1.3-incarnation

What is the Incarnation?

• The word incarnation means ‘becoming flesh’ 

• It is used to describe the Christian belief that God took human form as Jesus and lived and died in the world

• The belief that Jesus is God in human form is hugely significant

  • The birth of Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Christ coming to earth as the Saviour who was promised by God

  • Jesus as ‘the son’ is part of the the Trinity which is the idea that God is present in three forms (The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit)

The Nature and Importance of Jesus Christ

• For Christians, the incarnation shows that Jesus was fully God (divine) and fully human

• This is very important for a number of reasons

  • If God was human then he understands what it means to be human and can experience human feelings like suffering and love

  • If God was divine it means that he is the all powerful creator of everything and is worthy of praise and worship

• There are many biblical quotes which show Christians that Jesus should be viewed as both human and divine

jesus as Human	Jesus as Divine
Jesus had a human body (Luke 24: 39)	Jesus was resurrected after death (Mark 16: 1-20)
Jesus was born to a human mother Mary as a normal baby (Luke 2: 7)	Jesus was omnipotent (Matthew 28: 18)
Jesus got tired (John 4: 6), hungry (Matthew 4: 2) and thirsty (John 19: 28)	Jesus was omniscient (John 21: 17)
He prayed to God (John 17)	People worshipped and prayed to Jesus (Matthew 2: 11)
He showed human emotions such as amazement (Matthew 8: 10) and sorrow (John 11: 35)	Jesus performed miracles for example he turned water into wine (John 2: 1-11)
Jesus died (Romans 5: 8)	Jesus forgave sins (Mark 2: 5-7)

What does the bible say about Incarnation?

• When Jesus was born, God became present on earth as a human and as the second part of the Trinity - the Son

  • This is referred to as the incarnation of Jesus, as it was when God took on human form, becoming fully God and fully human at the same time

• The bible contains passages which support the Christian view that Jesus was God in human form

• The idea of Jesus being God incarnate begins with the birth of Jesus

  • In the Bible, the Virgin Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel who told her that she was to have a son and that he would be named Jesus and he would be a divine baby

  • The gospels teach that Jesus had a human birth, the story of which is referred to as the nativity

  • Many Christians celebrate at Christmas to remember that God the Son was born in the person of Jesus

  • The events of Jesus’ life are central to the Christian faith and are what many of the Church teachings are built upon

  • Four key events of Jesus’ life offer proof and evidence of him as God incarnate and fulfil the prophecies of the Old Testament. These four events are:

    • The birth of Jesus

    • His crucifixion and death

    • His resurrection

    • His ascension

1 Timothy 3: 16

He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed in the world, was taken up in glory

Luke 1:35

‘The holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’

John 1:14

‘The Word became flesh and lived amongst us’

Jesus Christ the Person

• The life of Jesus acts as an example to all Christians of how they should live their lives

• Jesus grew up in a Jewish family and community in Nazareth. He was a carpenter like his human step-father, Joseph

• At the age of 30, Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist and began teaching and performing miracles, such as healing a blind man

  • This is known as his ministry. He also recruited his disciples and together they taught God’s message to many people

• Jesus demonstrated God’s love and gave guidance and teachings throughout his life

• The Sermon on the Mount contained some of his most important messages

  • One of his key teachings was the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which teaches Christians to ‘love thy neighbour’ (Luke 10:30-37)

• Christians continue to use the teachings from Jesus as an example of how God wants them to live and act

Explain two biblical teachings about Jesus as the Incarnate Son of God

In your answer you must refer to a source of wisdom and authority

(5 marks)

Answer:

The Bible teaches that Jesus was present at creation and he was with God from the beginning, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’ (John 1:1) (3 marks) 

Jesus as the Son of God spoke to humanity about his Father in Heaven (1) and returned to the father, taken up in glory (2 marks)

Breakdown of marks

One mark is given for each teaching and then further marks for each development of the reason

One further mark is given for any relevant source of wisdom or authority

In this answer, the first example has a developed teaching with a relevant source of wisdom / authority which is awarded 3 marks and the second example contains a developed teaching which is awarded 2 marks

You may be asked why the incarnation is important to Christians today

• It reminds Christians that Jesus came to earth as a human 

• At Christmas the community join together to celebrate the Incarnation of God in Jesus

• In Jesus humans can see what God is like and so Christians can follow this example

• Jesus came to earth to restore the relationship between God and humanity, it therefore allows Christians to have a relationship with God

Heresy:

Magisterium:

• A belief that goes against the accepted teachings of the Church.​

​the teaching authority of the Catholic Church, exercised by the Pope and the Bishops ​

Christology

is the study of Jesus. Especially the nature of Jesus: whether Jesus is human or divine.​

he Incarnation. ​

• One of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity is that God became a man and lived among his people. ​

• ​

• Christians believe that God literally became flesh and lived as a human being. ​

• ​

• This is known as the Incarnation. This word means ‘the act of becoming flesh.’ ​

• ​

• This means that there is a dual aspect to Jesus Christ. The part of him that is divine (God like), and the part of him that is human. ​

• ​

• This idea of being divine and human at the same time is known in Christianity as the ‘Hypostatic Union.’ ​

• Jesus is one person with two natures.Human​

  Nature​

  Human Nature – To be able to feel pain and die. To be able to make a real sacrifice.​ (born of Virgin Mary)

• Divine ​

  Nature​

  Divine Nature – To have the power to forgive sins, to be good enough to save us.​(conceived by Holy Spirit)

Why is the incarnation important?

It Shows us the love that God has for human beings in that He chose to become like us. He chose to become a human being and humbled himself to be like us.​

We can relate to God much more in the person of Jesus since he became like us. He is not an invisible God in Heaven.​

God can fully save the human race from their sins having taken on human form​

God can fully empathise with the human race having taken human form.​

Heresy about the nature of Jesus​

Jesus = just God (Docetism)​	Jesus = just man (Arianism)​
Jesus only appeared to be human but in fact had no human nature.​ ​ Jesus is merely God in disguise.​ ​ Problem: Jesus cannot feel pain; therefore, cannot suffer for our sins. Jesus is not human and so does not understand what it is to be human and so cannot really save us.​ ​	Jesus was not God but a very good human being.​ ​ ​ Only God the Father is God.​ ​ Problem: Jesus cannot save us from our sins as Jesus is just a man – he has no authority to save us!​

Key points from the Nicene Creed

• Jesus is God​-”one Lord Jesus Christ”

• Jesus is ‘begotten’ not ‘born’ from the Father – he is not subservient to the Father​ “consubstantial with the father”

• Jesus pre-existed before his birth​

• Jesus comes to earth and is crucified for our sins​ “for our sake he was crucified”

• Jesus rose again and ascended into heaven​ “he ascended into heaven”

• Jesus is God incarnat

The Incarnation- Jesus Christ- quotes

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father; full of grace and truth.​

​

(John 1:14)​

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: ​

He appeared in the flesh,​

was vindicated by the Spirit,​

was seen by angels, ​

was preached among nations,​

was believed on in the world,​

was taken up in glory.​

​

(1 Timothy 3:16) ​

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ​

​

(John 3:16)