Why the Incarnation? (7)

None of themcan by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
That he should continue to live eternally,
Andnot see the Pit. Psalm 49.7-9

A dialog
The essential argument of Anselm of Canterbury’s Cur Deus Homo is that only God could redeem men from their sins. Men, by our disobedience, have incurred a debt which we cannot repay. In the Incarnation of the Son of God, God came to earth to pay a debt which He did not owe.

Here is an exchange between Anselm and his student, Boso, which summarizes this point as well as any section of this wonderful book: Anselm: “Yet we may say, although the whole work which God does for man is of grace, that it is necessary for God, on account of his unchangeable goodness, to complete the work which he has begun.”

Boso: “I grant it.”

Anselm: “But this cannot be effected, except the price paid to God for the sin of man be something greater than all the universe besides God.”

Boso: “So it appears.”

Anselm: “Moreover, it is necessary that he who can give God anything more valuable than all things in the possession of God, must be greater than all else but God himself.”

Boso: “I cannot deny it.”

Anselm: “Therefore none but God can make this satisfaction.”

Boso: “So it appears.”

Anselm: “But none but a man ought to do this, other wise man does not make the satisfaction.”

Boso: “Nothings seems more just.”

Anselm: “If it be necessary, therefore, as it appears, that the heavenly kingdom be made up of men, and this cannot be effected unless the aforesaid satisfaction be made, which none but God can make and none but man ought to make, it is necessary for the God-Man to make it.”

All of grace
But we must never lose sight of the fact that all this great and glorious work of God was not done out of necessity. God was not required to create men and the world, nor to redeem fallen men, and the Son of God was not commanded or forced to take on human form for their redemption. Nothing outside of God compelled Him to undertake this glorious and amazing work of redemption at such cost to Himself and His own dear Son. He simply chose to do so, motivated by nothing more than infinite and unfathomable love.

Here’s how Anselm summarized this: “For this He became man; for this He did and suffered all things undertaken by him; for this He chose as He did. For therefore were they necessary [the things He suffered], because they were to be, and they were to be because they were, and they were because they were; and if you wish to know the real necessity of all things which He did and suffered, know that they were of necessity, because He wished them to be. But no necessity preceded his will.”

The meaning of Christmas
The Incarnation of the Son of God – the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – is supremely and solely an act of divine grace, a measure taken out of love for poor, miserable, rebellious creatures such as you and I.

Only God could redeem us, and only by coming among us as one of us – a God-Man. In the Incarnation, Jesus of Nazareth destroyed death, restored obedience to men, returned honor to God, achieved our everlasting happiness and bliss, and destroyed the works of the devil. This is why Christians celebrate Christmas, and why we are determined to preserve its meaning against every secularist and materialist assault on its real significance.

Read Anselm on the Incarnation. If you will, you will discover new depths of meaning, gratitude, and joy to the timeless words of our most glorious Christmas carol, “Joy to the world! The Lord is come!”

Next steps: Summarize Anselm’s argument in answering the question, “Why the Incarnation?” Then, go back to one or two of those friends you talked with earlier, and share your understanding 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.