year everyone had to return to their original possession.
Lev. 23:34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
Lev. 23:42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: 43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Gen 33:17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
Release
Deu. 31:10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
Jubile
Lev. 25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
Luke 2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
Luke 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Gentiles keeping the feast
Zechariah 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Humiliation
The original church in the Bible did not observe or celebrate any Christian holy day except the observance of the first day of the week in memory of the resurrection. The resurrection was the only event memorialized by setting aside a day for worship because of the astonishingly humiliating aspects of the incarnation. The honorable position of the Messiah as God's son caused the apostles to reject all of the realities of the incarnation at first consideration.
1Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
2Chronicles 6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,
Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Psalms 113:5 Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, 6 Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!
Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
Luke 2:51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Acts 8:33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
Php. 2:5-8 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man,
Hebrews 2:10 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 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
John 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
John 13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.
Significance -- Image of Invisible God
Express image of God Greatest revelation of God, only visible God, incarnation of God
Hebrews 1 1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
1John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
John 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
John 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.