The Supreme Miracle
Originally scheduled for
February 1
C.
S. Lewis called it “the supreme miracle” – the incarnation of Christ. The fact
that God came in the flesh of a human being is the root of our salvation – and
a constant target for those who wish to undermine the faith.
Why
did God do this? What would cause him to humble the Son to the point of taking
on human form – a humbling greater than any that we could accomplish?
·
It is in keeping with God’s character. God is love; therefore he
is moved to help to his wayward children. God is righteous; therefore he is
moved to pay the proper price for that help.
·
His purpose was simple: our salvation. Not just that we would
be forgiven, but that we would be given eternal life.
·
His method was to share in our death so that we might share in
his life.; God became a man so that we could become like God – eternal.
The physical nature
of Christ’s body is clear from the Scripture. It is the same physical nature
that we have in our bodies. It is common flesh, not some special version of
it. Christ is fully man. The point is so powerful that John tells us (1st
John 4:2) that we can know the Holy Spirit by the fact that the Spirit
confesses that Christ has come in the flesh.
The memorial he gave
us, the Lord’s Supper, is both physical and common as well. It is real bread;
we hold it in our hands. It is a common form of bread. The cup comes from a
common fruit, the grape. It is a commonplace item too. It’s a reminder that
Jesus is one of us.
So when you take,
remember how humbly Jesus came to us, for he came in the flesh – and all for
the purpose of your salvation.
