Christmas is a time of lights, baking, carols, candles, family, gifts, and joy. It is also a time of stress and commercialism. Children try to be good so that Santa can give them presents if they behave. In the chaos and stress, it is easy to lose sight of what Christmas is truly about and why it is important that Jesus, God incarnate, was born as a child and took on human flesh. The entire western calendar is based on this event and crucially, we use the years AD and BCE to refer to historical events before and after Christ’s birth. Yet, why are the birth and incarnation of Jesus Christ so important?
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas, a Christian bishop, was known for helping the poor, feeding the hungry, and rescuing girls from slavery. He had a reputation for compassion and mercy. He is the person from whom the fictional Saint Nicholas is named. The real Saint Nicholas was somewhat less tame however, and set a high value on the doctrine of the Incarnation. While present at the Council of Nicaea (325), Saint Nicholas became enraged when the heretic Arius denied Christ’s divinity. During Arius’s speech, Nicholas stood up, approached Arius, and struck him in the face.
Saint Nicholas was arrested, stripped of his bishop’s robe, and thrown into prison. A widely reported story in the Byzantine tradition reports that Christ appeared to Nicholas in prison, asking why he was there. Saint Nicholas replied to the Lord, saying he could not bear to see Christ’s glory desecrated.
Whether this tale is mere legend or actually took place, it is true that Saint Nicholas understood something that very few people in the Nordic countries understand. The birth of Christ and his Incarnation cannot have any small, individual meaning. These events have infinite and eternal significance.
Saint Nicholas understood something that very few people in the Nordic countries understand. The birth of Christ and his Incarnation cannot have any small, individual meaning. These events have infinite and eternal significance.
Despite the many myths in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and other fictional works, the Council of Nicaea merely clarified what the church had believed since the time of the apostles: Jesus was God incarnate and that his two natures (divine and human) were essential.
But why is it so important that Jesus was both human and divine?
Athanasius
The church father, Athanasius, is a key man to look at to better understand this. He devoted much of his life to the staunch defense of the doctrine of Christ’s incarnation, paying a high price for his convictions. He was repeatedly exiled and then invited back (five times totaling 17 years!), depending on which politicians supported Arianism and which did not. Athanasius was a renowned defender of the Nicene Creed (325) and also became a political obstacle to emperors who supported Arianism. Athanasius is famous for his quote: “If the world is against me, then I am against the world.”
Was the Incarnation important only to Athanasius and Saint Nicholas? Certainly not. Several early church fathers and many bishops at the Council of Nicaea suffered physical injuries as a result of the Great Persecution (303-313) under the emperors Diocletian and Galerius. Many bishops were tortured and imprisoned, their eyes and bodies mangled or lost because they refused to deny Christ as Lord. Unlike today, when people rarely live for Christ or even attend church, the early leaders of the church were willing to both live and die for Christ.
Fully God, fully man
Why were they willing to pay such a high price to defend the truth of this doctine? Athanasias’ writings remain a great resource for us today, presenting many reasons why Jesus Christ, as God, had to be born as a child in human flesh. I have listed seven below:
- In his book On the Incarnation, Athanasius begins by describing the human condition, saying that man is corrupt and unworthy of God and that his people perish (On the Incarnation 6:1). The Word of God (John 1:1, 14), who is Jesus, healed human nature from within and thus God saved us from death.
- Death itself is destroyed by God, because it is God himself who enters into death through the Christ’s incarnation (On the Incarnation, 20-25).
- Athanasius says: “He became man so that we might be reborn” (On the Incarnation, 14:6). Christ restores humanity and regenerates us.
- One of his most famous quotes remain: “He became man so that we might become God” (On the Incarnation, 54:3). This means that we participate in the life God has for us and that he heals us.
- According to Athanasius, this also has implications for worship. We are restored to the Father through Jesus Christ and can once again truly worship God (On the Incarnation, 15; Discourses II, 69-70).
- Christ also gave us an example of true obedience (Against the Arians II, 67).
- Athanasius says: “The Word became flesh to unite the created with the uncreated” (Against the Arians III, 34). The salvation of humanity is the union of God’s two natures—divine and human—just as Christ united God with humanity. Humanity is brought into God’s life through Christ. Christ had to be both God and man, because only God can save, and only man can faithfully represent humanity. Christ, therefore, had to be both: “He became man so that we might become like God.” If Christ is not eternal, he cannot reveal the eternal Father. Only the divine Christ can fully heal, redeem, and transform fallen humanity. Without the full divinity of Christ, Christianity collapses.
The Incarnation is important because it enables the union of God with humanity. God is the only one who can bear the full burden of sin and overcome death. The sacrifice must be human because he is a sacrifice for humanity (Hebrews 2:14-17; John 1:29; Philippians 2:8).
The final reason why the Incarnation connects the heavenly and earthly is that Jesus Christ is not distant and impersonal. This contrasts strongly with other religions, namely the figure of Allah depicted in the Quran. God descended to establish a kingdom on earth (Matthew 3:2), yet his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). This truth brings balance to our relationship with this world. We represent the divine kingdom, but we can also appreciate the goodness of this world. It is sin within the world that is bad, not the world itself.
The Greatest Gift
Only God, who is not of this world and not part of this world, can redeem this world. He has to be distinct and outside of the world to save it. God, who is separate and holy, must descend and establish his divine kingdom on earth. The Incarnation we celebrate in Christ is important for all of these reasons. The Incarnation is the reason for this season. Without Christ, we would be dead in our sins, without hope in this life or the next. As we celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas, let us remember that our Church Fathers before us bled to protect the doctrine and truth of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The Incarnation is the reason for this season. Without Christ, we would be dead in our sins, without hope in this life or the next. As we celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas, let us remember that our Church Fathers before us bled to protect the doctrine and truth of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.
Most importantly, Christ himself was born in Bethlehem, grew up, and became the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). His birth is a reminder of the redemption God has offered humanity. This is as good of news today as it was then. As we open gifts on Christmas, let us keep in mind that God himself being born in Christ is the greatest gift of them all. Let us celebrate Christmas with this in mind, glorifying and thanking Christ for being born in the manger for our redemption.
