Concerning the incarnation, Ellen White said that the story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. It is a deep subject you can study for the rest of your life and still continue learning more and more.
When we study the life of Christ, we find that in His human nature He rendered perfect obedience to the absolute and sovereign will of His Father.
There are several interesting prophecies in the Old Testament about the incarnation of Christ and His assumption of humanity.
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire. My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.’ ” Psalm 40:6–8
God’s desire for His children was that they would never sin but He made provision to pay the price for sin when it happened. It was also never His desire that we should be caught in cycle of sinning and confessing, sinning and confessing.
If a person studied, understood, and believed Psalm 40:8, he or she would not be part of the confusion in Adventism today about the nature of Christ. Christ’s obedience to His Father was not a forced obedience. It was in His heart to do what was right. Ellen White says that nobody could watch Jesus as a child and think that He was just like other children. He had within Him the desire to do what was right. Mary delighted to see this.
“Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
“For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.” John 5:19–23, 26, 27
Jesus is not speaking here of Himself as the Son of God. He is speaking of Himself as the Son of man. In His divinity He had life in Himself, but He also was granted to have life in Himself even as the Son of man. This is a marvelous idea. “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.” 1 Corinthians 15:21
The incarnation of Christ is a wonderful and marvelous revelation to us of our Father in heaven. We see that we have a personal God who is not neutral. We see that all the members of the Godhead have committed themselves to save every sinner who does not resist the pleading of the Holy Spirit. If we are redeemed from sin, then we will be redeemed from death because sin is what causes death. We are saved by a God who loves us enough to die for us.
“For the love of Christ constrains us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
“Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:14–21
Jesus came into this world to bring all of mankind back into harmony with God. His mission was to come to those who were enemies of God and change their hearts so that they would become friends of God. He came to subdue everything, everyone to Himself.
How would He do this? Jesus had wisdom. He had strength. But that’s not what He used. Jesus came to this world to reveal to this fallen world, the whole universe, not what Satan wanted mankind to believe about God, but the true character of God.
The incarnation of Christ had to happen:
- To reveal the character of God.
- To vindicate the character of God.
- So that God can be just and still forgive (justify) the sinner.
- To reveal to both the unfallen and the fallen universe the true character of Lucifer.
- To show us by His example how to live in a way that would result in reaping life’s best results.
- So that the fallen human race would have an all-powerful mediator that could not only forgive sins, but remove a person’s sins and restore him to the same kind of nature that Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden before their fall.
- To cleanse the entire universe from the blight of sin and guarantee that sin would never again arise.
“Love cannot live without action, and every act increases, strengthens, and extends it. Love will gain the victory when argument and authority are powerless. Love works not for profit nor reward; yet God has ordained that great gain shall be the certain result of every labor of love. It is diffusive in its nature and quiet in its operation, yet strong and mighty in its purpose to overcome great evils. It is melting and transforming in its influence, and will take hold of the lives of the sinful and affect their hearts when every other means has proved unsuccessful. Wherever the power of intellect, of authority, or of force is employed, and love is not manifestly present, the affections and will of those whom we seek to reach assume a defensive, repelling position, and their strength of resistance is increased. Jesus was the Prince of Peace. He came into the world to bring resistance and authority into subjection to Himself. Wisdom and strength He could command, but the means He employed with which to overcome evil were the wisdom and strength of love.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, 135, 136
“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” Colossians 1:19, 20
The finite intelligence of created beings, whether angels or men, can settle nothing in regard to the sin problem. Satan destroyed faith and trust in the character of God by those he deceived and then, he attempted to usurp the throne of God.
“ ‘How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!
“ ‘For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” ’ ” Isaiah 14:12–14
Satan attempted to destroy the moral authority of God by lying about His character. In the rebellion of sin, man cannot undo what Satan has done to deceive him for thousands of years. Only God Himself could prevent the unending consequences sin has brought into our universe.
“He [Satan] had sought to falsify the word of God and had misrepresented His plan of government before the angels, claiming that God was not just in laying laws and rules upon the inhabitants of heaven; that in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures, He was seeking merely the exaltation of Himself. Therefore, it must be demonstrated before the inhabitants of heaven, as well as of all the worlds, that God’s government was just, His law perfect. Satan had made it appear that he himself was seeking to promote the good of the universe. The true character of the usurper, and his real object, must be understood by all.” The Great Controversy, 498
“Since the service of love can alone be acceptable to God, the allegiance of His creatures must rest upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of heaven and of other worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have seen the justice and mercy of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been immediately blotted from existence, they would have served God from fear rather than from love. The influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated.” Ibid., 498, 499
God could have destroyed Satan at the beginning but Inspiration says that would not have solved the problem.
If God could not destroy Satan and his angels in the beginning because the loyal angels would not understand, it logically follows that He would not do so until they did understand. Sin, and the rebellion it causes, is not completely dealt with by punishment alone, leaving the rebel unchanged in attitude. But by the incarnation of Christ, sin and rebellion stand exposed. There is no more excuse for their existence. Christ broke the power of Satan and disproved the lying charges made by him.
“In the final execution of the judgment it will be seen that no cause for sin exists. When the Judge of all the earth shall demand of Satan, ‘Why hast thou rebelled against Me, and robbed Me of the subjects of My kingdom?’ the originator of evil can render no excuse. Every mouth will be stopped, and all the hosts of rebellion will be speechless.
“The cross of Calvary, while it declares the law immutable, proclaims to the universe that the wages of sin is death. In the Saviour’s expiring cry, ‘It is finished,’ the death knell of Satan was rung. The great controversy which had been so long in progress was then decided, and the final eradication of evil was made certain. The Son of God passed through the portals of the tomb, that ‘through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.’ Hebrews 2:14. Lucifer’s desire for self-exaltation had led him to say: ‘I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: … I will be like the Most High.’ God declares: ‘I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, … and never shalt thou be any more.’
“The whole universe will have become witnesses to the nature and results of sin. And its utter extermination, which in the beginning would have brought fear to angels and dishonor to God, will now vindicate His love and establish His honor before the universe of beings who delight to do His will, and in whose heart is His law. Never will evil again be manifest. … The law of God, which Satan has reproached as the yoke of bondage, will be honored as the law of liberty. A tested and proved creation will never again be turned from allegiance to Him whose character has been fully manifested before them as fathomless love and infinite wisdom.” Ibid., 503, 504
So, the incarnation of Christ vindicated the Father’s character and publicly exposed and condemned before the universe the whole sinful order. “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in [the cross].” Colossians 2:15
At the present time, the royal authority of God is not yet fully established. There are still millions of human hearts in our world who are in rebellion against God’s sovereign will. That’s why we still pray the Lord’s prayer, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Is the Lord’s prayer going to be answered? Yes, it is. Christ, through His representative, the Holy Spirit, stands in the center of all the discord in our world, in your family, in your church, where you work, in society, and among nations seeking to bring all of God’s creation into oneness in subjection to His Father.
In Christ is the long-suffering power of love by which He seeks to unite all His creatures to their Creator and bring them into unity with their Creator and with one another.
“Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For ‘He has put all things under His feet.’ But when He says ‘all things are put under Him,’ it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” 1 Corinthians 15:24–28
Christ must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet, until He has subjected all rule, authority, and power to Himself. It’s coming.
Matthew contains the history of Jesus’ miraculous birth and genealogy from the standpoint of Joseph. The gospel of Luke contains the miraculous events concerning the supernatural incarnation of Christ through Mary’s viewpoint.
In Jewish culture, a couple about to be married was first formally betrothed to one another. This was done in the presence of witnesses and contracts were signed. If any man had sexual intercourse with that woman after she was betrothed, and if they were in a city, they were both stoned. If they were in the country and she couldn’t yell for help, only the man was stoned. This was the situation that Joseph and Mary were in. They had already been betrothed to one another, all the formalities were complete, all the “t”s crossed and the “i”s dotted, and she was with Child.
Joseph could do one of two things. He could publicly disgrace her by exposing her. He could quietly divorce her. Or he could stay with her. All these thoughts filled his mind as he fell asleep that night. But God already had it all worked out for Joseph, and He sent an angel to explain it to Him.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, and angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ ” Matthew 1:18
Did you see the important part of this explanation? Mary’s child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. That’s important, isn’t it? It establishes for Joseph that he has no reason to divorce Mary. Providence was involved. But there is something else, even more important, that is part of the angel’s message. It answers the question, Why did Jesus have to be born into this world?
We have already seen that throughout His life as a man, Jesus would reveal God to the world. This revelation would show all of mankind exactly who God is. It would expose the heinous lies Satan told and continues to tell about God’s nature to those who will listen for what they really are. Jesus, living as a man with a character identical to the character of God, would demonstrate, once and for all, God’s true character.
But there is one last reason that the incarnation of Christ is so important. Jesus had to come to this world as a man in order to save us. There was no other way.
The Bible says over and over again that with God there is no partiality, that He is a Being of strict, perfect justice and equity. He could not forgive sin unless the price for sin was paid, and the price of sin is death. Death is not something that God forces upon you. Death is a natural result of sin.
God’s law is a law of life (Romans 7). The people that have never broken the law will never die. However, those who have broken and are breaking the law will, if Christ had not stepped in, end up dying. Had He allowed Adam and Eve to bear the price of their sins, they would have died that very day; but Jesus said, “No, I will take your place.” The plan of redemption, the provision for a Saviour, had been in place long before the selfishness and pride in Lucifer’s heart manifested itself in the courts of heaven.
“Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:25, 26
Because Christ paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross, God is able to forgive without being unjust.
The price for our sins could not be paid by an immortal God. In His immortal state as the second person of the Godhead, Christ could not pay the price for our sins because He could not die. However, by uniting His divinity with humanity (a human body), it was then possible for Him to die and the redemption price for humanity could be paid. We need to never forget, friend, that a divine judgment on sin was necessary. The Son of God voluntarily took upon Himself man’s humanity—his mortal flesh—in order that He might bear the penalty of God’s judgment against sin.
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14, 15
Taking upon Himself our mortal flesh, Jesus sought to change those with enmity against God into friends of God. To do this, He had assumed our nature. He became flesh and blood to ransom those who were in bondage to sin, Satan, and death. Satan’s kingdom was a kingdom of sin, bringing death upon mankind; but Christ’s death destroyed the authority and rule of Satan and the kingdom of sin. Redemption could not be decreed, not even by heaven. Christ came to confront and overcome Satan, the prince of this world, in the arena of human temptation and suffering.
“Jesus answered and said, ‘This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.’ This He said, signifying by what death He would die.” John 12:30–33
The Greek is very explicit here. Some translators translate it, “I will die to draw the whole universe to Myself” or “I will die to draw all to Myself,” not just all men but the whole universe.
Has God come to our world in the person of Jesus Christ to save us? Only the God who created us could redeem us. The schemes tried by human beings to rehabilitate sinful man are in conflict with God’s efforts to save man through Jesus Christ.
The incarnation of the Son of God places before all of us the greatest alternative that has ever been devised. What is this alternative?
We can choose for Jesus, as the second Adam, to become the Head of our life, thereby receiving redemption and eternal life through Him alone. But this choice and resulting surrender must be made here, or there will be no eternal life for any of us.
“This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
Christ has revealed to us a perfect picture of what God is really like and what He has done to redeem us. Every human being is invited to become a child of God through the redemption made available by Jesus.
“Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Galatians 4:3–7
When you come face to face with Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, you are coming face to face with God. This will soon happen to everyone in the world—saved and unsaved. God will show a panorama and the entire history of the great controversy will be spread across the sky. Christ’s life and death will be displayed in detail, and every unsaved member of mankind will come face to face with their Creator. And as He looks at them, in a moment, every cherished and unconfessed sin they have ever committed will come to their consciousness. There will be nothing to say.
But if your sins have been blotted out and you are no longer sinning, you will be able to stand face to face before your Creator, thanking and praising Him for dying to pay the price for your sins.
“All who had seen Christ in His suffering had been convicted of His divinity. That face, once beheld by humanity, was never forgotten. … the face of Christ revealed innocence, serenity, benevolence—the image of God.” The Desire of Ages, 754
Friend, if what we’ve looked at here doesn’t convince you, then nothing will convince you.
“That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:19
The question we now must ask ourselves is, “Am I reconciled?” The power of His love is drawing you. If you don’t resist it, you will be drawn to Him, you will love Him for what He has done to save you, for the opportunity to have eternal life, and you will follow Him, obey Him, serve Him, and worship Him.
We should never forget nor allow ourselves to be deceived by the devil. Jesus cannot be our Saviour unless He is also our Lord, the One who holds the highest place in our hearts. May we never hear the words Jesus spoke to the Jews.
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” Luke 6:46
There’s no answer to that question. There’s no good reason. If you call Him Lord you should do what He says.
God, through His infinite love, has done everything possible to save us, but love requires a response. In the universe, the Creator loves His creatures but the creatures must love and obey their Creator.
“It is not because there is any flaw in the title which has been purchased for you that you do not accept it. It is not because the mercy, the grace, the love of the Father and the Son is not ample, and has not been freely bestowed, that you do not rejoice in pardoning love. … If you are lost, it will be because you will not come unto Christ that you might have life.
“God waits to bestow the blessing of forgiveness of sins, of pardon for iniquity, of the gift of righteousness upon all who will believe in His love, and accept of His salvation. Christ is ready to say to the repenting sinner, ‘… Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee.’ Zechariah 3:4.” Our High Calling, 38
Pastor John J. Grosboll is the Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be reached by email at historic@stepstolife.org or by telephone at 316-788-5559.