Many elements of Christianity are mysterious, even paradoxical, and every Christmas season, Christians are brought face to face with what J. I. Packer described as the “supreme mystery” of the Christian faith, namely, the message of the incarnation of the eternal Son of God.[1] In the incarnation, we behold the personal union of the divine and the human, the infinite united to the finite, the changeless united to the ever-changing, eternal bliss united to bodily suffering. With that in mind, this Christmas season is another opportunity to consider what Jesus Christ’s glorious incarnation means for us and for our salvation.
1. J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 53.
To that end, there is no better passage to consider than the Christological hymn found in Philippians 2:5–11.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Paul’s Christological hymn is located in the context of an exhortation: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). Urging the Philippians to put away conceit and selfish ambition, Paul exhorts them to embrace care and concern for one another. To flesh out this exhortation, Paul draws his readers’ attention to the magnificent humility of our glorious Lord as the prototypical example for Christian humility. For Paul, this example begins with the consideration of the pre-incarnate Christ, moves through Christ’s humiliation, and ultimately gives way to his glorious exaltation.
In the Form of God
The preexistence of the pre-incarnate Son forms the foundation for Paul’s consideration. Jesus Christ’s originating point was not the virgin birth, nor a stable in Bethlehem. Jesus’s origin is as the eternal Son of the Father (cf. John 1:1–3). Just as human sons partake of their fathers’ human nature, so too the divine Son partakes of the one divine nature, fully and completely. As Nicea articulates the faith, the eternal Son is “very God of very God.”
This unity of nature has been phrased in the Christian tradition as follows: the Son is homoousia (the very same nature) with the Father. Therefore, all that the Father is and has, the Son is and has. The Son has life in himself (John 5:26); he is eternal (Ps. 90:2), infinite (Ps. 145:3), immutable (Mal. 3:6, cf. Heb. 13:8), omnipresent (Ps. 139:7–12), and omnipotent (Ps. 115:3). In sum, he possesses every perfection that the Bible ascribes to God himself (Col. 1:19). Is it possible to imagine a more glorious or exalted position? Absolutely not! The Son is God inhabiting eternal triune glory, fully one with and equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit.
He Humbled Himself
Though equality with God and eternal glory were his, Jesus emptied himself in humility. However, this emptying was in no way a relinquishing of divine attributes or works, for to do so would be to relinquish divinity itself. Rather, as Paul writes, he emptied himself “by taking the form of a servant.” In other words, when the Son took on a human nature, he veiled his glory and embraced the road of humiliation: servitude (Matt. 20:28), suffering (Luke 9:22), and death (Luke 24:7).
The veiling of Christ’s glory was not a renunciation or emptying of divine attributes. It was nothing more or less than the personal assumption of a human nature. The eternal Son took to himself a complete human nature—rational soul and body—so that he could rectify the plight of his people—human beings in bondage to sin (Eph. 2:1–3), consigned to a life of suffering (Gen. 3:16–19), eventuating in the final horror of death unto death (Rom. 6:23, Rev. 21:8).
How can the unchangeable God bear the vicissitudes of life? How can the impassible God take our suffering unto himself? How can the God who has life in himself receive the kiss of death? Only by taking to himself a human nature could the eternal Son bear the plight of sin stricken human beings.
Indeed, by taking to himself a complete human nature capable of change and suffering, the Son veiled his glory in the shroud of humanity. Because of his incarnation, Jesus Christ was able to take upon himself servitude and obedience unto death for the satisfaction of divine justice against sin. In his humanity, the Eternally Begotten was begotten by a virgin; in his humanity, the Judge tasted judgment; in his humanity, the Giver of Life gave his life. Because of the incarnation and humiliation, sinful humanity has an efficacious Mediator—Jesus Christ—and the hope of life eternal.
For This Reason, He Is Highly Exalted
In his humanity, Jesus Christ embraced humiliation; therefore, as Paul says, God has highly exalted him in his humanity (Phil. 2:9). As the eternal Son of God, Jesus is forever glorious. As a man, he learned obedience through suffering, tasted death, and rose again unto new life (Heb. 5:8–10). Jesus Christ triumphed over death (1 Cor. 15:54–57), and he has been vindicated by God (Rom. 1:4) and is now seated at the right hand of God (1 Pt. 3:22), crushing his enemies under his feet (1 Cor. 15:25).
Jesus—the baby born in a manger, the son of Joseph the carpenter—has triumphed, bringing full redemption to his people (Eph. 1:7), and at the name of Jesus Christ, “every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:10). Jesus Christ is Lord, and his name will resound on the lips of his people for all ages. The one who embraced humiliation is now highly exalted as the reigning and coming King.
Let Us Worship God the Son Incarnate
As we celebrate Christmas, we are not simply celebrating the infant Christ swaddled in a manger. We are celebrating the eternal Son of God, who though he was in the form of God took on our nature and drank our condemnation. Though eternally glorious, he assumed our nature and embraced humiliation and servitude. Now, he is exalted—seated at the right hand of the Father—conquering nations through the triumph of the glorious gospel of grace and the expansion of his people, the church.
May this Christmas season be a reminder that Jesus Christ assumed a human nature so that he could be the perfect Mediator between God and man, and may you find joy as you consider the surety of your salvation and as you glory in your great Redeemer.
