Implications of the Incarnation: The Word Made Flesh

During the season of Advent, Dan begins a series about the Incarnation—what it means for Jesus to be the Word made flesh. Taking a step back from more traditional Christmas narratives, Dan takes a deeper look into a book entitled The Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ by Thomas F. Torrance.

“The incarnation is an entry into a world, a world where Jesus, the Word of God, made the world out of nothing and yet becomes a creature of that world and becomes one who live out faithfully the word.”

One cannot fully understand God’s work without having an idea of what it means that he is born of a virgin and the historicity surrounding his birth, which has a “cosmic, universal impact.” We cannot come to know God without an understanding of the person of Jesus. What does it mean for us that our God has become flesh?

Contrasting two words, debar in Hebrew and logos in Greek, Dan dives into the significance of their meanings. Logos is the word used in the New Testament in John 1 and reflects the word debar. Debar is the notion that the word has a meaning and is not just a word in and of itself—it is something that points towards something that has an effect.

Turning the conversation a bit, Dan states that the drama of finding gifts and getting through the end of the year should not overtake the power of the moments throughout the life of Jesus. He places a great emphasis on not being able to talk about the cross without talking about the obedience of Jesus on our behalf, coming to earth in the flesh. In this act, our need for righteousness has been fulfilled in the event of God becoming human.

There’s something about the word became flesh that says there is nothing small about human existence.

“He condescended, he was humbled to become flesh and yet something about our own fallen, sinful flesh becomes glorious as a result of this hypostatic union. Jesus’s death on the cross is the core of our redemption but it comes as a result of his faithfulness on our part from the very beginning to become us, to become human, to become flesh, to become a child.”

“Will I allow the Incarnation to be a drama that doesn’t just point to the work of salvation but invites me into the story of salvation he’s working on my behalf?”

In this episode, Dan encourages listeners to read John 1:1-18 each day throughout the Christmas season, inviting you to ponder the compelling story and sweetness found in these verses.