CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES

This Month's Theme: 

“Benefits of Christ's Coming in the Flesh”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

There was never a time when the Word was not! But there was a time when the Word was not flesh.

John 1:14 “And the Word became 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.”

So, what are some of the benefits of Christ's coming to earth, being made flesh, suffering, and dying?

• Demonstration.

When learning to do something, it is so much easier to follow a demonstration, or pattern. As the word became flesh and dwelt among us, we beheld His glory as of the only Begotten of the Father. Through the recorded deeds of Jesus we see a glimpse of the glory of God. Note the Lord's response to Philip's innocent question:

John 14:8-9 “Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." 9 J esus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father ; so how can you say , 'Show us the Father' ?”

Likewise, when we follow after the teachings of Christ, we share in that glory. This was the thought behind the instructions of the Apostle Paul, note:

1 Corinthians 11:1 “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”

• Reality.

1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard , which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon , and our hands have handled , concerning the Word of life”

By means of our physical senses (sight, sound, touch, etc…), we can develop an accurate concept of the make up of something. Through the eye witness testimony of those that were present, we can also develop an accurate make up of the Son of God in the flesh.

• Approved of God.

Christ was God in the flesh and showed His power over the forces of nature, death, and sickness. People could witness it, experience the power and know that He was both sent and approved by God. These signs of approval were many and unquestionably miraculous. There design was simple, note:

John 20:30-31 “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know”

• Death for Our Sins.

God has always required sacrifice for the atonement of sins. Although in history, before the Son of God coming in the flesh, men were obedient to God in animal sacrifice. Yet, God did not truly desire this! God contemplated a greater facility; one that would atone for the sins of all men once and for all time (see: Hebrews 10:1-10 ).

Christ came in the flesh as the Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world ( John 1:29 ).

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

• Putting a Testament into Effect.

Hebrews 9:15 “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Christ, in the flesh, came to earth, completed the Old Testament, and accomplished what God sent Him to do, took away the old, nailing it to the cross, and died to put His testament into effect. We could not have had this new law, this testament, without the death of the testator.

• Resurrection.

Had the Lord been unwilling to come to earth in the flesh, His resurrection would not have been possible. The last and most important sign from God that Jesus was His Son in the flesh, was the resurrection, note:

Romans 1:4 “and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

As was the case with the signs and wonders that Jesus did while here on earth (many, undeniable, and in front of many witnesses), His resurrection bears the same evidentiary marks, note:

1 Corinthians 15:4-8 “and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”

The witnesses of His resurrection were not subjected to glimpses of Him, but He went in and out among them forty days, note:

Acts 1:1-3 “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

Note this synopsis of Christ's coming in the flesh by the Apostle Paul:

Philippians 2:5-11 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Won't you take advantage of the benefits of His coming in the flesh?

1 Peter 3:21-22 “There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”