January 2013

We are on the home stretch now, in our tour of the essential tenets of the Reformed faith. It is the natural outflow of God’s grace, our election to salvation and service, and covenant community to consider how we shall live together to reflect God’s glory and enjoy him forever. We take some early cues from God’s chosen people, who in the exodus were walking through a great doorway into a new life defined by God’s gracious care. In their period of formation, the Hebrews counted themselves very fortunate indeed, compared to the neighboring peoples of the ancient Near East

As we continue our consideration of the great doctrines of the church and essentials of the Reformed faith, we now broaden our exploration of Incarnation to ask, “For what purpose would God become a man?” One of the mysteries of the Incarnation revolves around the question of why God would go to such lengths to identify with his creation. It is a legitimate question and its answer must be consistent with God’s nature, which includes love, hope, holiness, and purposefulness. God created human beings to receive God’s gracious love, to bask in his glory, and to represent God as stewards

The next essential tenet, affirmed by all Christians, is the Incarnation: the act by which God became a human being in order to position himself to redeem humanity. For Jews of Jesus’ day, “Our God is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4) was the banner cry of faith. For the Greco-Roman culture, many gods populated the heavens and earth, as illustrated by Paul’s observation of their monuments in Athens (Acts 17). So you can imagine how Jesus’ claims recorded in the gospel of John would be controversial: “Before Abraham was, I Am” (John 8:58) “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30); and