2. Three Modes of Existence
1. Pre-Incarnate Existence
2. Incarnate Existence
3. Ascended Incarnate Existence
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3. 1. Pre-Incarnate Existence
• The Christian God is Triune in nature
• OT & NT are unanimous that there is only
one God (monotheism, not polytheism)
“Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy
6:4)
“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel…: "I am the first and I am
the last; besides me there is no god.” (Isaiah 44:6)
“We know that ‘an idol has no real existence,’ and that ‘there is no
God but one.’” (1 Corinthians 8:4)
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4. The Triune God
Father
SonHoly
Spirit
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“Jesus said, Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)
“When the fullness of time had
come, God sent forth his Son, born
of woman, born under the law, to
redeem those who were under the
law, so that we might receive
adoption as sons. And because
you are sons, God has sent the
Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!" (Galatians
4:4-6)
5. Why a Triune God?
• Scripture does not fully describe how God
can be three and one, but simply asserts God
as being this way—but why?
• If God is love (1 John 4:8), love must have
another to love
– Prior to creation the Father loves the Son who
loves the Father who love the Spirit, etc.
– After creation, the persons of the Trinity love one
another and all creation
– A loving God will be “complex” not unitary, for
God is not self-love (narcissism), but true love
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6. Trinity Irrational?
• The Trinity teaching challenges human
reason
– Is it irrational to think of a relational God?
– Perhaps the category of “supra-rational” is
useful: the Triune God is above and beyond
human reason
– It is rational to expect that an infinite God
would exceed the capacities of human reason
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7. 2. Incarnate Existence
• Incarnation: the Second Person of the
Trinity, the Son of God, assumes human
nature of flesh and blood, body and soul
• The Gospels teach:
– The Holy Spirit miraculously worked a conception
in Mary’s womb apart from intercourse (a virginal
conception), so that Jesus is born without
inheriting sin (Luke 2:26-38)
– Jesus is a unique person, bearing two natures:
fully divine and fully human (but without sin)
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8. Fully Divine
• Scripture reports Jesus as:
– Omniscient: “Jesus … knew all people and needed no one to
testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone”
(John 2:25).
– Omnipotent: “Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me’” (Matthew 28:18).
– Omnipresent: “Jesus said, ‘Behold, I am with you always to
the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:20).
• On earth Jesus does not always use these divine
attributes; he specifically declines to call upon them
so that he can suffer and die in humanity’s stead
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9. Fully Human
• Scripture reports Jesus as experiencing:
– Growth: “Jesus increased in wisdom and years, and in divine and human
favor” (Luke 2:52).
– Hunger: “He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was
famished” (Matt. 4:2).
– Sleep: “But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion” (Mark 4:38).
– Anger: “Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who
were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money
changers and the benches of those selling doves” (Mark 11:15)
– Grief: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
– Compassion: “Jesus had compassion on them, for they were like sheep
without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34)
– Death: “When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then
he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).
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10. Incarnation Affirms Humanity
• Jesus’ incarnation reveals God’s
commitment to humanity:
– To be human and possess a body is a noble
state that Jesus honors by becoming flesh
– To view the Christian faith as being primarily
about “saving souls” limits the significance of
Jesus’ incarnation
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11. Incarnation Invites Trust
• Jesus understands humanity’s deepest
issues since he has experienced them:
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself
likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might
destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and
deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong
slavery…. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every
respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest
in the service of God, to make propitiation [= a sacrifice that
reconciles] for the sins of the people. For because he himself has
suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tested.” (Hebrews 2:14-18)
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12. Incarnation Enables Atonement
• An atoning sacrifice is required to remove the
offense sin creates between fallen humans and
the holy God
• To atone for a wrong is to do what is necessary to
remove the offense, to make right what was wrong
• Since death is the just punishment for sin, a death
is required to remove the offense
• In the OT God accepted animal offerings as
provisional atoning sacrifices
• All OT sacrifices pointed forward to the perfect
atoning sacrifice Jesus would offer
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13. Incarnation Enables Atonement
• As the sinless Son of God, Jesus’ one
offering was sufficient to make right with
God all the sins of all humanity
“[Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours
but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
• Jesus could not have offered himself as
the atoning sacrifice without first becoming
incarnate, revealing the importance of his
embodied state
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14. Incarnation Enables Resurrection
• In physically rising from the dead on
Easter, Jesus shows that he has
conquered death
“… since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again;
death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he
died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.”
(Rom. 6:9-10)
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15. The Resurrected Body of Jesus
• A real body, not a ghost
– Jesus is seen, recognized, and touched
(John 20:1-27)
– Jesus eats (Luke 24:36-43)
• A glorified body
– Never again to die (Romans 6:9-10)
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16. 3. Ascended Incarnate Existence
• Jesus ascended to his Father’s side in glory
40 days after his resurrection, still possessing
his glorified resurrected body
• Jesus governs all things until he returns:
“God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power
and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in
this age but also in the one to come. He put all things under his
feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is
his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:20-23)
“Jesus must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26)
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17. Jesus’ Return at the End
• Jesus’ second coming to earth will occur
at the end of the age
• No one knows when Jesus will return:
Jesus said, “About that day and hour [the end, when Jesus’
returns] no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the
Son, but only the Father…. Keep awake therefore, for you do
not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:36-44)
• Many people have claimed to have
discovered hidden clues in the Bible about
the time of Jesus’ return, but the above
words of Jesus have always proved true
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18. Jesus’ Return at the End
• There will be a final judgment:
– Those who have received forgiveness through
faith in Jesus will be welcomed into paradise
– Those who have rejected Jesus in unbelief will be
excluded from God’s presence.
“We who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will
by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord
himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and
with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are
left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet
the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1
Thessalonians 4:15-18)
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19. Incarnation, Resurrection, Hope
• Jesus’ resurrected body is a model of the body
believers in Christ will receive at the end of time
“Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior
from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that
enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform
our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
(Philippians 3:20-21)
• From incarnation to resurrection to ascension to
second coming, Jesus reveals his goal to redeem
all that was fallen in body and soul
• Thus, for any person to serve others in body and
soul is fully congruent with the Christian faith
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