“Christ became incarnate -
became a man, which means the same thing - in order to do the work of
redemption. For though Christ, as God, was infinitely sufficient for the work,
yet, in order to accomplish it, he needed to be both God and man. If Christ had
remained only in his divine nature, he would not have been able to purchase our
salvation, not because there was any imperfection in his divine nature, but
because he was absolutely and infinitely perfect. Christ, as God, was not
capable of that obedience or suffering needed to accomplish his work of
redemption. Divine nature is not capable of these things, for it is infinitely
above all suffering; neither is it capable of obedience to the Law that was
given to man. It is as impossible for God to be obedient to the Law as it is to
suffer man’s punishment.
So Christ needed to take upon
himself a created nature, and, in particular, our nature. It would not do for
Christ to become an angel and to obey and suffer in an angelic nature. He
needed to become a man, for three reasons:
1.
In order to answer the Law, he needed
to take on the very nature to which the Law was given, and obey it. The Law
needed no response so far as redemption was concerned, but, in being obeyed,
God insisted that the Law through which he expected to be honoured must be
fulfilled by human nature. The words “You shalt not eat of it …” were addressed to the race of mankind, and its human nature;
therefore it was human nature that was called upon to keep them.
2. He
needed to answer the Law that declared that the nature that sinned would die.
The words “You will surely die” was with respect to human nature, the same
nature to which the command was given, and to which the threat was addressed.
3. God saw
to it that the same world that was the stage of man’s Fall and ruin should also
be the stage of his redemption. We read often of Christ coming into the world
to save sinners, and of God sending him into the world for that purpose. He
needed to come into this sinful, miserable, undone world in order to restore and
save it. For man’s recovery, he needed to come down to man, to man’s proper
habitation, and dwell (tabernacle) with us - “The Word became flesh, and dwelt
among us.” (John 1:14).”
-Jonathan
Edwards American Minister 1703-1758
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