The Incarnation – God Becomes Man

Michael Fierro
Jun 15
3 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

What Does "Incarnation" Mean?

The word Incarnation comes from Latin: in (into) and caro (flesh). It literally means “enfleshment.” In Christian theology, it refers to the astonishing claim that:

The eternal Son of God assumed a human nature and became man.

He did not cease to be God. Nor did He merely “appear” human. He truly became man, while remaining fully divine. Jesus Christ is one person, the eternal Son, with two natures: one divine, one human.

This is the mystery of the hypostatic union.

What Is the Hypostatic Union?

This is a technical term, but it’s central to Christian faith, so let’s define it carefully.

Hypostasis is an ancient Greek word meaning “person” or “underlying reality.”
A “union” is the joining together of two things.

So the hypostatic union means:

The two natures of Christ- divine and human- are united in one person, the eternal Son of God.

Jesus is not half-God and half-man. He is fully God and fully man in one undivided person.

His divine nature includes omniscience, omnipotence, and eternity.
His human nature includes a real human body, a rational soul, a human will, and the ability to suffer and die.

These are not blended into a third kind of being. They are united without confusion, change, division, or separation, as defined at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD.

Why Did God Become Man?

This is a question the Church has wrestled with from the beginning. Several great saints have offered answers that are not in conflict, but build on each other:

St. Athanasius (4th century):

“God became man so that man might become God.”

He doesn’t mean we turn into divine beings, but that by grace, we are raised up into union with God.

St. Anselm (11th century):

“Only man ought to pay the debt for sin. But only God could.”

Anselm saw the Incarnation as the only fitting way for justice to be satisfied: Jesus, being truly man, could represent us. And being truly God, His offering had infinite value.

The Catechism (CCC 457–460) summarizes four reasons:

To save us by reconciling us with God.
To reveal the depth of God’s love.
To be our model of holiness.
To make us partakers of the divine nature.

What Did the Incarnation Accomplish?

By taking on a human nature, the Son of God:

Entered into our world of time, suffering, and death
Sanctified human nature from the inside
Revealed the Father through His words and actions
Offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice on the cross
Rose from the dead to restore our hope
Remains with us through His Body, the Church, and in the sacraments

The Incarnation is not just about Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. It includes:

His entire earthly life
His Passion, Death, and Resurrection
His continued presence in the Church

This is why St. Paul can write, “In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19).

A Mystery to Believe and to Love

The Incarnation is a mystery, but not in the sense of something irrational. In theology, a mystery is a truth that we could not have discovered on our own, but which God has revealed—and which we can begin to understand, love, and enter into more deeply.

The more we reflect on the Incarnation, the more we realize how intimately God desires to be with us. Not as an abstract idea. Not as a distant power. But in the flesh, walking our roads, sharing our burdens, redeeming us from within.

Why This Matters

The Incarnation means that God is not far off. He is not a concept or a symbol. He is a person, a person who entered into history, who took on our weakness, and who walks with us even now.

If God has taken on our flesh, then your body, your suffering, your dignity: it all matters. He knows what it is to be tired, misunderstood, rejected, and wounded. He knows what it is to love with a human heart.

Because He took on our humanity, we can share in His divinity. Not by nature, but by grace. We are not just saved from sin, we are raised into communion.

The Incarnation is not just something to admire at Christmas. It is something to live every day.