Scripture: John 1:1-18
Advent at The Well opened with a jolt back to the center of Christmas: the incarnation. Not the sentimental, Hallmark-approved version but the staggering reality that God took on flesh. Divinity brushing up against dust.
This series drags us past seasonal sentiment and into the weight of what it actually means that Jesus is Emmanuel — God with us. Fully God. Fully man. Not a seasonal mascot, but the eternal Word stepping into our world.
Pastor Jason opened the series by reminding us that the incarnation should leave us with as many questions as answers. Mystery isn’t a flaw here; it’s part of the glory. What Scripture makes clear is simple and world-shaking: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
What the incarnation actually means
Before moving into implications, Pastor Jason defined the Incarnation (Lat. incarnatio, “to take on flesh”). The eternal Son did not merely appear human; He took on human nature fully without ceasing to be divine.
Theologian Larry Gregg reinforced that John and the birth narratives guard this doctrine from distortions that deny Jesus’ humanity or His deity.
The major historical denials of the incarnation
Pastor Jason listed the major historical errors the church rejected:
- Docetism – Jesus only seemed human.
- Adoptionism – Jesus was a mere man “adopted” by God later.
- Arianism – Jesus was a created being, not eternal.
- Apollinarianism – Jesus lacked a human rational soul.
- Nestorianism – Jesus existed as two separate persons.
- Monothelitism – Jesus had two natures but only one will.
Each distortion either reduces His humanity or reduces His deity, collapsing the gospel.
What the incarnation affirms
Pastor Jason emphasized three essential truths:
- Jesus was a divine person
- Jesus was an authentic human being
- Both His humanity and deity existed in one united person
This is the Hypostatic Union, a key doctrine he underscored throughout the message.
The Moody Handbook of Theology describes it like this:
“The second person, the preincarnate Christ, came and took to Himself a human nature and remained undiminished Deity and true humanity united in one person.”
Cyril of Alexandria wrote:
“We do not divide the one Lord Jesus Christ into two sons… but we say that the Word, united to flesh, is one Son.”
Aquinas added:
“There is one hypostasis and one person, but two natures.”
How Scripture frames the incarnation
Pastor Jason walked through the biblical storyline:
- John’s prologue declares the eternal Word taking on flesh.
- Paul describes Christ as the second Adam and the image of the invisible God.
- Colossians says all the fullness of God dwelled in Him.
- Hebrews calls Him the radiance of God’s glory.
- Philippians 2 contains what Osborne calls “the supreme theological statement on the incarnation in the New Testament.”
The church has always struggled to hold Jesus’ humanity and deity in balance, but both remain essential.
Why the incarnation matters
One key line Pastor Jason highlighted:
“Jesus takes on a full human nature to heal all of human nature.”
This is the core of redemption. If He didn’t enter our nature fully, He couldn’t redeem it fully.
Three truths the incarnation offers us
1. The incarnation speaks to the uniqueness of Christ
In John 6, Jesus’ declaration that He is the bread of life is exclusive, supernatural, and impossible to flatten into a metaphor. Christianity alone claims God took on flesh, because that claim rests on Scripture alone.
2. The incarnation speaks to Christ’s indispensable position in Christianity
Isaiah calls Him Mighty God and Prince of Peace.
Acts says salvation is found in no other name.
Pastor Jason quoted Charles Feinberg:
“Christianity stands or falls, lives or dies, with the personality of Jesus Christ.”
Remove Christ, and Christianity collapses. Remove the incarnation, and Christ becomes unrecognizable.
3. The incarnation speaks to the ministry of Christ
Hebrews 4:14-16 shows why the incarnation changes everything: Jesus sympathizes with our weakness because He lived our life.
Pastor Jason listed what Jesus embraced:
- our bodies
- our limitations
- our joys
- our tears
- our needs
- our stories
And he included this reminder:
“Christ is not ashamed of the lowliest member of our nature, for He took it all.”
Our humanity isn’t something to hide but something to bring to Him.
This is Christmas
Not sentiment.
Not décor.
But the miracle that rewrites reality:
God in flesh.
Divinity in dust.
Heaven entering humanity so humanity could be redeemed.
