The Incarnation

The lecture discusses the doctrine of the Incarnation and its close relationship to redemption, explaining that man sinned by breaking God’s commandment and therefore deserved death, and that sin led to his separation from God and the loss of the spiritual state in which he was created. It explains that the death resulting from sin includes physical, spiritual, moral, and eternal death, and that all humanity came under the sentence of death because of the fall of man.

Spiritual Message

The lecture explains that the salvation of man reveals at the same time God’s justice, mercy, and love, because God’s love cannot be at the expense of His justice, just as the destruction of man is not consistent with His mercy and love. Therefore, redemption had to fulfill divine justice while at the same time revealing God’s love and mercy toward man. On the Cross, justice meets mercy, as atonement is made for sin and the way of salvation is opened for man.

Educational Lesson

The lecture explains that the Redeemer must be human because the sentence was issued against man, and at the same time He must be unlimited so that His atonement may be sufficient for all humanity, and no one is unlimited except God. From this comes the necessity of the Incarnation: God took a human nature, and the divinity was united with the human nature, so that redemption might be accomplished in the Person of Jesus Christ. The lecture also emphasizes that Christ’s birth from the Virgin by the Holy Spirit was without sin, and therefore His death was for the sins of others and not for any sin of His own.

Practical Application

These teachings call man to recognize the seriousness of sin because it separates him from God, who is the source of true life, and to understand the greatness of the redemption accomplished by Christ for humanity. They also teach the believer not to view the Incarnation and redemption as two separate subjects, because redemption is the fundamental purpose of the Incarnation as explained in the lecture. True spiritual life is a life of fellowship with God, while falling into sin leads man away from this fellowship; therefore, he should hold fast to God, keep His commandments, and resist the work of sin in his life.

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