Sam Storms on Incarnation

Today we spend some more time thinking about the Truth about Jesus- Incarnation. We have an extract from an article written by Sam Storms:

A. The Incarnation: A Definition
What do we mean by the word "Incarnation"? The idea is found in several texts which speak of Jesus as "coming in the flesh" (1 Jn. 4:2; 2 Jn. 7), being "sent in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3), "appearing in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16); he also "suffered in the flesh" (1 Pt. 4:1), "died in the flesh" (1 Pt. 3:18), made peace by abolishing "in the flesh the enmity" (Eph. 2:15), and "made reconciliation in the body of his flesh" (Col. 1:21-22). In sum, "the Word became flesh" (John 1:14).
Thus, by the Incarnation we mean that the eternal Word or second person of the Trinity became a man or assumed human flesh at a point in time, yet without ceasing to be God.

B. John 1:14
To understand the incarnation we must look at the contrasts between what is said of the Word in John 1:1 and what is said in 1:14.
v. 1 v. 14
The Word was The Word became
The Word was with God The Word dwelt among us
The Word was God The Word became flesh
We need to focus on two words in v. 14: "flesh" and "became".

1. Flesh - John does not say simply that the Word became a man (although that's true). Nor
does he say he became a human, or even that he took to himself a body (although both are again true). Rather, the Word became flesh. "Flesh" (sarx) is a strong, almost crude way of referring to human nature in its totality: true body, soul, spirit, will, emotions, etc.
2. Became - The Word did not pretend to be a man or play at being human. The Word became flesh. The Word did not "beam down" in full bodily form. The Word did not enter into flesh, as if to suggest that there was a man, a human being, into which the Word made entrance. He doesn't say the Word "dwelled or abided in" human flesh.

Consider me: I became a student, a husband, a pastor, a professor, a father, etc. But this isn't what John is saying. What John means is that the eternal Word, God the Son, entered into this world by being born as a human being. Therefore, it isn't correct to say that Jesus has always existed or that Jesus was in the beginning with God (v. 1). The Son of God has always existed. The Second person of the Trinity, the Word, was in the beginning with God. But Jesus is the human name given to the second person of the Trinity when he took to himself flesh. The Word was never called Jesus until Joseph did so in obedience to the command of the angel in Mt. 1.

In summary:
· The doctrine of the Incarnation means that two distinct natures (divine and human) are united in one person: Jesus. Jesus is not two people (God and man). He is one person: the God-man. Jesus is not schizophrenic.
· When the Word became flesh he did not cease to be the Word. The Word veiled, hid, and voluntarily restricted the use of certain divine powers and prerogatives. But God cannot cease to be God. In other words, when the Word became flesh he did not commit divine suicide.
· When the Word once became flesh he became flesh forever. After his earthly life, death, and resurrection, Jesus did not divest himself of the flesh or cease to be a man. He is a man even now at the right hand of God the Father. He is also God. He will always be the God-man. See 1 Cor. 15:28; Col. 2:9; 1 John 2:7 (note use of present tense).
· Thus, we might envision Jesus saying: "I am now what I always was: God (or Word). I am now what I once was not: man (or flesh). I am now and forever will be both: the God-man."

The complete article is available at
http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/incarnation-and-humanity