24/12/2025
Christmas, the Gospel, and the Incarnation of God
As the world slows down for Christmas Eve, it’s easy to get lost in the traditions and the "feeling" of the season. But lately, I’ve been reflecting on the staggering reality of what we are actually celebrating. It’s not just a beautiful story—it’s the moment the Creator entered His own creation.
The question, “Should Christians celebrate Christmas?” has long been a point of disagreement among believers. While some strongly urge its observance, others reject it altogether. However, Scripture binds the conscience to neither view. In such matters, Christian liberty must be upheld, and the conscience left free before God (Rom. 14).
Yet when Christians do choose to observe Christmas, it must be done with theological clarity. The significance of Christmas does not lie in the sanctification of a date, nor merely in the celebration of a birth, but in the proclamation of the Incarnation of the eternal Son of God. Properly understood, Christmas is a gospel event.
The Incarnation of God Himself
What is commemorated at Christmas is not simply that a child was born, but that God became man. As R.C. Sproul succinctly stated, “What we celebrate at Christmas is not so much the birth of a baby, but the incarnation of God Himself.” The wonder of Christmas is not infancy, but divine condescension.
Scripture declares, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The One through whom all things were created did not cease to be God, nor was His deity diminished. Rather, He assumed a true human nature—body and soul—remaining fully God while becoming fully man. The church has historically guarded this truth with great care. As the Athanasian Creed confesses, Christ is “God and man… one, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.” This is not speculative theology; right belief concerning the Incarnation is necessary to the right understanding of salvation.
Hilary of Poitiers expressed this biblical balance well when he wrote that the Son, though taking our flesh, was “not destitute of His own attributes… truly endowed with ours.” In Christ, deity and humanity meet without mixture, division, or confusion.
Why the Son Became Man
The Incarnation stands at the heart of the Gospel because it is essential to redemption itself.
First, the Son became man in order to take our nature. Humanity needed a Redeemer who was truly one of us. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things” (Heb. 2:14).
Second, He was “born under the law” (Gal. 4:4) in order to obey it perfectly in our place. Christ’s life was not merely preparatory to the cross; His obedience is part of the saving work itself. Through the obedience of the one Man, many are made righteous (Rom. 5:19).
Third, only as man could He bear the curse of the law. The Incarnation made possible a true substitutionary atonement, where Christ suffered and died in the place of sinners, bearing their judgment (Gal. 3:13; Isa. 53).
Fourth, by sharing our humanity, Christ became a merciful and faithful High Priest, able to sympathize with our weakness without sharing our sin (Heb. 4:15). The Incarnation assures believers that their Savior truly knows their condition.
Creation, Redemption, and New Creation
Christmas also directs us back to the opening words of Scripture. In the beginning, God created all things through His Word. In the fullness of time, God restored His fallen creation through that same Word. The Son who spoke the world into existence entered history to redeem it.
The saving work of Christ is therefore not only redemptive but re-creative. Scripture consistently presents salvation as new creation. United to Christ by faith, believers participate in a restored humanity. Peter speaks of believers becoming “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4)—not by sharing in God’s essence, but by union with Christ, who is both God and man. In Him, the damage wrought by Adam is not merely repaired but surpassed.
Thus, in celebrating Christ’s coming, Christians are rejoicing in the renewal of creation itself.
A Public Testimony to Christ
By God’s providence, the Incarnation of Christ is publicly remembered throughout the world each year. Even those who reject His lordship cannot erase the historical reality of His coming. Christmas stands as a recurring witness that Jesus Christ entered history as promised.
Isaiah foretold that the child born would be called Immanuel, “God with us.” John Chrysostom argued from this prophecy that Scripture does not hesitate to call the Son God, and Justin Martyr boldly proclaimed to the pagan world that Christians do not speak foolishly when they declare that God was born as man. Christmas confronts the world with the truth that Christ is not merely a moral teacher, but Lord and King.
The Heart of the Matter
The true meaning of Christmas is Christ—His Incarnation, His obedience, His atoning death, His resurrection, ascension, and present reign. When rightly understood, Christmas is a season that proclaims the Gospel: “Unto you is born… a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
Christ is freely offered to sinners. All who repent and believe in Him are reconciled to God and made new. For this reason, Christians may rejoice—not in tradition or sentiment, but in the saving work of the incarnate Son.
The Word has become flesh.
The Savior has come.
God is with us.
—Kuya Patrick 🫡
