The Beauty of the Incarnation

The Word Became Flesh

As Christmas time is here, we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Often called the “incarnation,” we realize that the Son—the Logos, or Word—the Second Person of the Trinity, took on human flesh. In other words, Jesus, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7, ESV). Jesus came down from heaven to dwell with us, fully God and fully man.

That leads us to the beautiful truth found in John 1:14. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” As mentioned earlier, the “Word” here refers to the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. The Son became flesh. The Son became human while maintaining His deity. This is why we celebrate Christmas—because Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was born. Luke 2:11 tells us that an angel of the Lord approached the shepherds and said to them, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

He Dwelt Among Us

As we continue, we see that Jesus dwelt among us. The word “dwelt” can also be translated as “tabernacled.” As God dwelt among the Israelites in the Old Testament, He tabernacled among them. The Tabernacle served as a place where God moved in and lived with His people. Jesus has done the same for us. Jesus has lived among us; He has tabernacled or dwelt among us. In simple terms, He pitched a tent among us. When did this begin? At His birth, where He was laid in a manger. In the manger, we see Emmanuel—God with us.

We Have Seen His Glory

Jesus then revealed His glory—His radiance. God has visibly appeared among mankind through the incarnation of Christ. How do we know this? The gospels demonstrate the glory of Jesus through His miracles, His compassion towards people, His words, His death, and His resurrection. The incarnation of Jesus ushers in His glory, “glory as of the only Son from the Father.”

Full of Grace and Truth

“Full of grace and truth.” Jesus was not one or the other. He was not grace one day and truth the next. He was fully graceful and fully truthful. Jesus was fully graceful as He was a friend of sinners (Luke 15:2) and had compassion on the crowds (Matthew 9:36). He was fully truthful as He called out religious leaders for their hypocrisy (Matthew 23:3) and drove out those who defiled the temple (Matthew 21:12). The reality is this, at Jesus’ death and resurrection, we see the pinnacle of His grace and truth. Through His death and resurrection, we see the love and grace of God displayed for us as His justice, His truth, is satisfied. We cannot have the death and resurrection of Christ without first having His birth.

Oh What Grace

The beauty of the incarnation is found in this simple truth: God became flesh. Jesus was born. Our Savior, Christ the Lord, has come. He dwelt among us, beginning in a manger, where he first tabernacled among us. He revealed His glory, which began at His birth. He was full of grace and truth, all made possible through the incarnation. At the incarnation, we see this: God’s grace to us. How beautiful it is that God has extended grace to us by sending His Son, clothed in swaddling cloths, and laying in a manger, as He would one day pay the punishment for our sins. Oh, what grace we behold at the incarnation of Jesus!