Incarnation is one of the distinctive words in the Christian vocabulary to summarize the gospel event of Jesus Christ. Although the word is not found in the Bible, it is based on John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us.”
With this statement, the evangelist created a powerful picture of God moving into the flesh. The thrust of this imagery is missional. It emphasizes that God is active and decisive, that God has taken the initiative in the healing of broken and sinful creation. The scriptures, as Spirit-empowered testimony, witness to God’s missionary action, beginning with Abraham and reaching the climax in the incarnation of Jesus, the Son.
God the Father has sent Jesus the Son as the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, whose life, death, and resurrection are the epitome and turning point of God’s mission to redeem humanity and the world. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to call and to empower the church to carry out its witness to this gracious good news.
- Darrell Guder in The Incarnation and The Church’s Witness