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What do the Gospels say about the Incarnation?

People often ask, "Where in the Gospels did Jesus say he was God?" The answer, of course, is that he did not. However that's not necessary to support the doctrine of the incarnation.

While Christians often say that Jesus is God, this statement needs a lot of explanation. A better statement of Christian doctrine is that Jesus is the incarnation of God, i.e. God in human form. Thus I believe we should be looking for statements supporting that, not statements saying "I am God."

Furthermore, Christianity is not limited to what Jesus taught during his life. It also includes what was taught by his immediate followers. Thus the New Testament includes accounts of Jesus' life and teachings (the Gospels), accounts of the acts of his disciples (the Acts), and letters written by early Christian leaders.

There is a reason for this. According to the Acts, Jesus spent considerable time with his disciples after his resurrection. I believe that in this time he explained his role more fully. The Gospel of John also says that Jesus gave a fuller explanation to his disciples on the night before he was arrested. If these are correct, you would expect to see less explicit information on Jesus' role in the Synoptic Gospels than in other documents. In the Synoptic Gospels, you see Jesus as he presented himself during his life. There are claims of extraordinary authority, but not a full explanation of his role. In John, the Acts, and the letters, you see a view of Jesus that I think is based on further explanations after his resurrection.

For these reasons, Christian doctrine about Jesus is based both on Jesus' statements during his life, and on the more explicit statements in John, the Acts and the letters.

While John is a Gospel, I separate it from the Synoptic Gospels for two reasons:

• Most of the passages I quote are from Jesus' teachings on the night before his arrest. These are not given in the Synoptics.
• I believe that John has a tendency to read back post-resurrection insights into accounts of Jesus' life. This does not mean that I'm saying it is historically inaccurate. In many episodes, Jesus is shown making long speeches, that start with something that is historically plausible, but turn into reflections that seem to be based on a post-resurrection perspective. But New Testament Greek doesn't have quotation marks. Thus there's no clear way to know where the author intended the quotation from Jesus to end. I think most of these episodes combine reasonably accurate quotations with later reflection on their significance. This sort of reflection is generally missing from the Synoptics, though Acts provides Luke with the ability to show the later understanding of Jesus.

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This section will review some of the evidence about Jesus in the Acts, John, and the letters, with the Acts taking priority.

I think the general picture of Jesus is someone who acts as God for us. Jesus is never referred to as God. But he is described as fulfilling many of the functions of God.

• He is routinely referred to as "Lord". In Acts 10:36 he is called "Lord of all".
• We receive the Holy Spirit by being baptized in Jesus' name (19) Note the many references to Jesus' name in Acts. It has the same role there as God's name.
• Miracles can come from faith in his name (3:16)
• People who believe in him receive forgivness of sins in his name (10:43, 13:39)
• He is judge of the living and the dead (10:42)
• He is called our savior (13:23). We are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus (15:11). Salvation comes only through him (4:12).
• He is God's son (13:33)
• He died to bring us forgiveness (5:30-31; this is in the Gospels as well, e.g. Mark 10:45 and par)
• Jesus existed before the universe, and was the agent of creation (John 1:3, Col 1:16, Heb 1:10)
• Jesus is so closely united with God that he is in effect the same thing (John 10:30-31, 10:38, 14:9, Col 1:19, Heb 1:3)
• We have new lives by our spiritual union with Christ (Rom 6:11, John 15). Through this union with die and rise with him (Rom 5:6 ff)

The Virgin Birth (Mat 1:18ff, Luke 1:34) is relevant here as well. It doesn't directly affect Jesus' role, but it is support of the uniqueness of Jesus, and the fact that he was created by God for a specific purpose of his own.

I believe the overall picture here is of a mediator, a human who is the sole way in which God deals with us.

This is precisely what is claimed by the Incarnation. Remember that the Incarnation doesn't say that Jesus is a separate God. Nor does it confuse humanity with divinity. Rather, it says that God has taken to himself humanity and acts through it in dealing with us. We are spiritually united with Christ, and through him to God. This is intended to be the same thing that the New Testament says about him. However the final theology uses language that came out of controversies of the 4th and 5th Centuries. The basic claim is that God acts through a human form that he has created as his vehicle (the Virgin Birth) and united to himself (John 10:30-31, 10:38, 14:9, Col 1:19, Heb 1:3). The New Testament sometimes uses the term Son of God for this role. (Be aware that this term is based on a Hebrew idiom which could mean simply a godly man. Thus its actual meaning in any passage has to be determined from context.)

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While I think the Incarnation is based primarily on post-resurrection insights, it's useful to show that there is some reflection of them during Jesus' life.

• Jesus is routinely referred to as Lord in the Synoptics. Quite likely during his life, the term had less force than it did among later Christians, although Mat 22:41-46 and par. seems to be saying that it is used in a sense that goes beyond a normal human master.
• Mark 1:8 and par. implies that Jesus gives the Holy Spirit
• Many miracles are done in the Synoptics for those who have faith in him.
• Mark 2:5 ff and par. shows that he has the power to forgive sins, and that this is a power that belongs to God alone.
• Mark 8:29 ff and par., and Mark 14:17 ff imply to me that Jesus thought his death would be the source of salvation for others.
• Mat 3:17 ff and par call Jesus God's son, although again, it is likely that at the time this had less force than it later took on.
• Mark 10:45 and par. says that Christ died for us
• It is emphasized that Jesus spoke with an authority that was different than other Jewish teachers (Mark 1:22 ff and par.).

You may wish to see a related FAQ entry, Biblical evidence for the divinity of Christ. This is a longer list of quotations.