The Reason for the Incarnation

The Bible clearly talks about the humanity of Jesus Christ. The incarnation is such an important doctrinal stance of God’s word, that its denial is classified by the Bible as Satanic (I John 4:2; II John 1:7). Knowing that Jesus becoming man is important, perhaps we should ask why He became human.

Jesus became a man in order to die. The Bible states that the Lord partook of flesh and blood so that He could die (Hebrews 2:14). And in suffering death, Jesus made Himself an offering to God for our sin. His offering was perfect and acceptable to God.

God cannot die because He is eternal. But if God adds to His divine nature a human nature, He is susceptible to death as a man. The Bible says that as a man, Jesus condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3). In other words Jesus, as a man, defeats sin at the level at which sin entered the world. The result is the destruction of the devil (I John 3:8).

Additionally, as a man, Jesus’ death fully satisfied God’s justice. Had God excused humanity’s rebellion, He would have not been just. His justice required the death of the sinner. By dying in our place, Jesus was the substitute payor of the justice due to sinners.
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The incarnation was the way God satisfied His own justice for all sin. Jesus had to become human to pay the debt we owed to God. And in doing so, He opened the door for people to be free from sin and death.