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The Impact of the Incarnation
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“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. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
John 1:14–17
We know that Jesus came into the world taking on a fully human nature while still being completely divine because the Bible tells us that was the case. In our understanding we cannot fully comprehend how it was possible for Him to be both man and God at the same time. But in faith we believe what God has said. Charles Spurgeon said, “He who never began to be, but eternally existed, began to be what He eternally was not, and continued to be what He eternally was.”
The only way that Jesus could become the means of God’s grace to provide salvation was by taking on humanity. And that is the miracle of the incarnation. It is the basis from which we receive both grace and truth. By His nature God must maintain both. He cannot be anything other than perfectly truthful. He could never accept our sins and call them anything other than what they are. But He is also gracious, extending salvation to us through His Son.
We needed the humanity of Jesus to help us understand God and the nature of His love for us. Many years later the Apostle John would write, “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” (1 John 1:1).
Today's Growth Principle:
The measure of God’s love for us can be seen in the miracle of the incarnation.
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“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. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
John 1:14–17
We know that Jesus came into the world taking on a fully human nature while still being completely divine because the Bible tells us that was the case. In our understanding we cannot fully comprehend how it was possible for Him to be both man and God at the same time. But in faith we believe what God has said. Charles Spurgeon said, “He who never began to be, but eternally existed, began to be what He eternally was not, and continued to be what He eternally was.”
The only way that Jesus could become the means of God’s grace to provide salvation was by taking on humanity. And that is the miracle of the incarnation. It is the basis from which we receive both grace and truth. By His nature God must maintain both. He cannot be anything other than perfectly truthful. He could never accept our sins and call them anything other than what they are. But He is also gracious, extending salvation to us through His Son.
We needed the humanity of Jesus to help us understand God and the nature of His love for us. Many years later the Apostle John would write, “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” (1 John 1:1).
Today's Growth Principle:
The measure of God’s love for us can be seen in the miracle of the incarnation.
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