Incarnate refers to Jesus’ incarnation. Paul beautifully illustrates this truth in Philippians 2:6-8,
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
As Paul says in this passage of the New Testament, Jesus took on human flesh to save us from our sins.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is the incarnate Word of God (John 1:14). There is debate among the secular world as to who Jesus is. Many people have proposed he was a good teacher, a good man, or a prophet, but never give Him the credit of being God. Instead, they pass Him off as no more than a zealous person who died for a religious cause. The true Jesus of the Bible is the incarnate Word. He is God in the flesh, who left Heaven to die for our sins.
Therefore, when we see things from this perspective, we can see how important the word incarnate is. If Jesus had not been incarnate, we would have never been saved from our sins. Rather than being given the option of forgiveness by placing faith in Jesus, we would now stand condemned by the Father.
We have been given forgiveness through Jesus’ finished work on the cross. With this in mind, we can see the importance of Jesus taking on human flesh as He is the only member of the Trinity to have taken on human flesh, died for our sins, and paid the debt we accumulated.
How Can We Better Understand the Incarnate Word?
Jesus is the incarnate Word who has been with the Father and the Holy Spirit since the beginning. John 1:1 is one of the many instances of the Trinity being presented and Jesus being described as the Word. The Bible tells us,
“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” - 1 Timothy 3:16
This is a biblical connection to how Jesus was incarnate. As one can see, there is not only one singular instance of Jesus being the incarnate Word. Instead, Jesus is spoken of and hinted as the incarnate Word throughout the New Testament.
Since Jesus is the incarnate Word, we can rest in knowing that everything He says is true. Jesus did not come into the world as a normal human. He was supernaturally born into the world. He was not the result of a normal union between a husband and wife. Instead, He was divinely conceived by the work of the Father. Through this, Jesus was not born in sin—He was born in glory.
What is the Hypostatic Union?
Many scholars believe Jesus gave up His divinity when He took on human flesh, but this is not biblical. It is important to note that Jesus did not lose any of His divinity at His birth. From the time He took on human flesh, Jesus will be fully man and God for all eternity. Never did the Lord give up any of His divinity (Colossians 2:9). He was still God when He walked on the earth, just as He will still be God for all eternity.
Since Jesus was incarnate, He could feel all the same pain we feel. Jesus could feel hunger and thirst, and He knew what it felt like to weep for a loved one (John 11:35). As human beings, this should bring us great validation, hope, and joy. We have a God who understands our worries, pains, and troubles (Hebrews 4:15-16).
Never does He dismiss our troubles nor act as though they are unimportant. Since the Lord took on human flesh, He knows how troubling and painful life can be. All the bad things that happen in the world are because of sin. It is not because of Jesus. The Lord doesn’t cause any bad things to happen. However, He can turn bad things into good things (Romans 8:28). You may have already seen this in your life as God is known for making beauty out of ashes (Isaiah 61:3).
How Can We Celebrate Jesus’ Incarnation?
With this truth in our hearts, we can celebrate the biblical meaning of incarnate. It refers to Jesus taking on human flesh to save us from our sins. The Lord did this out of His great love for us. Nobody made Him do this—instead, He freely chose to become the incarnate Word to redeem us from our sinful selves.
The incarnation of the Lord affects all of us. It gives us someone to run to when times are hard, and as we know, He understands everything we are going through. It also assures us that Jesus took on our sin debt and paid it in full through His death on the cross. We do not have to fear death anymore because Jesus has defeated death and has given us life through His Name.
The Lord did not leave us to suffer in vain. Instead, He left Heaven to live among us and to extend His great mercy, kindness, and love to us. There is nothing greater than this, as the Lord truly loves us. In all other religions, we never see a god leaving Heaven to save its creation. Only in Christianity do we see this because only in Christianity do we have the truth of Jesus.
In closing, it is important to remember that from a biblical standpoint, incarnate refers to Jesus taking on human flesh. The Lord did this out of His great love for us. He grew up, became an adult, and died the death we deserved to bring us to Him. We do not need to look past this biblical term because it is not in the Bible. Instead, we need to study it more and praise God for what He has done through the incarnation. Through the incarnation of the Lord, we can now pass from death to life.
What Can We Learn from the Incarnation?
Throughout our lives, we will constantly be learning more about God. When we look at the incarnation, we can see how big of a difference it makes in our lives. Without the incarnation, we are doomed and lost in our sins. Christianity would be false, and there would be no hope.
As it is, we do have hope because Jesus was born into the world as a man yet retained His full divinity. He took on human flesh, bore our sins on the cross, and was raised in glory. None of us will ever be fully God and man, but the incarnation teaches us how amazing this is.
None of us could ever earn our salvation because we all fall short (Romans 3:23). Through Jesus’ incarnation, we never have to worry about not being enough. All believers are given fullness in Christ (Colossians 2:10). This means that we are already sufficient, complete in Him, and not lacking anything. The incarnation of Christ teaches us this truth and helps us live for Him every day.
Bible Verses on Jesus’ Incarnation
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15).
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Galatians 4:4-5).
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
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