The Wonder of the Incarnation

Date: 21st December 2025

Texts: Psalm 90, John 1:1-14, Galatians 4:1-7

The Wonder of the Incarnation

0:00

The Wonder of the Incarnation

Introduction

Of all the considerations of Scripture, that of the Incarnation is perhaps the most full of wonder. Wonder in the sense of deep, marvelling consideration.

There are three great foundation stones of our salvation: the crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Incarnation. The crucifixion causes us to rejoice in the almighty love of God in Jesus Christ. The Resurrection fills us with jubilant admiration at his glorious victory. But the Incarnation invites us into ponderous wonder, thoughtful amazement, and heartfelt thanksgiving.

If we cry out at the foot of the cross, and if we proclaim the victory of our Saviour at the empty tomb, then at the manger we fall silent in awe. There, we meditate. There, we marvel.

Our meditation will be this: we will search into the greatness and otherness of God, and in the light of that greatness allow the wonder that he should become man to wash over us. The hard work is in considering what God is like. Once we reach even a glimpse of that height, the wonder of the Incarnation follows naturally.

Jesus is truly God and truly man. As the Chalcedonian Creed teaches, he is “complete in Godhead and complete in manhood… of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and of one substance with us as regards his manhood.” With that confession before us, we consider two truths.

1. The Transcendent Atemporality of God

God is outside of time. He is not bound by it. Scripture tells us that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Pet. 3:8). Time does not affect God as it affects us, because he does not exist within it.

Time is the measure of change. We change constantly. Things unfold before us. But nothing unfolds before God. There is no before and after for him, only an eternal present in which he knows all things. He does not fluctuate or develop; he simply is. All joy, all beauty, all holiness, all righteousness exist in him perfectly and eternally.

And yet, this eternal, unchanging God entered time.

The one who spoke time into existence was fixed at a moment in history. Eternity met time. The divine Son, who knows all things according to his divine nature, yet lay in a manger, learning, growing, experiencing the world moment by moment, in his humanity. What wonder is here.

2. God Is Pure Spirit

God is not physical. He does not take up space as we do. We can trace our boundaries, but God has none. He is pure spirit, filling heaven and earth, present everywhere not as a body but as the sustainer of all things.

We exist because God gives us existence. We live because he sustains our life. As Acts 17 reminds us, “In him we live and move and have our being.” Christian, you are never deserted. God’s presence with you is more real than physical closeness.

And yet, this boundless God took on a body.

The one who cannot be contained by the universe became a baby small enough to be held. The one who sustains all creation fed at Mary’s breast. The giver of breath learned to breathe, and would one day give up that breath on a cross.

God did all this to save rebellious sinners. “Unto us a child is born; unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). What a Son he is!

What must we do? Bow in worship. Believe on him. And never be silent in praise, for we are redeemed by the blood of the incarnate God.