Incarnation #2 (Advent) – Study Questions

Kyle Bartholic   -   November 30, 2023

Incarnation #2 – Advent 2023

God’s Son

Hebrews 1:1-4ff

 

INTRODUCTION:  The doctrine of the incarnation is not an obscure or secondary doctrinal commitment in Christianity. From the earliest days of the faith, the fact that Jesus was God incarnate (God made flesh), was held to as a central commitment. The Apostle’s Creed (cf. 140 AD) begins this way, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord…” The Apostle’s Creed was known to the early church as a “rule of faith.” That is, it is a summary of what the Apostles taught, and it was a rubric against which to measure doctrinal thought. From this early creed, we see that Jesus was not just seen as a man, a prophet, or a good religious teacher. He was seen and understood as God’s Son, incarnate, and Lord. This is in alignment with what Jesus taught about himself. Jesus put himself in the very place of God, and from the earliest records of the church, we find a picture of Jesus as divine. The Apostle Paul spoke of Jesus as the one who was “in very nature God” (Phil. 2:6) and in whom “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Col. 2:9; cf. also 1 Cor. 8:4-6). John’s Gospel offers a similar view: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,14; cf. John 10:30; John 17:5).[1]

 

Through this theological lens, we read and begin to understand the depth and importance of the words of the writer of Hebrews in their opening statement (Heb. 1:1-4). Seeing and understanding Jesus clearly is absolutely crucial to understanding God and his offer of redemption. Here is the way one commentator expresses this idea, “Have you ever read the Old Testament and thought to yourself, “I wish I could have seen what Moses saw,” or “I wish I could have been a part of the life of Elijah”? In these first three verses of Hebrews, the writer’s perspective is the opposite. In Jesus, God has given you a clearer, fuller revelation of himself than he gave to the Old Testament prophets. If only Moses had seen what you have seen! We are living in the last days when the fullness of the ages has come. We have seen God break into the world in the person of Jesus and rise from the dead to share his glory with the world. People were longing to see that for thousands of years; the angels long to look into it (1 Peter 1:10–12). But we are living in the “last days,” when it has finally happened. The Old Testament days were not the glory days: they were days of shadows and types that only pointed toward Christ. But we have seen more than Moses ever imagined, because we are witnesses to the glory of Christ revealed on earth. This is the fundamental takeaway point from these verses: that we have the honor and privilege of living in the age of Christ, through whom God has fully and finally spoken.” [2]

The simple and yet profound truth we are taught in the season of Advent is God has not hidden himself from us.

 

 

 

GETTING STARTED – As a group, share about a time when something remained hidden to you for a time and what it was like to see it clearly for the first time. I (Kyle) remember a time in middle school when my friends would play this game oriented around sequenced numbers. The whole point of the game was to figure out how the sequence worked as everyone played the game. It took me weeks to figure it out. The whole time, I felt like something was being hidden from me, and once I got it, I was both relieved and still frustrated with the game as a whole.

IN THE WORD –   Let’s dig back into the passage(s). It is important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.

First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below. (O.P.A)

Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.

 

 

Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?

 

 

Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday- Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?

 

Note: Another way to approach your time together is to talk through the following questions. [3]

  1. Why is it important to you that God did not hide himself from humanity? In what ways has God made himself known or visible to you? (Consider: Scripture, nature, relationships, etc.)
  2. What aspects (traditions, songs, activities, etc.) of the Christmas season help you remember the truth of the incarnation (that God is not hidden from us)?
  3. To what other places do you sometimes turn to hear God “speak” besides Jesus and the prophets?
  4. What characteristics of Jesus stood out to you from this passage? How did those encourage you?
  5. How should Jesus’ position of power and exaltation affect your everyday life?

 

 

 

 

 

[1] EFCA. Evangelical Convictions, 2nd Edition (p. 117). Free Church Publications. Kindle Edition.

[2] Michael J. Kruger, Hebrews for You, ed. Carl Laferton, God’s Word for You (The Good Book Company, 2021), 17–18.

[3] Some questions adapted from: Michael J. Kruger, Hebrews for You, ed. Carl Laferton, God’s Word for You (The Good Book Company, 2021), 18.