Another quality eBook from Chapel Library. To help us all think better about this “most extraordinary and amazing affair,” we present this issue of the FGB, Incarnation. To introduce the subject, J. C. Ryle gives a helpful, clear, and biblical explanation of the fundamentals of Christ’s incarnation. John Flavel then gives us an extraordinary glimpse of Christ’s pre-incarnate glory—the glory and relationship of love that He had with His heavenly Father before the world began. Far too many Christians in our day think only of the Incarnation in terms of the babe in the manger, without relating it to God’s eternal purpose—His counsels and decrees; A. W. Pink helps us to overcome that shortsightedness. While we are on the subject of the pre-incarnate Christ, Lorraine Boettner gives us a useful survey of certain passages that point to Christ’s existence before time: Jesus made abundantly clear that His existence did not simply begin when He was born in Bethlehem. And Bethlehem—“little among the thousands of Judah”—was the very spot on which God’s eternal purpose of redemption became an historical reality. Horatius Bonar tells us, “At Bethlehem, our world’s history begins”—do we believe that? Thomas Boston helps us to understand the birth of Christ—the virgin conception, the sanctification of Christ’s human nature, the union of manhood and Godhead in the person of Christ, and why Jesus had to be born of a virgin. The glorious doctrine of the Incarnation then unfolds with William S. Plumer, as he describes the greatest event that ever happened—God became man. With a second article, John Flavel explains the necessary humiliation of God’s eternal Son—its nature, degrees, and duration—showing us that Christ had to be greatly humbled before He was highly exalted. Charles Spurgeon gives us the last word: He explains that in the God-man, we may see all the attributes of God. But he would have us focus on this glorious display: Jesus was full of grace and truth!
...From the moment that God announced the woman’s seed that would crush the serpent’s head, history has moved unwaveringly toward one target: the day God would become man. And the God-man entered the world to do what God cannot do—and that is to die. God’s incarnate Son died upon Golgotha to save His people from their sins. No incarnation, no humanity; no incarnation, no substitution; no incarnation, no crucifixion; no incarnation, no resurrection; no incarnation, no redemption—let us then shout for all eternity, “Praise God for the Lord Jesus Christ!”
Incarnation (FGB #234) Contents
The Word Made Flesh - J. C. Ryle (1816-1900)
Christ's Pre-incarnate Glory - John Flavel (c. 1630-1691)
God's Love and Christ's Incarnation - Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952)
The Pre-existent Son - Lorraine Boettner (1901-1990)
God's Purpose Revealed in Bethlehem - Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
The Birth of Christ - Thomas Boston (1676-1732)
The Greatest Event That Ever Happened - William S. Plumer (1802-1880)
Christ's Necessary Humiliation - John Flavel (c. 1630-1691)
Grace and Truth Incarnate - Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
