God becoming flesh has a lot of philosophical implications. As Christians we tend to miss these completely because we think ‘philosophy’ is evil. Philosophy essentially means the ‘love of wisdom’ (‘philo’ = love and ‘sophos’ = wisdom). The question is whose wisdom we live by.
Anyway, here are a few “philosophical” things to consider…
Existence of ‘the true’ God
While general revelation shows everyone that ‘a’ God exists (Rom 1:18-25), specific revelation through Christ showed who that God was.
Joh 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
Joh 12:45 “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
Joh 14:9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
He is the only “God-man” who claimed He was God. To make that statement He was either a lunatic or he was actually who He said He was. In more simple terms, He was either good or bad. There is really no middle ground. If you don’t believe He is God, you cannot even say He was a great teacher. A “man” who makes a claim to deity CANNOT be called a “great” teacher. You have to choose between God or a Nut.
If you follow His life and the things he taught, you will never come to the conclusion that He was mad. No “God-man” had such an accurate view of the human heart.
Exclusivity of the ‘true’ God
Jesus made an exclusive claim that He was God.
Joh 14:6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
He used the definite article i.e. ‘the’ way, ‘the’ truth and ‘the’ life. He did not say ‘a’ way. Yes, there were people peddling “other ways” but the Truth manifested Himself and made a statement of exclusivity.
Truth by definition is ‘exclusive’. When you make an affirmation about something you exclude the other. Being born in India excludes all other countries. All truth claims about something or somebody can be wrong at the same time but all cannot be right. It is one claim or the other, not both.
You CANNOT believe that all roads lead to God and yet people do. It is logically indefensible. We hear the statement often…”We are all climbing the same mountain, but we are doing it from different sides”. That sounds loving and tolerant but it is NONSENSE. All major religions are fundamentally different and to some degree superficially similar (although people think to the contrary). If you believe all roads lead to God, your logic flawed as it violates of one of the fundamental laws of logic i.e. the law of non-contradiction.
Eternality of the ‘true’ God
When the Word became flesh there was an interesting transaction (if I can call it that) that took place which I didn’t get it till a few years ago.
Isa 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
The ‘baby’ was born but the ‘Son’ was given. The Son existed before the creation of the universe manifested himself in time and space.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
Joh 16:28 “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”
The universe was created through Him and for Him. He is part of the Godhead that created the universe ex nihilo (out of nothing).
Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him.
The fact that the world was created is in keeping with the law of causality with God being the first cause. The “nothing coming out of nothing” theory a.k.a ‘big bang/evolution’ violates this scientific law.
