(Latin incarnare “to make flesh”)
MSG. “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.”
(18) No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us…
In Jesus we know what God is really like…
Not, what people thought God was like. But what He is like!
(17) For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.
I.e. Jesus introduced something very different to Moses!
Unfailing love = kindness, gives of himself towards others, always leaning toward them to bless them.
Faithfulness = to constantly express truth in life
I.e. Jesus was truth walking around in a body!
This becomes a dominant truth in the New Testament:
John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
Colossians 1:15, “The Son is the image of the invisible God.”
Image (Gk. eikón) = a statue or bust
Colossians 2:9, “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”
Hebrews 1:3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.”
Radiance = light that intensifies (like the dawn)
Glory = God’s divine qualities and intrinsic worth
Exact representation (Gk. charakter) = an engraving tool, a mould, a stamp used on a coin.
Matthew 22:19-20, “Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
What are the Implications for us?
1. By looking at Jesus we know what God is like
2. By looking at Jesus we know what is true
3. By looking at Jesus we know how to live
Text: 1 John 2:1-6
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
I.e. to be like Jesus. To incarnate God’s Word (truth). Body of Christ.
Q. What does it mean to be “like Jesus?”
God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ…
I will lean towards others to look for ways to be kind
(I won’t exclude them).
I will look for ways to live God’s truth
(I won’t just learn facts)
And I will do this by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within.
Application
- Every day, look for opportunities to be kind
- Read the Gospels and take note of how Jesus lived
- Imitate him
Discussion & further study
- Share some examples of how you’ve been able to show kindness to someone recently. What was the result?
- The Message Bible says, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.” Would you change anything about the way you live if Jesus lived next door? If so, what?
- Discuss these three implications:
• By looking at Jesus we know what God is like
• By looking at Jesus we know what is true
• By looking at Jesus we know how to live - One of the analogies in the New Testament for the Church is “The Body of Christ.” In other words, just as Jesus was the Word made flesh, so Jesus’ followers are called to flesh-out the Word in life. Discuss the implications for this.
- In light of this, read and discuss 1 Cor. 12:12-31.
- Discuss: “Christians aren’t to merely read and learn the Bible. Ultimate truth, and wisdom, is learning to put the Word into practice. The Bible is to be truth as life, not just truth as fact!”
- Over the summer break, why not spend some time reading the Gospels ~ Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Take special note of how Jesus lived, spoke, acted and reacted, and how he dealt with people. And then Imitate him (1 Cor. 11:1)