Why I'm Thankful Jesus Was Born In The Flesh
Why I'm Thankful Jesus Came in the Flesh: Six Reasons the Incarnation Matters
The Christmas season often focuses on the birth of Jesus, but the incarnation—God becoming flesh—is far more than just a Christmas truth. It's the foundation of our salvation, our hope, and our daily assurance. Here are six reasons why we should be deeply grateful that Jesus chose to come in human flesh.
What Does It Mean That God Chose to Come Near?
God is holy—completely absent of sin and unable to abide in its presence. Sin is so offensive to God that it makes Him sick, like a nauseating smell that overwhelms your senses. Yet despite His holiness, God chose to step into our sinful world.
John 1:14 tells us, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
God Didn't Shout Salvation from Heaven
God didn't remain distant, shouting instructions from heaven about how to be saved. Instead, He stepped into humanity. Jesus didn't appear as an impressive angel or spirit that would cause immediate awe. The Bible tells us He wasn't particularly attractive or commanding in appearance. But when you looked into His eyes, you knew—because the eyes are the window to the soul.
Jesus lived as a real human being. He was an eight-year-old boy who played with toys and went to bed when His mother said it was time. As a young man, He worked as a carpenter, experiencing the satisfaction and exhaustion of a hard day's work. He breathed air, felt tired, and needed rest just like we do.
How Does Jesus Fully Identify with Our Struggles?
Because Jesus shared in our humanity, He can truly understand our weaknesses and struggles. Hebrews 2:14-17 explains that Jesus took on flesh and blood so He could destroy the power of death and free us from bondage to sin.
Jesus Understands Our Human Experience
Jesus shared in our weakness. He experienced being tired and needing rest. He faced temptation for forty days and nights, though He never gave in to sin. He understood suffering, as seen in the Garden of Gethsemane when He asked His Father to let the cup of suffering pass from Him.
Jesus even understood mortality because He died. He didn't redeem humanity from a distance—He stepped into our pain and walked our road.
Why Could Only a Man Die for Men?
Hebrews 2:9 shows us that Jesus "was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death" so that "by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Romans 5:19 explains that just as one man's disobedience made many sinners, one man's obedience would make many righteous.
Real Sin Required a Real Sacrifice
God is eternal and cannot die—He wasn't born and is the giver of life itself. But Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, could die. This was necessary because real sin needed a real sacrifice.
We are all sinners who fall short of God's glory. We often try to grade our sins, thinking we're not as bad as others, but all sin is equally offensive to God. If we break one point of the law, we're guilty of breaking the entire law. Jesus became the second Adam, obeying where the first Adam failed.
How Does Jesus Serve as Our Merciful High Priest?
Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us we have a high priest who can be touched with our infirmities, who was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin. Therefore, we can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find help in our time of need.
Jesus Understands What We're Going Through
When you pray, you're not talking to someone unfamiliar with human struggle. Jesus understands fear, weariness, grief, and temptation because He lived as a man. He makes intercession for us at the right hand of the Father, understanding exactly why we struggle.
The enemy wants us to feel isolated, like nobody understands what we're going through. But that's a lie. Jesus understands, and when we call upon His name, He enters our situation to help us through it.
What Does True Obedience Look Like?
Jesus showed us how to obey through His perfect example. Philippians 2:5-8 describes how Jesus, though equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death—even death on a cross.
Learning to Die to Self
The first step of obedience is dying to who we are naturally. We must choose not to be who we want to be and stay dead to those selfish desires. Only then can the Holy Spirit help us obey.
There's a difference between being a believer and being a disciple. A believer accepts Christ as Savior, but a disciple follows Christ's leadership, dying to self and living for Him. Jesus didn't just save us—He showed us how to live by faith in God's will.
How Does the Incarnation Lead to Our Glorification?
Hebrews 2:10 speaks of God "bringing many sons unto glory" through the sufferings of Christ. When Jesus was on the cross, He was looking ahead through time, seeing each person who would need salvation.
We're Predestined to Look Like Jesus
Romans 8:29 tells us we're predestined to be conformed to the image of God's Son. God created us in His image, and though sin corrupted that image, Jesus came to restore it. When we're born again, we're on a path to looking like Jesus—not just in heaven, but in this life as we follow Him.
The goal isn't just to get to heaven, but to show others what Jesus looks like through our lives. As we walk in obedience, displaying the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—people should see Jesus when they look at our lives.
Life Application
This Christmas season, instead of just giving gifts to others, consider giving the greatest gift you can offer—your life to Jesus. Just as we wrap presents carefully for those we love, we should allow our lives to be "wrapped" in such a way that when people look at us, they see Jesus inside.
The incarnation wasn't just a historical event—it's a daily reality that should transform how we live. Because Jesus was willing to take on flesh for us, He is worthy of our faith, obedience, worship, and trust.
Questions for Reflection:
The Christmas season often focuses on the birth of Jesus, but the incarnation—God becoming flesh—is far more than just a Christmas truth. It's the foundation of our salvation, our hope, and our daily assurance. Here are six reasons why we should be deeply grateful that Jesus chose to come in human flesh.
What Does It Mean That God Chose to Come Near?
God is holy—completely absent of sin and unable to abide in its presence. Sin is so offensive to God that it makes Him sick, like a nauseating smell that overwhelms your senses. Yet despite His holiness, God chose to step into our sinful world.
John 1:14 tells us, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
God Didn't Shout Salvation from Heaven
God didn't remain distant, shouting instructions from heaven about how to be saved. Instead, He stepped into humanity. Jesus didn't appear as an impressive angel or spirit that would cause immediate awe. The Bible tells us He wasn't particularly attractive or commanding in appearance. But when you looked into His eyes, you knew—because the eyes are the window to the soul.
Jesus lived as a real human being. He was an eight-year-old boy who played with toys and went to bed when His mother said it was time. As a young man, He worked as a carpenter, experiencing the satisfaction and exhaustion of a hard day's work. He breathed air, felt tired, and needed rest just like we do.
How Does Jesus Fully Identify with Our Struggles?
Because Jesus shared in our humanity, He can truly understand our weaknesses and struggles. Hebrews 2:14-17 explains that Jesus took on flesh and blood so He could destroy the power of death and free us from bondage to sin.
Jesus Understands Our Human Experience
Jesus shared in our weakness. He experienced being tired and needing rest. He faced temptation for forty days and nights, though He never gave in to sin. He understood suffering, as seen in the Garden of Gethsemane when He asked His Father to let the cup of suffering pass from Him.
Jesus even understood mortality because He died. He didn't redeem humanity from a distance—He stepped into our pain and walked our road.
Why Could Only a Man Die for Men?
Hebrews 2:9 shows us that Jesus "was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death" so that "by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Romans 5:19 explains that just as one man's disobedience made many sinners, one man's obedience would make many righteous.
Real Sin Required a Real Sacrifice
God is eternal and cannot die—He wasn't born and is the giver of life itself. But Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, could die. This was necessary because real sin needed a real sacrifice.
We are all sinners who fall short of God's glory. We often try to grade our sins, thinking we're not as bad as others, but all sin is equally offensive to God. If we break one point of the law, we're guilty of breaking the entire law. Jesus became the second Adam, obeying where the first Adam failed.
How Does Jesus Serve as Our Merciful High Priest?
Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us we have a high priest who can be touched with our infirmities, who was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin. Therefore, we can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find help in our time of need.
Jesus Understands What We're Going Through
When you pray, you're not talking to someone unfamiliar with human struggle. Jesus understands fear, weariness, grief, and temptation because He lived as a man. He makes intercession for us at the right hand of the Father, understanding exactly why we struggle.
The enemy wants us to feel isolated, like nobody understands what we're going through. But that's a lie. Jesus understands, and when we call upon His name, He enters our situation to help us through it.
What Does True Obedience Look Like?
Jesus showed us how to obey through His perfect example. Philippians 2:5-8 describes how Jesus, though equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death—even death on a cross.
Learning to Die to Self
The first step of obedience is dying to who we are naturally. We must choose not to be who we want to be and stay dead to those selfish desires. Only then can the Holy Spirit help us obey.
There's a difference between being a believer and being a disciple. A believer accepts Christ as Savior, but a disciple follows Christ's leadership, dying to self and living for Him. Jesus didn't just save us—He showed us how to live by faith in God's will.
How Does the Incarnation Lead to Our Glorification?
Hebrews 2:10 speaks of God "bringing many sons unto glory" through the sufferings of Christ. When Jesus was on the cross, He was looking ahead through time, seeing each person who would need salvation.
We're Predestined to Look Like Jesus
Romans 8:29 tells us we're predestined to be conformed to the image of God's Son. God created us in His image, and though sin corrupted that image, Jesus came to restore it. When we're born again, we're on a path to looking like Jesus—not just in heaven, but in this life as we follow Him.
The goal isn't just to get to heaven, but to show others what Jesus looks like through our lives. As we walk in obedience, displaying the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—people should see Jesus when they look at our lives.
Life Application
This Christmas season, instead of just giving gifts to others, consider giving the greatest gift you can offer—your life to Jesus. Just as we wrap presents carefully for those we love, we should allow our lives to be "wrapped" in such a way that when people look at us, they see Jesus inside.
The incarnation wasn't just a historical event—it's a daily reality that should transform how we live. Because Jesus was willing to take on flesh for us, He is worthy of our faith, obedience, worship, and trust.
Questions for Reflection:
- Am I living as just a believer, or am I truly following Jesus as a disciple?
- When people "unwrap" my life by observing my actions and attitudes, do they see Jesus or just my selfish nature?
- How can I better die to myself this week so that Christ can be seen in me?
- What specific area of obedience is God calling me to surrender to Him?
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