Back, back, way back

For the month of December, I am going to preach a series on the incarnation of the Son of God.

We all love Christmas. Many of us remember that Christmas is about the incarnation of Christ. Some of us even have a nativity scene set up in our home to help us remember the reason for this season. But even in Christian circles I think few of us ever grasp the magnitude of what we are celebrating.

A correct understanding of the doctrine of the incarnation is really important. It matters that Jesus was fully human and not just filling a human shell. It matters that the divine nature of Jesus was not created, but was sent forth from the Father - that the second person of the Trinity is fully God. Theologically, these things matter... a lot. These are biggies. And as confusing as it is to reconcile the divine and human nature of Christ - I think we need to be confused... and amazed... and awestruck if we are going to celebrate Christmas well. That's my goal with this series.

It's quite a daunting challenge, and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

So, I've been doing a lot of reading lately on the topic and I've found renewed encouragement and council from companions that I too often forget about - really old books.

If we define the church as all those "in Christ" from Pentecost to Rapture, then we are to see all believers (living or dead) as part of "The Body" - with something to contribute. Sadly, we often fall into a rut (I know I have at times) of leaning solely on contemporaries - of assuming that newer is better. We miss a whole lot when we do that. I read the old guys in seminary, but sadly, I don't blow the dust off those old books too much any more.

The truth is, however, there have been some major theological battles fought at different times in the history of the church. In fact, most of the major theological battles have already been fought. What's the old saying? - Those who forget their past are doomed to repeat it. That happens all the time in the church. When that Jehovah's Witness comes to our door, we can realize that their arguments are just a re-packaging of Arianism which was condemned at Council of Nicaea nearly 1700 years ago. It gives you a great sense of comfort to know that you have 1700 years of orthodoxy on your side.

Which brings me back to my series on the incarnation. The deity and humanity of Christ was the big topic at the council of Nicaea in 325a.d. The results of Nicaea were later re-affirmed at the Council of Constantinople in 381a.d. These were really smart guys, led by the Spirit and seeking God's mind on important theological matters.

Well, the big gun at Nicaea who also led the fight against Arianism during the 60 years between Nicaea and Constantinople was a man by the name of Athanasius. His work, On the Incarnation has remained perhaps the most authoritative work on the incarnation for 16 centuries (and counting).

So, I am going back - reading some of the old guys. To be quite honest, it's making me feel dumb. With all our technological advances, I think humanity is getting stupider, not smarter. Man, these guys were smart.

I had higher hopes of doing the doctrine of the incarnation justice before I began to re-read Athanasius. I am feeling a bit small at the moment.

We'll see how it goes.

By the way - if you want to read On the Incarnation, there are multiple places online where you can read it or download it for free. It's public domain. Here's a link to a good translation with an introduction by C.S. Lewis. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm