In the Christian realm, the incarnation of Jesus is the belief that the eternal Son of God, also known as the Word, became fully human by being conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the incarnation affirms that Jesus is both truly God and truly man, and that his divine and human natures are united in one person.

Simply put, incarnation is a word used to describe the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ became a man and lived among His people.  To show this truth, let’s first read John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Now let’s read John 1:14, “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.”  We see that the Word is eternal.  The Word existed in the very beginning of all things.  The Word was WITH God and IS God.  The Word was made flesh (incarnation) and dwelt among us.  The Word is the “only begotten of the Father.”  Let’s compare that to what we read in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  God, GAVE, His Son so that He might die as payment of our sin debt and save us from an eternity in Hell.  

God is eternal and had no beginning, yet in the incarnation, He became a man.  While Christ was fully man, He was also fully God…bearing the characteristics of both, yet without the desire or ability to sin. (Hebrews 4:15).  Let’s read a verse familiar to most of us.  Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us A CHILD IS BORN, unto us A SON IS GIVEN: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  This verse is, without a doubt, a prophetic verse concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It was on that day in Bethlehem in a manger that a CHILD WAS BORN to the virgin Mary (read Luke 1:26-35).  On that day, A SON WAS GIVEN.  The language of that verse shows that while the child was BORN, the Son already existed and was GIVEN.  Indeed, God…GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.  Notice that one name of this One born on that day is “THE MIGHTY GOD.”

A few more verses that clearly teach the incarnation of the Lord Jesus are:

  • Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fulness of the time was come, GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
  • 1 Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
  • Philippians 2:6-8, “(Christ), being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and TOOK UPON HIM THE FORM OF A SERVANT, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

I hope this has been plain and simple enough for us all to understand that the incarnation describes the event of God becoming a man.  Matthew 1:23 tells us, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD WITH US.

One more verse that clearly shows the truth of the incarnation is 1 Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”  (CC)  (594.2)