Incarnation (Christianity)
The concept of Incarnation in Christianity refers to the belief that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took on human form and lived on Earth to bring salvation to humanity. The term "incarnation" is derived from Latin, meaning "in the flesh," and describes how Jesus was conceived by the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, embodying both human and divine natures. This duality is often viewed as a paradox, as Jesus is considered fully human while simultaneously being fully divine. Central to the Christian faith, the Incarnation is recounted in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew.
Throughout the early history of Christianity, differing interpretations of the Incarnation led to significant theological debates and schisms within the church, resulting in several ecumenical councils. By affirming the doctrine of the Trinity and Christ's dual nature, these councils established a consensus among mainstream Christian denominations, which continue to uphold these beliefs today. While Jesus is acknowledged as a historical figure in other faiths such as Islam and Judaism, only Christianity asserts that he was God incarnate, whose life, death, and resurrection provide a pathway to redemption and eternal life for believers.
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Incarnation (Christianity)
Incarnation in the Christian tradition refers to Jesus Christ taking human form and living for a time on Earth in order to sacrifice himself for the salvation of humankind. The word comes from the Latin words in and carnis, meaning "in the flesh." According to this belief, God's son was conceived by a human mother, Mary, and born as a human child, who was named Jesus. This child became a man who was completely human in every way but maintained his divine nature and was still God. Even among practicing Christians, this is considered a paradox, or a situation that contradicts itself and cannot be resolved by logic. Nevertheless, it is a key belief for Christians and is central to their worship and faith life.
Background
The story of Jesus's birth is told in the New Testament of the Bible in the second chapters of the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. Each of these Gospels also tells of the unique nature of the child. Luke 1:26–38 recounts the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, a young Jewish virgin who was engaged to marry a man named Joseph, and Gabriel's announcement that she will conceive a child through the acting of the Holy Spirit of God. In Matthew 1:18–21, an angel visits Joseph and tells him also that the child was conceived through God's Holy Spirit. Matthew's Gospel goes on to quote from the Old Testament book of Isaiah to say this child will be called Immanuel, which means "God with us" (Is 7:14).
The Gospel of John also specifically addresses the dual nature of Jesus. John 1:14 states that God's Word "became flesh," or took on human form, and dwelt among God's people. Christian teaching states that God is a Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Word of God is the second part of this Trinity, also known as the Son of God or by his human name, Jesus.
The claim that he was the incarnation of God would ultimately lead to Jesus's death. The religious leaders of the time accused him of blasphemy, or speaking disrespectfully of God, because he said he was the Son of God and could forgive sins, a power reserved for God. These leaders convinced the Roman authorities to put Jesus to death by crucifixion.
Although contemporary Christians have general agreement on the incarnate nature of Jesus, this was not always the case. The concept of containing an all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful creator God in human form created much dissent among Christians in the first centuries after Jesus's life and death. It would take centuries of debate before Christologists—those who study the nature of Christ—reached a form of consensus and the beliefs Christians hold today were accepted.
Early Gnostic Christians, who believed that knowledge was the key to salvation, thought that Jesus was a purely spiritual being with no human body. The Ebionites, a group of Jewish Christians, took the opposite viewpoint and saw Jesus as the Messiah promised in several Old Testament verses, including Isaiah 7:14, but thought he was completely human. Several bishops also took notably differing views over the first centuries of the existence of Christianity. These included Arius, bishop of Alexandria, who said that Jesus was a creation of God and therefore not fully and perfectly God. Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea, said that Jesus was divine but did not have a human mind or body. A bishop of Constantinople, Nestorius, viewed Jesus as two beings—one completely human and one completely divine.
Impact
These conflicting viewpoints led to schisms, or divisions, in the church throughout its first five hundred years, and several councils of church leaders were called to try to resolve the conflicts and heal the divisions. The most notable of these included the First Council of Nicaea in the year 325, the First Council of Constantinople in 381, the First Council of Ephesus in 431, and the Council of Chalcedon in 451. At the Nicaean council and again at the council in Constantinople, the participants agreed on the belief that there is one God with three persons: Father, Son, and Spirit, also known as the Trinity. This also confirmed the divinity of Christ as God's equal and refuted the beliefs held by the Ebionites and Arius, among others. This belief is known as homoousios, a Greek word meaning "of the same being." The council at Ephesus considered various viewpoints on Jesus's nature, including Nestorius's opinion of two separate natures. It ultimately adopted the view that Jesus had dual natures—human and divine—that coexisted in a single being. This is known as hypostasis and is codified in the Nicene Creed, which was drafted at the council in 325 and revised at a second Council of Nicaea in 787.
The Chalcedon council in 451 marked the point of diversion for two parts of the Christian faith. This council reaffirmed the belief in hypostasis, which was accepted by the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, and other Protestant branches of Christianity. However, the Egyptian bishops of the Oriental Orthodox Church thought that the wording of the official declaration from Chalcedon regarding the incarnation that said Christ was "in two natures" was too close to Nestorius's beliefs and refused to accept it.
Despite the differing opinions on just how Jesus was both man and divine, the idea that God took human form, living as a human in all ways while still maintaining his divine nature, is a defining belief of Christianity. Other faith traditions, including Islam and Judaism, recognize the existence of Jesus as a historical person; in the Muslim faith, Jesus is regarded as a prophet. However, only Christians believe that Jesus was God who took on human flesh and all that entailed, from birth through everyday life to physical death, while still remaining unchanged in his divine nature. He then rose from the dead, maintaining his human form, and returned to heaven. Christians believe that because of the incarnation of Jesus, the inherent sinful nature of humankind was redeemed, allowing for the forgiveness of sins and an eternal life with God in heaven.
Bibliography
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