In this series of posts outlining a practical theology of good works, we are looking at what kind of good works God has done in human history in order to provide a context for the kind of good works God wants us to do. So far, we have reviewed God’s good works in creation, in the fall, and in the Old Testament narrative. We come now to the Incarnation, which encompasses some of the most radical good works God has done. The Incarnation, where the third person of the Trinity becomes a human being, shows us the logical conclusion of a God whose very essence is love. For it is his love for us which compells God to give us his son and it is Christ’s love for us that compells him to become a human being.
Thus, the Incarnation of Jesus provides us with a wellspring of information about the kind of good works God has saved us to do.
The gift
“God loved the world so much that he gave his only son.” John 3:16
Sadly, throughout human history, and all over the world, many cultures have practiced ritualistic child sacrifice. Archaeological evidence of parents sacrificing their children to appease the gods has been documented in Iraq, North Africa, West Africa, Central America and South America. Even ancient Israel, when it apostatized and fell under the spell of the Canaanite God Moloch, practiced child sacrifice.
Christianity eradicated that practice once and for all. Instead of worshipping a vicious God who extracts our dearest possession from us, we worship a loving God who sacrifices his dearest possession for us. The Father giving his Son for us marks the beginning of the Incarnation.
Note that God does not give his son to us out of obligation, but out of love; a love so great that he gladly and willfully gives his son to us.
The emptying
“Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!” Philippines 2:6-8
But there is a second part to the Incarnation. If the first part is the Father giving his Son, then the second part is the Son becoming a human being. In the Incarnation, Christ allows his love for us to change him permanently. At his birth, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, empties himself of all divine glory and power. He “made himself nothing.” In practical terms, that means he donnes the nature of a servant, or slave. But the emptying does not stop there. Even as a slave, Christ further humbles himself “by becoming obedient to death.” But even in death he does not stop emptying himself. He becomes obedient to the worst kind of death, “even death on a cross!”
The birth
“When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” Galatians 4:3
God doesn’t like loving from us a distance. God seeks us. God pursues us. He wants to be with us. He wants to live inside of us. And so, to show us how much he loves us, Christ, the Second Person of the Godhead, becomes one of us. That is, Christ personally identifies with us in all of our human existence, except for our sinful condition. This identification with the human condition begins at birth.
Just like all human beings, Jesus Christ is born of a woman. But unlike all human beings, Jesus Christ is born into poverty and laid, wrapped in rags, in a feeding trough. The love of God eschews all pomp, all power, all pride, and all privilege.
The result of Jesus’ identification with humanity is that we have a Savior who knows and understands us. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15.
What God’s good works in the Incarnation teach us about the good works he has for us to do
“Have this attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5
Only when we have the love of God in their hearts can we do the good works God intends for us to do. Without that love, we will revert to “token” good works. Token good works are nice things people do for others that still allow them to maintain their own personal agenda. God’s love, on the other hand, takes him to places he normally doesn’t go. It takes him to a stable in Bethlehem. It takes him to the wilderness for 40 days. It takes him on a journey to introduce the Kingdom of Heaven to his people. It takes him to an upper room where he kneels and washes his disciples’ feet. And ultimately, it takes him to a cross and to a tomb.
To be sure, in the Incarnation, God’s good works are a radical expression of his love for us, but they are also meant to be a radical example for us to follow. The kenosis, the emptying, quoted in Philippians 2:6-8, is preceded by this admonition in verse 5: “Have this attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
To do the good works God saved us and called us to do, we must set aside our own agenda, our own pride, our own position in this world, and go wherever the love of God takes us.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
_______________________________________________________________
Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
_______________________________________________________________
