What Child is this, What Man was He?

Most people enjoy puzzles and brain-teasers. They’re captivating and often evoke a range of emotions as people try to solve them. One popular puzzle you may be familiar with is "one of these is not like the others." In this puzzle, a set of items is presented, and the contestant is asked to identify the one that differs from the rest. Typically, there is one key aspect that makes one item stand out.

When we consider every human being who has ever lived, Jesus is the One who is different from all of us. He stands out because He was without sin.

But if He was different from all humans, then was He really human? And if He was human but different from us, what kind of human was He? To answer these questions, we must first understand the true nature of humans. And to understand that, we have to go way back… all the way back to when God created humans.

Back to Creation

When God created humans, He made them in His own image and likeness (Gen 1:27), and He said that it was very good (Gen 1:31). In their original state, humans – Adam and Eve – were able to live in God's presence. They were not created flawed or sinful. They did not require a sacrifice to approach God’s presence, as we see from Leviticus onwards. They enjoyed fellowship with God and, in fact, were His representatives to all of creation. Adam and Eve ate, slept, moved, worked (yes, work existed before the Fall), had relationships, and enjoyed all of God’s creation according to God’s design.

This was God’s design for humanity and this is what being human meant according to God’s purposes. There was no fault in them. To err was not human. There was no fear, guilt, sickness, or death that characterized humanity. Sin was not part of human nature.

Humanity Corrupted

However, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin entered the world. Humanity was now stained with sin. Everyone born of Adam and Eve inherited a sinful nature. Through sin, death, sickness, sorrow, and fear entered the world, spreading to all humanity (Rom 5:12). Sin multiplied greatly, and humanity, which was very good in God's eyes, became filled with evil, grieving the Lord (Gen 6:5-6).

Humans were no longer as God had originally created them. In this fallen state, they were not fully human according to God’s design. And this is true even today. Everyone who is conceived naturally and is born as a human, is, in fact, born in sin (Ps 51:5). Sin, like hunger or thirst, has become a default aspect of human nature.

But God did not give up on humans. Right after the Fall, He promised Adam and Eve in Gen 3:15 that He would send a new human, a true human, a complete human, a sinless human who would defeat Satan and sin. And who will fulfill that which Adam was supposed to fulfill, namely, to fill the earth with God’s image-bearers (Gen 1:28). That man was Jesus.

Jesus' Humanity

Jesus, the Son of God, entered humanity through the incarnation. However, He did not inherit the sinful nature that had now become part of human nature. He was conceived supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin. Jesus was fully human in every way that God originally designed humans to be. But, unlike Adam, He was born into a fallen world. He experienced hunger, thirst, sorrow, rejection, mockery, and even temptation, just as everyone born in a fallen world does. Yet, unlike us, He was without sin and did not yield to temptation (Matt 4:1-11, Heb 4:15).

Jesus took on human nature and was made in the likeness of men (Phil 2:7). Because He was truly human and a better Adam, He resisted temptation and lived without sin. Because He was truly human, He lived in perfect communion with God. Because He was truly human, He became the true representative of all humans, who could not approach God by themselves. He took upon Himself the sins of humans, experiencing death on our behalf. He died on behalf of His people to save them (Matt 1:21) and bore the judgment we deserved (Is 53:5-6). But because He was sinless, death could not hold Him, and God raised Him from the dead, ending the agony of death (Acts 2:24).

Humanity Restored

Humans who are in Jesus through faith, already experience humanity according to God’s original design. In Jesus, we can boldly approach God’s throne (Heb 4:16). We enjoy deeper fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (1 Cor 6:19). And, through the Spirit, we are set free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2). And, one day, when Jesus returns as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16), He will restore all of creation, and we will be transformed to what God intended humans to be – like Jesus (1 John 3:2).

Conclusion

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us remember that the Son of God became human – a true human – to restore humanity – and more – to everyone who is united to Him through faith. He became like us in every way, except sin. In Jesus, we have a true representative before God because He became like us. And because of the similarity He shares with us, we will one day be like He is – sinless and perfected.

Turn to Him and be restored!

Merry Christmas!!

Why the Incarnation?

The month of December is the most wonderful time of the year! People everywhere are in festive spirits and make plans to spend time with their families. While many holidays are celebrated all over the world (including Festivus), there is none more popular than Christmas. It is the most recognized Christian holiday, and it is enjoyed and celebrated by many non-Christians as well.

While people will identify Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, there are many other aspects of this holiday that are not thought about. For example, who is this Jesus and why is His birthday so important? Why does the whole world celebrate/remember His birthday? I am not sure if you have pondered these questions but they are definitely worth investigating.

Christians believe, as the Bible teaches, that Jesus was born miraculously through a virgin. He was called Emmanuel, which means “God with us”. He was/is God (see here), who took on human nature and was born on the earth. But why? What was the reason for Him to become a man? There are two ways this question can be answered – objectively and subjectively.

The Objective need for the Incarnation

When we approach it from an objective view, we take into consideration the facts of the argument. What was the factual need for the Son of God to be born as a human being? Or what did humans lack that God had to take on human form to accomplish? A very simple, yet profound, answer to this question is that humans lacked fellowship or friendship with God.

When God made man and woman, he made them in His image. He gave them the ability to be aware of themselves and to be aware of their surroundings. Because of this, they were able to enjoy God and also each other. There were no barriers between God and humans. Nothing prevented humans from living in the manner God had intended and to have perfect fellowship with Him. However, this did not last forever. Humans disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which God had prohibited. And because of man’s disobedience, there was a cosmic shift in creation.

Humans were now afraid of God and did not want to be in His presence (Gen 3:10). God’s most wonderful creation rebelled against Him and avoided Him. God was still merciful and did not destroy them. However, He knew that His word was violated and that humans lacked the ability to make amends or restore the fellowship. Humanity was now stained with sin, and death made its way into the human race. Every human born was now born with the stain of sin; they sinned more and violated God’s commands easily, and consequently, suffered death. Only God could make a way for humans to enjoy the fellowship that they enjoyed with Him before sin came into the world. This could be done only by destroying sin and its effects, namely death, and that is the exact reason God became a human, in Jesus Christ.

Jesus restored fellowship with God

Even before His birth, the angel told Joseph in a dream that Jesus would save His people from their sins (Matt 1:21). When Jesus first appeared to the public, John the Baptist said that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Jesus forgave people their sins during His earthly ministry (Mark 2:5), and said that He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

Moreover, He never succumbed to the power of sin. When He was tempted, He did not give in; rather He was victorious over every temptation (Matt 4:1-11). He was tempted in every way that humans are tempted, yet He did not sin (Heb 4:15). He was the Only one whom sin could not overcome and could not conquer.

But the ultimate freedom from sin was obtained when Jesus took our sins upon Himself and died on the cross. God condemned sin in Jesus’ flesh, and through His death, defeated sin. And through His resurrection, He defeated the power of sin, namely, death. Jesus inaugurated a new era in which humans could have fellowship with God again without any hindrance. What was lost in the garden of Eden through the disobedience of one man – Adam – was gained, and more, through the obedience of one man, Jesus. This was the objective reason for the Incarnation – to restore the fellowship between God and man.

The Subjective need for the Incarnation

From a subjective standpoint, we are not considered with facts but with feelings and personal perspectives. And in this case, we have to wonder why God felt the need to become human. And this question has only one answer – Love.

God’s love for humans did not cease when they disobeyed Him. He continued to love them and was also patient with them, enduring the sins they committed against Him. In His love, He established the sanctuary and the temple in the Old Testament. Through the sacrifices offered for sin, God made a way to live with His people. He never abandoned them but loved them (us) with an everlasting love (Jer 31:3). Everything in the OT was a preparation for the final solution. And His ultimate display of love was seen in the person of Jesus Christ.

We read in John 3:16, that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Jesus came to this world because of the Father’s love for us. God, by nature, is love and Jesus is the manifestation of God’s love for us (1 John 4:8-9). In Jesus, we can see the true extent of God’s love in that God did not even spare His own Son for us (Rom 8:32). We were God’s enemies because of our rebellion, but God loved us. He demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). And Jesus gave Himself on the cross because of the love He had for us (Gal 2:20). Jesus took on the form of a slave and was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:7-8) in order that God and humans may be reconciled. God’s love for us is so infinite that nothing in all of creation can separate us from Him (Rom 8:38-39).

So much more can be said about God’s love for us. Infinite volumes have been written explaining the depths of God’s love but they, together, fail to scratch even the surface of it. We can never comprehend why God loves us but we can be sure that He does. And this love He has for us compelled Him to become human and be born of a virgin. This is the birth we celebrate!

A New Christmas!

Maybe you have celebrated many Christmases and have never wondered why Jesus was born. Or maybe Christmas in the past did not focus on Jesus and His love for us. It might be that Christmas has been about spending time with the family and exchanging gifts. But this year, Christmas could be different when we realize that Jesus was born in this world so that we could have perfect fellowship with God.

God was reconciling the world to Himself in Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:19) and now extends this reconciliation to all who believe in Jesus and turn from their sin. Jesus came so that we might have life in all its abundance (John 10:10).

Let’s turn to Jesus, the birthday boy, and call on Him for this abundant life and fellowship with God.