Confessing the Incarnate Son: Five Christmas Readings

As we prepare for Christmas, we are reminded of the central reality of the season: that the Son of God was made man to redeem his people from the curse of sin. The readings, excerpts, and creeds below are intended to direct our hearts and minds toward the glory of the incarnation and the faithfulness of God in keeping his promises.

1. Promises Made: The Long-Expected Christ

Immediately following the fall of man, God pronounced judgment upon the serpent. Yet this word of judgment also carried a promise. Though the curse of sin would mark human history, God declared that redemption would come and that his grace would have the final word.

Genesis 3:15

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.

In these words, God first announced the hope of a coming deliverer. The seed of the woman would one day come to crush the head of the serpent. From this promise forward, the whole of Scripture traces the unfolding expectation of this long-awaited seed of the woman.

Genesis 22:17-18

God’s Promise to Abraham:

I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:2, 6–7

The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Matthew 2:6 (cf. Micah 5:2)

And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.

2. Promises Kept: The Birth of Jesus Christ

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 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 call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Luke 2:8-14

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 1:67-75

And [John’s] father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

The birth of Christ stands as the fulfillment of promises long foretold. It is the “consolation of Israel” and a “light for the gentiles” (Luke 2:25-32). Its significance lies in the union of the divine and human natures, God in the flesh.

3. Immanuel: The Mystery of God With Us

John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Philippians 2:6-7

Though [Christ Jesus] was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

John Murray:

The infinite became finite, the eternal and supratemporal entered time and became subject to its conditions, the immutable became mutable, the invisible became the visible, the Creator became the created, the Sustainer of all became dependent, the Almighty infirm. All is summed up in the proposition, “God became man.”¹

John Calvin:

Here is something marvelous: the Son of God descended from heaven in such a way that, without leaving heaven, he willed to be borne in the virgin’s womb, to go about the earth, and to hang upon the cross; yet he continuously filled the world even as he had done from the beginning!²

Augustine of Hippo:

The Maker of man became Man that He, Ruler of the stars, might be nourished at the breast; that He, the Bread, might be hungry; that He, the Fountain, might thirst; that He, the Light, might sleep; that He, the Way, might be wearied by the journey; that He, the Truth, might be accused by false witnesses; that He, the Judge of the living and the dead, might be brought to trial by a mortal judge; that He, Justice, might be condemned by the unjust; that He, the Teacher, might be scourged with whips; that He, the Vine, might be crowned with thorns; that He, the Foundation, might be suspended upon a cross; that Strength might be weakened; that He who makes well might be wounded; that Life might die. To endure these and similar indignities for us, to free us, unworthy creatures, He who existed as the Son of God before all ages, without a beginning, deigned to become the Son of Man in these recent years. He did this although He who submitted to such great evils for our sake had done no evil, and although we, who were the recipients of so much good at His hands, had done nothing to merit these benefits. Begotten by the Father, He was not made by the Father; He was made Man in the Mother whom He Himself had made, so that He might exist here for a while, sprung from her who could never and nowhere have existed except through His power.³

The Word became flesh in order to accomplish what fallen humanity could not. By taking our nature, the Son became subject to our weakness and stood in our place under the law, all to the end that salvation might be secured for his people.

4. The Purpose of the Incarnation

Romans 8:3-4

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

George Herbert:

In Christ two natures met to be thy cure.⁴

Galatians 4:4-5

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Clement of Alexandria:

For this He clothed Himself with man. For this He voluntarily subjected Himself to the experiences of men, that by bringing Himself to the measure of our weakness whom He loved, He might correspondingly bring us to the measure of His own strength.⁵

Hebrews 2:14-15, 17

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

John Calvin:

Who could have accomplished [our redemption] except the Son of God who was made Son of Man, who so took our condition upon himself that he transferred his to us, and who made what was his by nature ours by grace? So we are confident that we are children of God, having this as our guarantee, that God’s natural Son took his body from ours, flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone, that he might be united to us.⁶

In light of the weighty realities of Christ’s incarnation, the following creeds and confession should not be read as dusty historical artifacts, but as some of the richest sources of theological and doxological meditation the church has produced. Along with the saints of the universal church, confess these truths which safeguard the heart of our hope in Christ and set forth the God who was made man to redeem us.

5. Confessing the Faith

The Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
  the Father almighty,
  maker of heaven and earth,
  of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
  the only Son of God,
  begotten from the Father before all ages,
      God from God,
      Light from Light,
      true God from true God,
  begotten, not made;
  of the same essence as the Father.
  Through him all things were made.
  For us and for our salvation
      he came down from heaven;
      he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
      and was made human.
      He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
      he suffered and was buried.
      The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
      He ascended to heaven
      and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
      He will come again with glory
      to judge the living and the dead.
      His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
  the Lord, the giver of life.
  He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
  and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
  He spoke through the prophets.
  We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
  We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
  We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
  and to life in the world to come. Amen.⁷

The Chalcedonian Definition:

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.⁸

The Belgic Confession (Article 18):

We confess, therefore, that God did fulfill the promise which He made to the fathers by the mouth of His holy prophets when He sent into the world, at the time appointed by Him, His own only-begotten and eternal Son, who took upon Him the form of a servant, and became like unto man, really assuming the true human nature, with all its infirmities, sin excepted, being conceived in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Ghost, without the means of man; and did not only assume human nature as to the body, but also a true human soul, that He might be a real man. For since the soul was lost as well as the body, it was necessary that He should take both upon him, to save both. Therefore we confess that Christ is become a partaker of the flesh and blood of the children; that He is a fruit of the loins of David after the flesh; made of the seed of David according to the flesh; a fruit of the womb of the Virgin Mary; made of a woman; a branch of David; a shoot of the root of Jesse; sprung from the tribe of Judah; descended from the Jews according to the flesh: of the seed of Abraham, since He took on Him the seed of Abraham,15 and became like unto His brethren in all things, sin excepted; so that in truth He is our Immanuel, that is to say, “God with us.”⁹

Doxology: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King:
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with angelic hosts proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King”¹⁰

1. John Murray, “The Person of Christ,” in Collected Writings, 2:132 ↩︎
2. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill; trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Westminster: John Knox Press, 1960), II.xiii.4 ↩︎
3. Augustine, Sermon 191: For the Feast of the Nativity, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 6, ed. Philip Schaff (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991). ↩︎
4. George Herbert, “The Offering.” In The Temple. 1633. Reprint, edited by John N. Wall Jr., New York: Paulist Press, 1981. ↩︎
5. Clement of Alexandria, Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), ch. 37. ↩︎
6. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill; trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Westminster: John Knox Press, 1960), II.xii.2. ↩︎
7. The Nicene Creed (A.D. 325; revised 381). The ecumenical creed confessing the Trinity and the full divinity of the Son. ↩︎
8. The Definition of Chalcedon (A.D. 451). The ecumenical statement defining Christ as one person in two natures. ↩︎
9. The Belgic Confession, art. 18 (1561). This is a historic Reformed confession affirming the true incarnation of the Son of God. ↩︎
10. Charles Wesley, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” 1739 ↩︎