When God Became Man

“What is man, that You remember Him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:6-7, 9).

The Christmas season allows us a fresh opportunity to ponder the reason for the season – The Incarnation. The Incarnation is one of the greatest events in all of history. It is that event whereby the eternally existing Son of God, the Creator of the universe, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity became a man, just like you and me, yet without sin. Hebrews 2:6-7 refers to mankind – you and me. Hebrews 2:9 refers to Jesus becoming man. God, who had existed for all eternity beforehand, now has taken on a second nature – a human nature. He is now fully God and fully man – two natures, a Divine nature and a human nature, coexisting in one person. This is important to understand because there are groups out there today who do not believe Jesus is God. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Him to be Michael the Archangel. Mormons believe Jesus to be a man who later became God. Both groups are wrong and their followers have been misled. Jesus is the eternally existing God who became man. Why? “So that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). God became a man, in the person of Jesus Christ, so that He could die for the sins of everyone. Everyone here refers to all people who would ever be saved. Therefore, Jesus Christ is your and my only hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

How did He do this? What happened when He became a man? The Bible tells us He tabernacled Himself, or to put it another way, He veiled His glory. Had He not veiled His glory, it would have been daylight in Palestine 24 hours a day when He walked upon this earth. The Bible gives us a glimpse of this veiled glory: “Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory…” (Luke 9:28-32). Speaking of Jesus Christ, the writer of the Gospel of John writes, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This is the Word of the Lord! 

The Bible tells us God is passionate about His own glory. Isaiah wrote, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). Furthermore, the Bible declares believers will one day be “transformed into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil. 3:21). Peter says we will “receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4). So what does all this mean? If God is passionate about His own glory, we should be as well. We should seek glorify Him in all we do. As we celebrate the Christmas season, let’s remember the reason for the season – The Incarnation. Furthermore, may we look forward with great anticipation to that day when we, along with all the Saints of all time, will gather around His throne and resonate His glory