INCARNATION vs FILLING

A question was asked about incarnation of Christ; I tried to explain how this is different from the filling of the Holy Spirit in us. 

         Allow me to try to explain to the best — yet as simply as I can — about this very profound theological concept of the incarnation of Christ, so that you will be able to appreciate who this Elohim is whom we worship! 

         No man could have ever imagined; yet, when Christ came into the world, all the mysteries in the Tanakh that were hidden from even the prophets, was made plain to us.

         Let's begin with John 1:1:

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος

Translated into English (NASB): In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

         We see that the λόγος (translated Word) was already there in the beginning. The λόγος pre-existed even before creation. Only God could have existed before creation. The λόγος was, therefore, never a part of God's creation.

          The λόγος was with God. For this reason, we see in Genesis 1: 26:

 וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל־הָאָרֶץ וּבְכָל־הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל־הָאָרֶץ׃

Translated into English (NASB): Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 

           When we look at the Hebrew text, we see the plurality in the references to Elohim; from here, we can now appreciate such a profound theological concept of incarnation:

• The λόγος was, according to John 1:1, involved as the Creator in the entire act of creating the universe and all that is in it. God spoke (the word) and everything that was created came into being. A good example is Genesis 1:3, וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר׃ 

• The plurality used even in the Hebrew text shows that, in order for us to understand God, we need to detoxify our minds from the Judaistic-Jewish mindset, and accept that although God is One (אֶחָד), He is One yet He refers Himself as 'Us', 'Our'.   Elohim said: Let Us.... in Our image ... according to Our likeness (Genesis 1:26)

• In saying this, Elohim was not referring to the angelic hosts when He said, "Let Us create man..." The power of creation (בָּרָא) is in Elohim (Genesis 1:1). Angels, as a creation of God, were never the Creator. The world was came into being solely by the power of the Word (λόγος) that God spoke. No where in the the Tanakh did it say that angels were created in the image of God; only Man and Man alone was created in the image of God. This puts us in a position of great significance in God's creation scheme.

        When you put this altogether, you will be mesmerised by the fact that the "λόγος (who) was God" himself - as John puts it in chapter 1 verse 1 - was born in flesh (σὰρξ ἐγένετο) and became human like any of us, yet the λόγος was still God himself.

        If this blows your mind, it is because only the λόγος was capable of being God and at the same time being Man Himself. All else came into being only because of the λόγος.


       This is the theological truth behind the incarnation of Christ. The root word is 'carnal' which means 'flesh'. Incarnation, therefore, means 'becoming as flesh.' The concept is clearly stated in John 1:14:

Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας.

Translated into English (NASB): And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

        The word 'ἐγένετο' in John 1:14 shares the same root word as the word 'ἐγεννήθη' in Matthew 1: 16. This root word γεννάω (γίνομαι) is translated as 'born' or 'taking the form of the flesh'.

        In short, the λόγος was born in flesh, and being in oneness with the human flesh just like any of us, the λόγος retained His unchanging divine nature. No where does it say that the λόγος filled a human body or vessel.

        The second part of this article seeks to differentiate between incarnation which only happened in Christ and the indwelling or filling of the Spirit in us.

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             The Greek text uses a different word when referring to the filling with the Spirit. Instead of the word 'ἐγένετο' (born or being in the form of flesh or σὰρξ ἐγένετο), nearly all the verses related to the indwelling or filling of the Holy Spirit uses a common root word, πληρόω. 

Acts 4:8 Τότε Πέτρος πλησθεὶς πνεύματος ἁγίου εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· ἄρχοντες τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ πρεσβύτεροι,
Translated into English (NASB): Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,

        The difference between πληρόω (to fill, make full, fill up) and ἐγένετο (born or became flesh) is obvious and needs no further explanation. 

         One is a human or vessel of flesh in origin and needs to be filled with the Spirit; the other is the λόγος that took on the human form.

          Let us take time to reflect this profound truth of incarnation as it is beautifully stated in these words: 

ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο 

(the λόγος was born in plain human flesh). 

          Being one of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, I like the way the Apostle’s creed explains the incarnation of Christ:

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.

             If there is one way I can describe this in my own words, it is `God yet Man, Man yet God!' We can only explain how this is possible because He is God. With Him, all things are possible what the human mind cannot comprehend.

        Praise the Lord for we have a God who is always with us. He understands our human weaknesses and struggles, because He Himself has walked this earth like one of us! Amen and Amen.