Oct 16 2008
The Incarnation
Paragraphs 461-463 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church speak of the Incarnation.
Paragraph 461 provides us with a simple definition:
Taking up St. John’s expressions, “The Word became flesh,” the Church calls “Incarnation” the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it.
Two points: first, the “Incarnation” is when the Son of God assumed a human nature, and second, the reason the Son of God assumed a human nature was to accomplish our salvation in it. So the full definition of the Incarnation speaks of both the reality as well as the rationale behind the reality: The Son of God became man in order to save us.
Paragraph 461 continues by grounding this teaching in Sacred Scripture:
In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2.5-11)
Paragraph 462 continues with a passage from Scripture that speaks of the Incarnation:
The Letter to the Hebrews refers to the same mystery:
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Lo, I have come to do your will, O God.” (Heb 10.5-7, citing Ps 40.6-8)
Read in context, Hebrews 10.5-7 tells us that through his sacrifice, Jesus Christ annuls the first covenant — the covenant God established with Israel through Moses — and ushered in the definitive order of salvation founded on the death and resurrection of Christ.
Once again, the rationale of the Word becoming flesh is highlighted: The Son of God became man in order to save us.
Finally, Paragraph 463 tells us that faith in the Incarnation of the Son of God is the hallmark of authentic Christian faith:
Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.” Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning whenever she sings “the mystery of our religion”: “He was manifested in the flesh.”
