During the Christmas season, as we meditate on and celebrate the incarnation of the eternal Word, we rightly think of the condescension of God in taking on poverty and the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom 8.3). Our minds are overwhelmed at how God, who is so far above us, could do such a thing. We might even entertain thoughts of a reluctant God who, becoming flesh, is doing something out of character; as if he was happily existing as eternal Father, Son, and Spirit, not wanting to be entangled with the creation (especially creation corrupted by sin), but he loved us so much that he was willing to de-glorify himself for our sake. While it is true that he was rich and became poor for our sakes (2Cor 8.9), and it is also true that his taking on, not only flesh, but the likeness of sinful flesh, was a great act of humility, it is also true that in the act of incarnation we see the glory of the eternal Word. That’s what John says in John 1.14: “The Word was made flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
If we are not careful, all of the talk of God’s condescension in the incarnation easily turns into a wrong understanding of God, the creation, and the relationship between the two. We might develop dualistic undercurrents in our thinking that the material world is evil because it is material and the immaterial spirit world is good because it is immaterial. Consequently, the act of incarnation itself is an act of anti-glory for God because the creation is anything but glorious. However, the act of incarnation, the eternal Word clothing himself in flesh, is the glorification of God.
From all eternity God is all-glorious. Like a spring of water that is ever-flowing, God is so glorious that his glory must create. His creation declares his glory (Ps 19.1-2). His creation is a garment of glory and beauty as he robes himself in light and surrounds himself with a cloud of spirit angels (Ps 104.1-4). He clothes himself with materials from all of creation in the tabernacle, his dwelling place; linen made from plants, wool from animals, skins of sea creatures, rocks in the form of precious metals and stones, and trees. Because the tabernacle is, at one level, a representation of Israel, we can also see how God can call Israel “my glory” (Isa 46.13). God created all that there is as an expression of his glory so that he could clothe himself with it. God’s original intention was to be united with his creation as his glory. The incarnation, the clothing of the eternal Word with the creation, is the climactic revelation of God’s original intent. The incarnation was not “Plan B” or, worse, a reluctant but necessary entanglement with the creation. We see the glory of God in the act of the eternal Word clothing himself in flesh.
The flesh that is the creation, however, was not the pristine creation God originally made, nor was it the mature glorified creation he intended it to become. The flesh of man was corrupted because of sin. Is God glorified by taking on the likeness of sinful flesh, our corrupted existence? Surely, this is the de-glorification of God.
The Word did leave glory to take on our corrupted flesh (though he himself was without sin; cf. Jn 17.1-5; Heb 4.15). But this act revealed a sometimes-overlooked aspect of God’s glory: his humility. God is not a megalomaniac. He is not arrogant. He does not crave the praise of his creatures in order to feed his ego. Father, Son, and Spirit joyfully serve and give to one another. Creation itself is the result of this mutual giving as the Father gives to the Son, the Son to the Father, the Spirit to the Son, and so on. They work in concert, each giving to the other to create. They are humble. For the eternal Word to take on our corrupted flesh is an act of humility, and that humility reveals the nature and glory of our God. This humility reached its zenith at the cross (Phil 2.6-8). The taking on of our corrupted flesh reveals the glory of God.
In Christ Jesus, the Word made flesh, we see the glory of the Father. When the eternal Word became flesh, fully identifying with us, we also see the Father’s desire for us. We, in our human flesh, our bodies, are made to be God’s temple, the dwelling place of his glory (cf. 1Cor 6.18-20; 1Pt 2.5). Christ took upon our corrupted flesh to transform it, moving it from glory to glory so that we may be like his glorious body (Phil 3.20-21; 1Cor 15) and united fully with God. Because our bodies are united with Christ in the act of baptism, our bodies are even now the dwelling place of God’s glory. Therefore, glorify God in your body.
