240228 BITES: Q20 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

Q20 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? A20 Christ, the Son of God, became fully man, possessing both body and soul. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary and was born sinless (Luke 1:35)

Attention grabbing introduction:

All hand to hand combat, without intervention, always devolves into ground fighting - that's wrestling with the intent to eliminate. The ground, the floor, the deck, is where the fight goes and that is where Marines practice. We fight, we wrestle and we learn how to eliminate our opponent in many different capacities but mostly on the ground. Gravity seemingly always pulls us down into that arena and that is where we must be most proficient if we are to win.

What is the ground where Believers go to fight the lies of Satan the most? Where do they have to be the most prepared? Where do they need to practice the most to combat what drags away others? The battleground is the Gospel, (Christ Crucified and Resurrected), but the ground itself is the incarnation of Christ.

All heresies, all false religions have this in common, distorting the simultaneous Deity and Humanity of Christ. Jesus is 100% God and 100% Man. This is where you will have to fight for your faith and the tools we give you tonight will make all the difference in your victory or defeat. If we would win over the lies that are coming at us we must be most proficient at fighting here.

Ask if anyone has questions

Question/Answer #1

So here is tonight’s question: Q20 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? A20 Christ, the Son of God, became fully man, possessing both body and soul. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary and was born sinless

Luke 1:35 “The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

Let’s look at some examples

Examples:

Cults and False religions will claim a distorted or wrong view of Christ that is different than what Scripture teaches:

Arianism: Denying the Full Deity of Christ by claiming He was created by God

Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus was not co-eternal or of the same substance with the Father - they claim that He is a created being, actually the archangel Michael who became man (8.7 Million Adherents)

Islam also holds that Jesus was only a prophet and not God (1.9 Million Adherents)

Docetism: Jesus only appeared to have a physical body and to suffer on the cross but did not truly participate in human flesh and blood.

New Age: Only what is spiritual is good - many sects would say Jesus was a purely spiritual being (10’s of Millions)

Christian Science: Teaches that matter is an illusion (10’s of thousands small but outspoken)

Adoptionism: Claims that Jesus was born a mere man and was later "adopted" as God's Son at His baptism, resurrection, or ascension, denying His eternal divinity.

Unitarian: Unitarians typically deny the Trinity, emphasizing the oneness of God (800K Adherents)

ASK QUESTION 5/6

Q05 How many Gods are there? A05 There is only one true God

Q06 How many Persons in the Godhead? A06 There are three persons in the Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit. These three are one God; same in essence, equal in power and glory

Progressive Christianity: Jesus was definitely a moral human teacher and perhaps divine but this aspect is not developed (Likely in the millions)

Ask if anyone has questions

Question/Answer #1

So here is tonight’s question: Q20 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? A20 Christ, the Son of God, became fully man, possessing both body and soul. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary and was born sinless

Luke 1:35 “The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

Ask if anyone has questions

Breakdown of Terms from Catechism Question:

Conceived: the initial material manifestation of a created being. The point when a new baby is made within a mother

Psalm 138:8 “Yahweh will accomplish what concerns me; O Yahweh, Your lovingkindness endures forever; Do not fail the works of Your hands.”

Virgin: An unwed woman

2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”

Womb: The place where babies are grown inside their mother

Luke 1:41–42“And it happened that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

Ask if anyone has questions

Broader Context:

Luke 1:30–38 “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus (WHICH MEANS YAHWEH SAVES). “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.” But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “And behold, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. “For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

Ask the kids what they gathered from the story - they should be able to say that Jesus is God, that He is Man, that He was born of a virgin and is sinless

Ask if anyone has questions

Questions:

So why does this matter at all?

If Jesus is not 100% God He could not withstand the full wrath of God against our sin. He is infinite and only an infinite God can cover all sin past present and future for every man woman and child

If Jesus is not 100% How would we have confidence that He actually died to pay for our sins

If Jesus was just a spiritual being and not flesh too would we have confidence in His resurrection - what about our bodies

Colossians 1:15–20 “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (PROTOTOKOS - FIRST IN RANK) of all creation. For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, And in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross—through Him—whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Hebrews 2:14“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”

Christ’s incarnation definitely matters and this is where we need to be most comfortable contending for the faith because there will be a fight here with every other false religion and man made philosophy

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WSC Question 22 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body,

Hebrews 2:14“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” Hebrews 2:16“For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the seed of Abraham.” Hebrews 10:5“Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;”

and a reasonable soul,

Matthew 26:38“Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.””

being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her,

Luke 1:27 “to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.” Luke 1:31““And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” Luke 1:35“The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:42“And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Galatians 4:4“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,”

yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 7:26“For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;”

SPG 21. Q. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

A. Christ, the son of God, became man by taking to himself a true body

(Hebrews 2:14“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”

and a reasonable soul

Matthew 26:38“Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”” Hebrews 4:15“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.”

being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, and born of her

Luke 1:31““And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” Luke 1:35“The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

yet without sin

Hebrews 7:26“For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;”

WLC Question 37 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

Christ the Son of God became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul,

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Matthew 26:38“Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.””

being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her substance, and born of her,

Luke 1:27 “to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.” Luke 1:31““And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” Luke 1:35“The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:42“And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Galatians 4:4“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,”

yet without sin.

(Hebrews 4:15“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 7:26“For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;”

Q20 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? A20 Christ the Son of God, became man with both body and soul, by taking on real flesh with true soul, having been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary being born of her yet without sin (Hebrews 2:14, Luke 1:35, Galatians 4:4)

Q20 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? A20 Christ, the Son of God, became fully man with both body and soul, having been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary and was born sinless (Hebrews 2:14, Luke 1:35, Galatians 4:4)

Hebrews 2:14“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”

Luke 1:35“The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

Galatians 4:4“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,”

Similarly, all theological deviations from truth always seemingly revolve around deviations from this essential doctrine of the simultaneous Deity and Humanity of Christ.

It is critical to be familiar:

Arianism: (named after Arius) Denies the full divinity of Jesus Christ, asserting He was created by God the Father and therefore not co-eternal or of the same substance (homoousios) with the Father. Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus is a created being, actually the archangel Michael who became man. Islam also holds that Jesus was “only” a prophet and not divine

Modalism: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three distinct persons but rather three modes or aspects of one God, appearing at different times for different purposes. Oneness Pentecostal

Nestorianism: Distinguishes Christ’s divine and human natures to the point of suggesting He is two distinct persons sharing one body.

Monophysitism: states Jesus has only one nature, which is either solely divine or a mixture of divine and human, essentially denying the complete humanity of Christ.