INCARNATE. INCARNATION. INCARNATIONAL. Experiencing the experiential God of the Bible.
Around the Vineyard, you’ll generally not hear a lot of heavy-duty theological rhetoric when we’re talking about the things of God. For us, simplicity is the key when discussing our faith journeys with Jesus. There are, however, a few very unique words that are popping up regularly in our discussions, and honestly, I’m truly enjoying our pursuit of these big ‘ten-dollar’ words.The primary word is INCARNATE, and its’ associated friends are: INCARNATION and INCARNATIONAL.
As a guy who didn’t grow up Catholic and didn’t pay too much attention in my high school Latin classes, I’m kind of surprised that I was able to conjure up the basic meaning behind these words. For those of you who didn’t grow up in church settings or took French or Spanish instead of Latin, let me fill you in on these words: INCARNATE. INCARNATION. INCARNATIONAL. And no, they don’t mean we all have to start wearing carnations on our lapel when we come to church!
INCARNATE. First, let’s look at the basic word: INCARNATE. In its simplest forms, it translates from Latin as “in the flesh”. We get our English word, carnal, from this source word and in most cases, being “carnal” or “fleshly” is not necessarily a good thing, right? Yet when we place the word INCARNATE next to another Latin word, DEO, which translates as GOD, we now have a whole new phrase that can open up volumes of possibilities to the human heart. GOD IN THE FLESH is the phrase. So now let’s take our word study to the next step as it impacts our Christian faith. INCARNATION.
To the Christian theologian, INCARNATION, or the moment in time when GOD IN THE FLESH happens, means God being embodied, comprehended, or experienced in and through the human flesh of Jesus Christ. In the minds of the ancients, this idea of mingling God (who is spirit) with flesh (which is carnal), can result in some pretty kinky stuff. Yet to the first-century Jew or Gentile, when reading the first chapter of the Gospel of John, the reader is immediately confronted with the bold statement that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the “logos” (God’s Living Word), embodied in human flesh, and is now living in the neighborhood! (see John 1: 14 in The Message).
THE INCARNATION OF JESUS IS GOOD NEWS. The good news of the New Testament gospels is just that. Jesus of Nazareth has come into this world as the complete representation of God the Father, embodied, displayed, and experienced in human flesh! Jesus said this of Himself when He told Thomas, “ Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (see John 14: 9) Being both fully divine and fully human, Jesus has set Himself apart from all other religious leaders of all time by boldly stating that He alone is the human form of the Great I Am, first introduced to us in the Beginning (see Genesis 1: 1).
As C.S. Lewis states, this mind-boggling claim of Jesus Christ to be the INCARNATE GOD is one of three possible options: 1) a sad self-illusion of a lunatic, 2) a cruel lie from a truly evil man, or 3) a powerful truth from a truthful man. Lewis, after years of struggling with these three options, finally chose the third as the only feasible truth from amongst the three. As he did, Lewis embraced this eternal truth: THE INCARNATION OF JESUS IS GOOD NEWS, which from the beginning of the church age has become one of the cornerstone messages of the Christian faith.
As a result of THE INCARNATION OF JESUS, we have in hand the best news a sinner on this side of heaven or hell can ever hear. Jesus of Nazareth has come into this world, has lived a perfect life, died on a cruel cross for our sins, was resurrected by God from the grave, and now, ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of God, praying for all of us to successfully follow in His footsteps. Scriptures teach us that Jesus alone, as the INCARNATE GOD, had and has the authority and power to speak and fulfill the amazing prophetic words of promise found in full context in Isaiah 61.
God’s Spirit is on me; He’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, “This is God’s year to act!” Luke 4:18-19 (MsgB)
It is in Jesus’ speaking and fulfillment of this scripture, that all men, women, and children from every generation can now look to the heavens and say, “thank you, God, for sending Jesus, the INCARNATE GOD, into my life to set me free both now and forever more!.”
BUILD INCARNATIONAL KINGDOM COMMUNITIES. Now that Jesus has come into this world as the INCARNATE GOD, He has opened the doors of salvation, redemption and reconciliation for all people for all time. In His commission (see Matthew 28: 18-20 and Acts 1:8 ) Jesus sends His friends and followers out into the world, indwelled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, to continue His words and works to every generation. While we, His church, should never expect to become a full representation of the INCARNATE GOD (that is Jesus’ position, alone!), we can become, through the generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the human hands and feet of the INCARNATE CHRIST, going into the world today, joining Jesus to BUILD INCARNATIONAL KINGDOM COMMUNITIES around the world.
Now, with hopefully, a clearer understanding of these ancient words: INCARNATE, INCARNATION, and INCARNATIONAL, possibly the words of this old hymn just might take on more meaning…
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle see His banners go!
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