St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

How could God fit into a baby?

Each year we celebrate Christmas. Some of us enter deeply into the story of God entering our world, becoming man and living among us. And many of us (I guess the ones not reading this magazine?) remain polite but sceptical. The ancient Jews accused the early Christians of blasphemy for claiming that a mere man was God - but the modern thinker is a bit more tolerant than that. We are entitled to believe daft things if we want - but how do Christians manage to believe this particular daft thing?

It should be obvious to everyone that if there really were a ‘god’ who created the universe and runs it, then he / she / it would be far too ‘big’ to fit inside a person! Not in physical size, but in lots of other ways. For instance:

in knowledge: God knows everything - but people are limited by their education. You couldn’t fit all that knowledge into a little brain.
in strength: God can do anything, but people are limited.
in time: God is unchangeable and sees from an eternal perspective, but people are creatures of their time, and they grow and learn.
in love: God is not dependent on anyone, so he can show unconditional love. But people have to make choices for their own survival - they can’t love disinterestedly.
in foresight: God knows the future by omniscience, but people have to develop the skill of anticipating what might happen and taking precautions. And so ...
in temptations: God would be immune to worldly sharp practice, but people need self-discipline to keep on the right track.

So there’s a big philosophical problem about Christmas, isn’t there? Nevertheless, the bible claims that God became a real person. However did he / she / it manage to fit into a baby?

Well, here’s what the bible says about that.

First, people are made in God’s image: they are more like God than anything else in creation. Somehow, God put something of himself in people, and that’s how he was able to come.
Second, you don’t get to a proper understanding of Jesus by starting with questions about how God could become man. You get there by getting to know Jesus. The first disciples did this by spending time with him, and the early Christians did it by hearing the apostles preaching and teaching about him and by joining others who believed in Jesus. Nowadays we can do these things by reading the bible for ourselves and asking Jesus to be present with us by his Spirit as we read, and by joining an active local fellowship of those who follow Jesus. A local church is supposed to help us to get to know Jesus better - in fact, that’s what ‘church’ is supposed to be all about.

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that Jesus didn’t ask his closest disciples “Who do you say that I am?” until half way through the gospels. And it’s interesting that he didn’t then tell them to tell everybody else the answer to this question - in fact quite the opposite. He seemed to realize that knowing him came first, before believing things about him.
Third, it’s quite obvious when you do get to know Jesus through the scriptures, that he was both completely human and also completely more that human. His temptations, his human emotions, his empathy with others, his tiredness, his need of prayer, and many other things all point to a man who was subject to the same limitations as we are. But the quality of his lifestyle and the impact he made on others show that he was also much more. How do we explain that in words? The “doctrine of the incarnation” (which means the belief that Jesus was God himself come as a real person) isn’t an explanation of how it’s possible - it’s really an attempt to say what we discover when we get to know Jesus in the bible.
Fourth, however, the bible does contain some “explanations” (or perhaps “mechanisms”) for how we might think of Jesus’ nature. It says Jesus “emptied himself” of his divine nature (Phil 2:7), or “laid aside his majesty” (as the hymn puts it). It says Jesus is the “image” of God (Heb 1:3) - like a 2D photo is an image of a 3D scene. It says Jesus is a part of God: his “Word” (John 1:1-14), his “wisdom and power” (1 Cor 1:24), or his “fullness in bodily form” (Col 2:9). We don’t claim Jesus in his flesh had God’s majesty or eternity, but we do claim he had God’s character and personality.
Fifth (and last for now), by virtue of Jesus’ actions on earth, the barrier between us and God is removed. We can come into a relationship with God, which suddenly helps us see God in a new light. It’s a magical transforming experience, it’s the real meaning of Christmas, and I pray you will find it this Christmas.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. December 2006, Pages 1-2.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (December 2006) Christmas, Buildings, Women Bishops, Song. Other letters from the vicar.	How could God fit into a baby? Each year we celebrate Christmas. Some of us enter deeply into the story of God entering our world, becoming man and living among us. And many of us (I guess the ones not reading this magazine?) remain polite but sceptical. The ancient Jews accused the early Christians of blasphemy for claiming that a mere man was God - but the modern thinker is a bit more tolerant than that. We are entitled to believe daft things if we want - but how do Christians manage to believe this particular daft thing? It should be obvious to everyone that if there really were a ‘god’ who created the universe and runs it, then he / she / it would be far too ‘big’ to fit inside a person! Not in physical size, but in lots of other ways. For instance: in knowledge: God knows everything - but people are limited by their education. You couldn’t fit all that knowledge into a little brain. in strength: God can do anything, but people are limited. in time: God is unchangeable and sees from an eternal perspective, but people are creatures of their time, and they grow and learn. in love: God is not dependent on anyone, so he can show unconditional love. But people have to make choices for their own survival - they can’t love disinterestedly. in foresight: God knows the future by omniscience, but people have to develop the skill of anticipating what might happen and taking precautions. And so ... in temptations: God would be immune to worldly sharp practice, but people need self-discipline to keep on the right track. So there’s a big philosophical problem about Christmas, isn’t there? Nevertheless, the bible claims that God became a real person. However did he / she / it manage to fit into a baby? Well, here’s what the bible says about that. First, people are made in God’s image: they are more like God than anything else in creation. Somehow, God put something of himself in people, and that’s how he was able to come. Second, you don’t get to a proper understanding of Jesus by starting with questions about how God could become man. You get there by getting to know Jesus. The first disciples did this by spending time with him, and the early Christians did it by hearing the apostles preaching and teaching about him and by joining others who believed in Jesus. Nowadays we can do these things by reading the bible for ourselves and asking Jesus to be present with us by his Spirit as we read, and by joining an active local fellowship of those who follow Jesus. A local church is supposed to help us to get to know Jesus better - in fact, that’s what ‘church’ is supposed to be all about. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that Jesus didn’t ask his closest disciples “Who do you say that I am?” until half way through the gospels. And it’s interesting that he didn’t then tell them to tell everybody else the answer to this question - in fact quite the opposite. He seemed to realize that knowing him came first, before believing things about him. Third, it’s quite obvious when you do get to know Jesus through the scriptures, that he was both completely human and also completely more that human. His temptations, his human emotions, his empathy with others, his tiredness, his need of prayer, and many other things all point to a man who was subject to the same limitations as we are. But the quality of his lifestyle and the impact he made on others show that he was also much more. How do we explain that in words? The “doctrine of the incarnation” (which means the belief that Jesus was God himself come as a real person) isn’t an explanation of how it’s possible - it’s really an attempt to say what we discover when we get to know Jesus in the bible. Fourth, however, the bible does contain some “explanations” (or perhaps “mechanisms”) for how we might think of Jesus’ nature. It says Jesus “emptied himself” of his divine nature (Phil 2:7), or “laid aside his majesty” (as the hymn puts it). It says Jesus is the “image” of God (Heb 1:3) - like a 2D photo is an image of a 3D scene. It says Jesus is a part of God: his “Word” (John 1:1-14), his “wisdom and power” (1 Cor 1:24), or his “fullness in bodily form” (Col 2:9). We don’t claim Jesus in his flesh had God’s majesty or eternity, but we do claim he had God’s character and personality. Fifth (and last for now), by virtue of Jesus’ actions on earth, the barrier between us and God is removed. We can come into a relationship with God, which suddenly helps us see God in a new light. It’s a magical transforming experience, it’s the real meaning of Christmas, and I pray you will find it this Christmas. John Hartley
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