Page 16 - Life of Christ - textbook (3)
P. 16

Study Section 3:  The Word Becomes Flesh





                3.1 Connect.


                        I don’t suppose you like fire ants.  Fire ants are bad news!  If you step on them, they will bite
                        you.  Ants are very small and to us are somewhat insignificant.  We don’t think much of
                        smashing a few ants that get in our way.  Let’s suppose you got down really low to the ground
                        and watched the ants carefully as they go about their day.  You see one little ant that is having
                        a hard time picking up a piece of bread.  Two other ants are fighting over another morsel.  You
                        want to help them, but they don’t seem to understand your language.  Probably the only way
               you could really communicate with the ants is if you became an ant and spoke their language.

               God communicated to us through giving His word, but the ultimate word He gave us is His Son, the
               Word of God.  He sent His Son so that we could know God.  Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have
               seen the Father”.  Jesus was God in a human body, just like ours.  He became one of us to communicate
               with us and to help us resolve the greatest problem of all … our sin problem.  Today we are going to
               study the “incarnation” of God.  This word means “to become flesh” or human.  We don’t understand
               why God would do such a thing, but we are thankful that He did.


                3.2 Objectives.


                      1.  The student should be able to define what the word logos means and how its definition helps
                      us understand the nature of Jesus Christ.


                      2. The student should be able to describe some amazing facts about the miraculous
               announcement of John the Baptist’s birth.


               3.  The student should be able to explain why God sent John the Baptist to Israel before Jesus began His
               ministry.


                3.3 The Harmony of the Gospels

                        Note:  There are many fine individuals who have suggested a chronological harmony of the
                        Gospels and for the most part, most basically agree.  Dr. Doug Bookman in Christianity.com
                        suggested the chronology presented in the balance of this course which is succinct and
                                         8
                        extremely helpful.   Many of the headings are Dr. Bookman’s suggestions for outlining the life
                        of Christ in harmony.  Also, some content in this lesson was gleaned from reading the So
                        That’s Why! Bible – Making Sense of All the People, Places, and Events of the Bible published
               by Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1997. It is an excellent resource to have in your library.





               8  (https://www.christianity.com/jesus/life-of-jesus/harmony-of-the-gospels/)

                                                             15
   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21