Big things come in small packages. This short verse conveys huge truth. God became a man! Fully God, fully man. The Nicene Creed captured this well when it referred to Jesus Christ as “true God from true God … he became truly human.” Notice from our verse for today two very important observations. First, this truth involved the fullness of deity. There was nothing about God that did not inhabit the person of Jesus Christ. He was nothing short of God, not inferior to God in essence. Though the distinction between the Father and the Son is maintained, both the Father and the Son are fully and equally God.

The second observation is that God dwelt in Christ in bodily form. This was physical; He became part of His own creation. There was nothing un-bodily about Jesus Christ. He was not a phantom that just appeared to be human. He was physically born, grew bodily; he ate, drank, got tired, felt pain—he fully experience life as a physical being. So, Jesus Christ was fully human. And, since He rose from the dead in bodily form, He continues to be fully human.

Some charge that it is impossible for a man to become God. We agree, actually. But that is not what this passage is saying. Consider one simple clarification: a man did not become God, but God became a man! The concept that Deity dwelt in bodily form asserts that God became a man. The Scripture does not say that man dwelt in deity form. This changes the whole discussion. Whereas, we agree, that it is impossible for a man to become a God, the reverse is not impossible, because God is God, and He invaded His own creation.

Now the idea that God could and did become a man is repulsive to some religions, because they think that demeans the stature and holiness of God. God is too pure for that, they say. However the incarnation of Christ (that is, God taking on human form) is precisely what is so amazing about God. He is able to relate to His creation, in what can be said to be the ultimate integration of God with His creation.

To be sure, now, we should not be surprised that the incarnation would tax our reasoning abilities. At the point of incarnation, eternity and time intersect. Who can fully comprehend the Infinite occupying space in the finite? How can we imagine the omni-present One, localizing Himself and, for example, walking along the road. It makes sense that in Christ, fully God and fully man, we would see an anomaly that boggles our normal conceptions of reality. God entering His own creation strains the fabric of creation itself. Not only does creation reflect His glory, but now in Christ, creation has become the home for His glory.