Editorial June 15, 1963 Issue

The Incarnation

Ralph E. Wagers

To understand Christianity it is necessary to have a clear sense of what John, the beloved disciple, meant when he declared (1:14), "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."

Christian theologians may refer to the incarnation as the central mystery of their religion and assume that in the incarnation God became man to atone for sin and to make men partakers of the divine nature. Jesus, however, consistently referred to God as Father and to himself as Son. He said (John 5:17), "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." He also said (verse 19), "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."

These statements, and many others, indicate that the Master recognized his distinctness from God, the Father, as well as his inseparable relationship to Him as Son.

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