A Hidden Wonder of the Incarnation

When studying the Bible, sometimes noticing the smallest detail can open the passage up to you. And sometimes they reveal little gems of truth that are just casually tucked in beside the author’s main point. We hit upon one of those in our small group recently, and I thought it made an excellent meditation for Christmas.

We’re studying Colossians, a beautiful little book with a lot to say about the supremacy of Christ. He created all things, visible and invisible. His salvation is complete and sufficient. Christ reveals the mysteries of God, and his wisdom is superior to anything that thinks it can compete. So,

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily ...” (Col 2:8-9 ESV)

In our small group, I’m teaching them what is sometimes called inductive Bible study. The first task is to observe the text closely, and one of the most basic things to observe in the epistles is grammar. Yes, really. What is the subject and object of this sentence? What is the antecedent of this pronoun? What tense is this verb?

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Dwells. Present tense.

We have been taught that Christ, “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” (Phil 2:6-7 ESV). In Mary’s womb, Christ took on human form. He lived and died and rose from the dead in it. But it’s easy to picture him casting it off at his ascension. He did not.

Writing decades after Christ’s ascension, Paul says the fullness of deity still dwells in bodily form. It did then. It does now.

The Son of God did not put on humanity like a suit, something to be worn for a bit then removed, cast off as soiled clothing. He permanently added human nature, including the human form, to his divine nature.

This gives an incredible dignity to the human form. It is not “lesser.” It is not inherently dirty. It is not something to be freed from.

To those who say that matter is corrupt and something to be beaten into submission, the early church said the Son of God was not ashamed to take human flesh, somehow, into heaven.

To those who say that the flesh will be discarded, so what we do in the flesh doesn’t matter, the early church could say that Christ’s new creation body shows that humans are meant to be flesh + spirit, and what we do in the flesh will matter.

And to those who groan in broken bodies, the body of the Son of God tells us that all things will be made new. There is a place in God’s perfected creation for the human form because all that has gone wrong will be set right.

One day the dead in Christ shall rise. We will live, not as disembodied spirits, but as whole human beings. Christ Jesus, the “firstfruits” of the resurrection (1Cor 15:20-23), is our promise of that.


Image via Pixabay