Incarnation

Good morning, my name is Daniel and I would like to thank you and Pastor Steve for granting me the privilege to bring the communion devotion on this Lords day.

Before I begin, please allow me to share a quick story of how this process began. I received an email from Pastor Steve asking if I was interested in giving a communion devotion, which I very excitedly responded yes. I am very thankful for the request, because giving a devotion or talking and expounding the things of Scripture is a passion of mine, but I would never have asked if I could do this because there are much better, wiser men than I that would do a much better job than I. I feel unworthy to ask of such a great honor and privilege and I feel utterly inadequate for what the Lord has directed me to bring to you this morning.

Thankfully none of what I am presenting are of my own original thoughts and ideas, but of those throughout church history who are much wiser and intelligent than I who have dedicated their whole lives to this particular subject which I am about to attempt to convey to you in only 30 minutes.

Upon receiving the news that I was able to present a communion devotion, I immediately asked the question: How long should the devotional be and is there particular passages or topics that the devotional should be?

Is there particular passages or topics that the devotional should be?

The reply: The devotional should be about 25-30 minutes in length. The passage is up to you, but it should be about God, redemption, Christ, etc. the focus is on what God has done for us. You can see it is a broad subject. Communion is all about God’s grace.

The passage is up to you, but it should be about God, redemption, Christ, etc. the focus is on what God has done for us. You can see it is a broad subject. Communion is all about God’s grace.

Upon receiving this broad, yet amazing subject I immediately began praying as to what in the world the Lord would have me to bring. That same night I could not sleep and was thinking what message to bring. Well the Lord kept bringing me to one of my favorite passages of Christ and His example of Humility .

I came to church the next day and very eagerly asked Pastor Steve if I could talk on and he said yes. With all eager and excitement I went home of church that Sunday very excited to dive into this passage, which I believed at the time, that I had a good basic understanding of the text.

To my utter surprise and amazement at what I found in the passage, I was in way over my depth. I was even more surprised that Pastor Steve would allow me to even go into this. So to the broad subject I was given, and which I tried to narrow down to a single passage, the inevitable result has come to a broad outcome with many passages.

So to the broad subject I was given, and which I tried to narrow down to a single passage, the inevitable result has come to a broad outcome with many passages.

The Doctrine of the Incarnation

Upon studying the passage in which is often referred as the Hymn of Christ, I kept finding myself in the same dilemma. I could approach this passage in one of two ways. I could either come to it in a expository way, working verse by verse through the passage, or I could come at it in a more broader perspective displaying the broader picture of these verses.

I always prefer expository verses the broader picture; however I kept realizing that this passage is so deep, so abundant and fruitful, that to expound upon these 7 verses would take well over a month to do.

Likewise, the broader view, to cover the full depth of it would take well over a year if not a lifetime.

But as I kept studying and working I could not help but keep coming back to the importance and necessity of covering the broader view. The more I tried to do what I wanted to do, which was the expository method, the more the Lord and my studies kept bringing me to present the broader topic.

That is: The Doctrine of the Incarnation!.

The Goal:

The goal here this morning is to present to you the two natures of Jesus Christ, i.e. His Divine Nature and His Human Nature, and show the important role each one had in the work of redemption that took place.

Why is it important to us that Jesus be fully God (His Divine Nature) and what does that mean to us?

Why is it important that Jesus be fully man (His Human Nature) and how does that affect us?

A Look at Church History: The Council of Chalcedon.

The early church considered the Incarnation to be one of the most important truths of our faith. Because of this, they formulated what has come to be called the Chalcedonean Creed, a statement which sets forth what we are to believe and what we are not to believe about the Incarnation. There are five main truths with which the creed of Chalcedon summarized the biblical teaching on the Incarnation:

1. Jesus has two natures — He is God and man.

2. Each nature is full and complete — He is fully God and fully man.

3. Each nature remains distinct.

4. Christ is only one Person.

5. Things that are true of only one nature are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ.

(Matt Perman)

In the Council of Chalcedon, there were four heresies that they were to work through.

In your notes I gave you the full description of each heretical view. I will will just simply state them.

• against Arius, the full deity of Christ is affirmed

• against Apollinarius, the full humanity of Christ is affirmed

• against Nestorius, it is affirmed that Christ is one person

• against Eutyches, it is affirmed that the deity and humanity of Christ remain distinct and are not blurred together.

From earliest times, and more specifically, since the Council of Chalcedon, the Church has confessed and held to the two natures of Christ. It is important to note that this Council by no means solved the issue of the two natures, but rather defended against the erroneous views presented. The Church has accepted the doctrine of the two natures in the one person Jesus Christ, not because they had a full and complete understanding of this mystery, but because they clearly saw this mystery revealed in the Word of God. It was and has remained ever since for the Church an article of faith far beyond human comprehension.

It is of the utmost importance for us to maintain this doctrine, as it was formulated by the Council of Chalcedon and is contained in our Confessional Standards and more importantly because it is clearly shown to us in God’s Word.

My aim then is not to convince you of these truths, but rather show you in Scripture the truths of these two natures at work and the role they played for securing our redemption.

Scriptural Evidence for the Two Natures:

John 1:1–5 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:14 ESV

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.

John 1:18 ESV

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Philippians 2:6–11 ESV

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. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 2:14–18 ESV

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:14–5:2 ESV

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

*DIVE INTO SPECIFIC WORD MEANINGS AND RELATION

Importance of His Human Nature:

Why is it important that Jesus be fully man, having a full and complete human nature with all the essential properties i.e. a human body , a human mind , and a human soul ?

Because man was the one that sinned in the garden in , we will look more closely at that in a minute, it was necessary that the penalty should be borne by man.

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death was the penalty for sin.

Louis Berkhof states in his Systematic Theology—The paying of the penalty involved suffering of a body and soul, such as only man is capable of bearing.

This was the very purpose for which Christ came. ; ; ;

A quick look into

Genesis 3:1–7 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Genesis 3:14–16 ESV

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

Here we see the temptation to be like God and the fall of man in striving to grasp at, cling to, possess what rightfully belongs to God.

We get a great picture in where Christ, the Second Adam, already rightfully has possession of equality with God, yet unlike Adam He does not cling to, or grasp at what is rightfully His, but rather willfully humbles Himself.

In we see two things:

We see humanity being divided into two groups. The Elect, who are redeemed and love God and the reprobates who love self.

We also see the promise of the Messiah and Satan’s defeat under His heal.

*possibly go further talking about suffering etc.. use notes from (All Started in the Garden)

Genesis 3:21 ESV

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

God’s provision for them entailed the killing of an animal suggesting the need for a sacrifice in order to restore what was lost in the fall.

Redemption is linked to God’s providing a covering for human sin.

The Old Testament displays nakedness as weakness, need and humiliation.

*leads to and atonement.

*Leads to

Importance of His Divine Nature:

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