The Word Became Flesh

Lucas Cranach-Nativity“Thus the most precious treasure and strongest consolation we Christians have is this: that the Word, the true and natural Son of God, became man, with flesh and blood like that of any other human; that He became incarnate for our sakes in order that we might enter into great glory, that our flesh and blood, skin and hair, hands and feet, stomach and back might reside in heaven as God does, and in order that we might boldly defy the devil and whatever else assails us.  We are convinced that all our members belong in heaven as heirs of heaven’s realm.” (Martin Luther, Sermons on the Gospel of St. John, Luther’s Works 22:110.)

“…we believe the Scriptures and confess with holy Christendom, which existed at all times and will endure till the end of the world, that this article of our holy Christian creed, together with all others, is firmly and solidly established by the testimony of the holy prophets and apostles, the spokesmen of the Holy Spirit: that Christ, our Lord and God , assumed true human nature, not the nature of an immaterial phantom, and that He became a natural man like any other man of flesh and blood.  He did not flutter about like a spirit, but He dwelt among men.  He had eyes, ears, mouth, nose, chest, stomach, hands, and feet, just as you and I do.  He took the breast.  His mother nursed Him as any other child is nursed.  He acted as any other human does.  He was born as a true man from the Virgin Mary; the one difference, however, was that He was not born in sin as we are, that ‘He committed no sin, and no guile was found on His lips” (Is. 53:9; I Peter 2:22). (Ibid., LW 22:113)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.