In the Life of Christ
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.”
—John 1:14a
John does not introduce Jesus by beginning with Bethlehem. He takes us beyond the manger, beyond Mary and Joseph, and beyond the opening pages of human history. He carries us into eternity: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Then, in one of Scripture’s most insightful declarations, he writes, “The Word became flesh.”
The Greek term translated “Word” is Logos, referring here to God’s eternal self-expression, the divine Son through whom all things were created. The One who made human flesh willingly took human flesh to Himself. He did not merely enter or temporarily inhabit an ordinary man. He did not disguise Himself as human or appear as a spirit wearing a human costume. The eternal Son truly became human without ceasing to be divine.
D. A. Carson explains the statement plainly: “The Word became a human being, that’s what it means.” Carson adds that the One who already existed and participated in creation became something He had not previously been—a human being. This does not mean Jesus stopped being God. It means He added a genuine human nature to His eternal divine nature. As Paul writes, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).
The term “incarnation” describes this great act: God the Son became man. John’s verb translated “dwelt” comes from skēnoō, meaning to pitch a tent or tabernacle among people. Just as God’s glory once filled Israel’s tabernacle, God’s glory was now present personally in Jesus Christ. Ligonier Ministries notes that John’s reference to Christ’s glory identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple, where God had previously manifested His presence among His people. God had not merely sent another messenger. He had come near Himself.
Why did He come so near? Jesus became human so that He could enter the full reality of our experience. In the wilderness, He knew hunger, exhaustion, and temptation. Satan did not tempt an apparition. He tempted the incarnate Son, who felt the pressure of temptation while remaining entirely without sin. Hebrews assures us that Christ can sympathize with our weaknesses because He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
When I struggle against temptation, I am not praying to a distant Savior who merely observes human weakness. Jesus knows what resistance costs. He understands what it is to obey the Father while the enemy offers an easier road. Yet His victory also reminds me that temptation does not have to become surrender. Through Christ’s strength, obedience remains possible.
Because Jesus became human, He could also become our visible example. The question “What would Jesus do?” is valuable because the Gospels show us what Jesus actually did. We see Him treating the rejected with dignity, answering hostility without sinful retaliation, speaking truth without cruelty, and serving people who could never repay Him. His humanity makes holiness visible in everyday life.
Jesus shows me what obedience looks like when I am tired, what compassion looks like when I am interrupted, and what forgiveness looks like when I have been wounded. The incarnation means that righteousness is not merely presented as an abstract command. It is embodied in a living Person whom I am called to follow.
Most importantly, Jesus became human so that He could die. God, in His divine nature, cannot die. Therefore, the eternal Son took a mortal human nature so that He could offer Himself as the sacrifice for sin. Bethlehem must always be viewed in the shadow of Calvary. The hands wrapped in cloth and laid in a manger would one day be stretched upon a cross.
Herman Ridderbos wrote, “By means of incarnation God has visibly appeared among humankind.” The entire Gospel of John then displays that divine glory through Christ’s words, works, death, and resurrection. Yet the glory John describes is not merely dazzling power. It is glory “full of grace and truth.” God’s greatness is revealed through the humility of the Son who came to rescue sinners.
When I look at Jesus, I see the gospel embodied. I see the Creator entering His creation, the King becoming a servant, the sinless One bearing sin, and the source of life submitting to death. He became what He had never been—a man—so that those separated from God could become what they had never been: forgiven children of God.
The incarnation also shapes my discipleship. Since Jesus entered human suffering, I should not avoid hurting people. Since He served in humility, I cannot make comfort my highest goal. Since He embodied grace and truth together, I must resist choosing one while neglecting the other. Following the incarnate Christ means bringing His compassion, holiness, and sacrificial love into the ordinary places where I live.
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