1.1.5 the incarnation

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  • The Incarnation
    • The belief that God became a human being in Jesus.
    • Importance
      • The virgin birth is important as it shows Jesus was the son of God. God was in him and he was in God. Jesus had two natures, his human nature and his divine nature.
      • It shows God loved the world so much as that he came in Jesus to show humans what God is like and to save them from their sins.
      • It explains how Jesus' miracles could be performed as he was God.
      • It explains how the bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ in transubstantiation because if he was God he would have the power to establish the Eucharist.
      • Through the incarnation God began the process of salvation from sin. Catholics seek to continue the incarnation themselves, by sharing in the life of Jesus and through the sacraments and life of the Church.
    • SOWA
      • "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1) The promises in the Old Testament happened.
      • John 1 includes Jesus in a third version of the creation story where he implies the existence of the Trinity by mentioning Jesus (The Word of God) in the beginning. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."
      • St Paul says in Colossians that 'the son is the image of the invisible God.'
    • Why might some people disagree?
      • Some people may argue that it makes no sense for God to be able to die, as Jesus did on the cross. God is immortal.
      • The belief that Jesus is God incarnate was not confirmed by the Church until 300 years after Jesus' death so some would say its unreliable.
    • Biblical Basis for the Incarnation
      • Matthews Gospel tells how Joseph was visited by an angel that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit.
      • Lukes Gospel tells how the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her about the virgin birth of Jesus. Also how the Shepherds were visited by angels who told them of the miraculous birth.
      • Johns Gospel identifys Jesus as the Word of God, the second person of the Trinity. He describes how the word became flesh, which is God in human form (Jesus).

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