J. I. Packer

J. I. Packer’s got some excellent thoughts On the Incarnation.  In the fifth chapter of his book, Knowing God, he takes up this subject in the most illuminating terms.

Here’s a couple of great one-liner’s:

• “Here are two great mysteries for the price of one—the plurality of persons within the unity of God, and the union of the Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus” (p. 53).
• “The Incarnation is in itself an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else that the New Testament contains” (p. 54).

He goes on to employ that wonderful prologue of  the Gospel of John (John 1:1-18) in order to understand seven characteristics about the divine Word of God, Jesus Christ—God Incarnate.  He presents the following along with some additional commentary which I’ve left out for the sake of brevity.

1. “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1).
   —Here is the Word’s eternity.
2. “And the Word was with God” (John 1:1).
   —Here is the Word’s personality.
3. “And the Word was God” (John 1:1).
   —Here is the Word’s deity.
4. “Through him all things were made” (John 1:3).
   —Here is the Word creating.
5. “In him was life” (John 1:4).
   —Here is the Word animating.
6. “And that life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
   —Here is the Word revealing.
7. “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14).
   —Here is the Word incarnate.