Why the Incarnation? (2)

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.1 Corinthians 15.21, 22

Never irrational
The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, which Christians celebrate at Christmas, is but the opening act of a story of devotion, heroism, betrayal, torture, murder, and redemption which, were it not for the triumph of the resurrection, would seem to make a mockery of the idea that God is good.

Was it really necessary, in order to bring salvation to the world, that the Son of God should be made to suffer the indignation of Incarnation and the horrors of suffering and death? Could not the almighty God of heaven and earth have devised some other means of accomplishing the same end?

This was the question Boso, the young theological student, pondered, and which he posed to his master, Anselm of Canterbury, for discussion in the latter’s great theological treatise, Cur Deus Homo.

To some of his contemporaries, Boso explained, it was irrational for God to act in such a way. You have probably heard such comments from some of your own unbelieving friends. Yet, as Anselm insisted, “the will of God is never irrational.” We cannot understand God’s ways and works at the same depth He does, but we can understand them as He does, trusting that He knows all things, and does all things well. Thus we may find the reasonableness of the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation.

Not seemly?
Boso explained to Anselm that some unbelievers he knew were insisting that it was an “injustice and dishonor to God” to insist on the Incarnation – all that fleshly living and dying seemed to them somehow “incompatible with Deity.”

In fact, as Anselm explained, the Incarnation was inescapable for the salvation of sinners, for the simple fact that men are sinners, and that by their own choice. Anselm asked, “Does not the reason why God ought to do the things we speak of seem absolute enough when we consider that the human race, that work of His so very precious, was wholly ruined, and that it was not seemly that the purpose which God had made concerning man should fall to the ground…?”

God has a great and glorious plan for humankind, which we have ruined by our pursuit of sin and selfishness rather than of the goodness and glory of God. God had to become a man to save us, Anselm explained, for if He had done so by any other means – say, by an angel – then we would by right have to be the servants of that being; and, if we were the servants of any other being than God, we would “in no wise be restored to that dignity” which would have been ours if we had not sinned, and which would have fulfilled God’s original plan for us.

Further, because sin had entered the world through men, justice required that sin should be vanquished by a man. Those who are guilty must be made to pay. Yet no human being born of women would ever qualify for such a task, given the stain of original sin and our inherent inability to overcome it through our own efforts. Thus, all humankind would appear to be doomed, since none among their kind could be found to redeem them.

We need a new Man for our salvation, a Man sent from God Who is both Man and God, for only such a Man can wield the power for righteousness that we have forfeited, and only such a Man can break the power of death which we deserve. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, is thus the only way salvation can be brought to human beings, for He has fulfilled the righteousness we spurned by obeying and fulfilling all the Law of God. This is what theologians refer to as the active obedience of Christ. And He has borne the judgment we deserve, according to the justice of God’s Law, thus in His passive obedience offering Himself as a substitute on our behalf. And each of these acts of obedience He accomplished in the human flesh with which He was born of the Virgin Mary.

As by a man death came to the world, so it was necessary that, by a Man – the God-Man – death should be defeated in death, and life should reign in righteousness through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Next steps: Meet with a couple of Christian friends to discuss the active and passive obedience of Jesus Christ. How can a better understanding of this help us to make sense of the Incarnation? How can it enrich our celebration of Christmas?

T. M. Moore

We’re taking a 3-week intermission from our series on The Disciplined Life to review three archive series on the meaning of Christmas. This week’s study, Why the Incarnation?, is part 1 of a 3-part series on Christmas, As Advertised, and is available as a free download.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.