Bible Study Notes for Lord’s Day,
December12,2010
Luke8:10
“The Mysteries of the Kingdom” Part3
“The Incarnation”

10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.”

Introduction  We have looked into some of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.  The most amazing and fascinating one, the most powerful and meaningful mystery is to look into the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity as the Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Why was this necessary?  How did it happen?  What is His nature?  What did He accomplish as the God/man?

Luke2:26-35
26  Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.


Matthew1:21
21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

John1:1-18
1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
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.
15  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

1. What is the Incarnation?  John1:1-3,14

1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.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.

Carne = flesh, to put flesh on Spirit.  Theologically, to give a human body, soul and spirit to the Word, the2nd Person of the Trinity, making Him the God/man.

Amazing - the very nature of the Trinity was changed, permanently altered.

2. Why was the Incarnation necessary?  Genesis3:14-15

14  So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

After what the devil did to the human race - to ruin our innocence, our paradise, our holiness, our peace and eternal life, it was to be a man who crushed his head.  Not just any man, God and man together, the offspring of woman, from Eve to Mary.

3. What was God’s purpose in the Incarnation?  Matthew1:21

21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Because we all miss the mark of loving God and others, One had to be made one of us to hit the mark of love.  To save us from the guilt of past sins, from the chronic tendency to sin, from the results of sin, the condemnation of sin.  Anything having to do with sin, missing the love-mark, or it’s consequences, He came as a man to save us from it.

4. How was the Incarnation accomplished?  Luke2:34-35

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

5. What was the nature of the Incarnate Christ?  The God/man  Heb4:14-16

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

a. Divine in every way, but veiled.  Always God the Son, on a mission to Earth.

b. Human in every way - body, soul and spirit.   His humanity included temptation, except for sin, missing the mark of love.

Then how could he be fully human?  Mark missing is a big part of our experience.  Did Jesus then not experience sin, guilt, shame, alienation?  On the Cross.

He became the God/man, fully human and fully divine, a delightful person, perfectly blending the two natures.

6. What did He accomplish as the God/man?

a. Communication/Representation  John1:4-5,14,18

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
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.
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Hebrews1:1-3
1:1  God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power

b. Experience/Compassion  Hebrews2:9-18

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
10  For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
13 And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14  Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.
17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

c. Atonement  Hebrews1:3

3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
 
d. Resurrection  Hebrews2:14-15

14  Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

e. Intercession  Hebrews7:24-26

24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

f. Enablement  Matthew1:21, Ezekiel36:25-28

21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

He will rescue you and me from continually missing the mark.  How?

Ezekiel36
25  “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
28 “Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

These are the accomplishments of the Incarnate Christ.  Summed up - love.

a. Communication/Representation  John1:4-5,14,18, Hebrews1:1-3
b. Experience/Compassion  Hebrews2:9-18
c. Atonement  Hebrews1:3 
d. Resurrection  Hebrews2:14-15
e. Intercession  Hebrews7:24-26
f. Enablement  Matthew1:21, Ezekiel36:25-28

7. What will be the final outcome of the Incarnation?

Luke2:31-33
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Isaiah9:6-7
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Daniel7:13-14
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

Revelation5
5:1  And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
6  And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

Conclusion  Luke8:10

10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.”

We have looked into some of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.  The most amazing and fascinating one, the most powerful and meaningful mystery is to look into the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity as the Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We have seen why was this necessary, how it happened, what His nature is like, and what he He accomplished as the God/man.


Application to My Life

Colossians1
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.