Category: Incarnation

Let’s read aloud together the following Scripture, confession and prayer:

Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 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! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

“We proclaim Christ. In Christ alone God has fully and finally revealed himself, and through Christ alone God has achieved salvation for the world. We therefore kneel as disciples at the feet of Jesus of Nazareth and say to him with Peter, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,’ and with Thomas, ‘My Lord and my God.’ Though we have not seen him, we love him. And we rejoice with hope as we long for the day of his return when we shall see him as he is. Until that day we join Peter and John in proclaiming that ‘there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” [Cape Town Commitment, We love God the Son, 4C]

“Lord, in response to your grace and truth in our lives, we worship you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Let’s worship to “King Jesus” by Matt Redman (click here).

– JH

John 17:22, 25-26 (NIV)
“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one… Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

“God’s union with human nature provides something like a hub, by means of which other human being[s] can access the divine and participate in union with God. The incarnation is the way in which this hub or interface between divinity and humanity is achieved. That is why the God-man must be both fully human and fully divine: fully human because it is union with this kind of creature that God desires; fully divine because it is union with God that is the intended outcome.” [Oliver Crisp, Analyzing Doctrine, 125-126]

Jesus embraced our humanity to become the atoning sacrifice for our wrongs/sins, so that we would have at-one-ment or the same oneness with the Father as he prayed. Because Jesus is this God-man, we have this hub in heaven that unites us fully to the Triune God.

Prayer: Father, thank you that through the incarnation we have union with Christ through the Holy Spirit, revealing your glorious presence in the midst of our lives. Take me deeper into participating in your purpose and plan. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Here Again” by Elevation Worship (click here).

– JH

John 1:14 (NIV)
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.

“No finite human being could ever enter the realm of God and join his family. It could only come to pass if God himself were to enter the realm of humanity and provide redemption. Here John tells how this came to pass: ‘The Word became flesh,’ not only the high point of this prologue but also the high point of history. God has become incarnate in the Word and entered this world. The Creator has become a creature and ‘made his dwelling among us.’ Moreover, by ‘becoming flesh’ Jesus took on himself human nature in its fullness, the full reality of being human.” [Grant Osborne, John Verse by Verse, 33]

The Word becoming flesh meant that God has not only spoken but he became someone that could be seen and touched in Jesus. Jesus is God’s ultimate self-disclosure as a human who dwelt among us. This is why the term, “the Word,” is never used again in John’s gospel after this verse, because the Word became flesh and was given the name Jesus – the name above all names.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, may your name be lifted up! You entered time and space to draw us back into your presence. May your name, gospel, and very nearness become increasingly visible and embodied in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Let’s worship to “Jesus” by Chris Tomlin (click here).

– JH

John 1:1, 18 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning… No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

“This verse [18] is a mirror image of verse 1, framing the prologue [John 1:1-18] with statements about the deity of Christ as the revelation of God… In the final part of this verse, ‘In closest relationship with the Father’ is literally ‘in the bosom of the Father,’ a metaphor for a supremely intimate relationship. The Father and Son are one in being and one in loving intimacy. This intimacy expands and encloses the followers of Jesus as well, for the Word ‘has made him known.’” [Grant Osborne, John Verse by Verse, 36]

Prayer: God, thank you that you have spoken to us through the Son. The Word becoming flesh has revealed who you are to us in unimaginable ways and we are amazed by your love. May your loving intimacy enclose us and expand our hearts today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Who You Say I Am” by Hillsong Worship (click here).

– JH

Let’s read aloud together the following Scripture, declaration and prayer:

John 1:1-5, 14 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 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.

Christ has taken on this human form. He became a human being like us. In his humanity and lowliness we recognize our own form. He became like human beings, so that we would be like him. In Christ’s incarnation all of humanity regains the dignity of bearing the image of God. [D. Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, 285]

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. [In Jesus’ name.] Amen. [The Book of Common Prayer, 252]

Let’s worship to “Mighty God (Another Hallelujah)” by Elevation Worship (click here).

– JH