Why an Incarnation?

12.22.2024

Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT)

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Definition

Incarnate –

(Latin) in-Caro – flesh.

Endowed with a human body; to give bodily form to; to be the type or embodiment of.

 

Incarnation- a taking on of human form.

It was foretold in the Old Testament:

Genesis 3:15 -NLT

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

Her offspring – a woman bearing a child without the help of a man.

Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV)

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

 

Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 53:2 (NLT)

My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.

Micah 5:2 (NKJV)

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.

The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Here’s why the Incarnation is God’s greatest gift to us…

God created us to love Him and to be loved by Him. But His love must be based on fairness and justice.

Psalms 89:14 (NKJV)

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;

Mercy and truth go before Your face.

God must be fair and just in everything He does. He must be fair and just to Himself, to His enemies, as well as to man.

God’s enemy Satan tempted our original parents Adam and Eve and moved us to sin against God by disobeying Him.

Legally, God cannot just forgive us because He loves us.

His love and forgiveness must be based on a legal foundation, or Satan could accuse God of being unfair in His ruling the universe and dealing with him.

Our sin must be paid for legally, or we must pay for it ourselves by incarceration in hell, and after judgment into the lake of fire.

Spiritual rebels cannot be allowed to wander in the universe. They would corrupt the whole thing!

Satan has been consigned to hell and then the lake of fire in eternity. There is no salvation for him. He is forever doomed.

And Satan wanted us to be forever doomed.

Satan thought if he could get us to sin and rebel against God the way he did, then we would also get his judgment of eternal carceration in the lake of fire.

But he did not understand how much God loves us!

God loves us so much that He is willing to pay our spiritual debt of sin for us!

And that is where the incarnation comes into the picture.

A man got us into sin…a man must get us out!

 

No person born of two human parents qualifies to conquer the sin, Satan, and the curse on the earth problems we face because that person is born as a sinner.

10 things that only Jesus Christ – the God made flesh Man – can do:

He must:

 

1. Be born in fellowship with God.

2. Born free from Satan’s rule.

3. Be without sin Himself.

4. Have only one human parent.

5. Be immortal – not subject to death.

6. Be able to legally pay for our sin.

7. Conquer death and give us an ability to defeat our enemy.

8. Make immortality available to us.

9. Remove the curse from the earth.

10. Completely restore man to his pre-fall condition.

The virgin birth gives back to us all that was taken away when the human race became sinful with their disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

Because Jesus was also God, He was able to pay our sin penalty for us.

He took our spiritual death and separation from God.

He defeated Satan, our enemy, for us and gave us authority over him.

He has made provision for us to get glorified bodies at the rapture of the church, which will replace our current death-doomed or mortal bodies.

At His second coming, Satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire along with all fallen angels and demons.

He will create a new heavens and new earth free from the curse of sin and the contamination of evil.

The earth will be once again what it was before Adam sinned. God will be our Father, and we will be His family.

Do you live as though you believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ?

Are you ready for heaven? Are you going?

You will not go to heaven without accepting this free gift of salvation from Jesus Christ.

This is an important time for us to share the good news of the love God has for us by sending His Son to pay our sin penalty and prepare us for heaven.

To accept – lay down your life in repentance!

Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Action Points:

1. Do you believe that Jesus’ mother was a virgin?

2. Does your belief in Jesus’ virgin birth change how you live your life?

3. What changes do you need to make in your life that would be a witness to those around you who do not believe in the virgin birth?