예수 그리스도의 성육신에 관하여(Incarnation) 벨직신앙고백서 강해16 [18조] 때가 차매 하나님이 그 아들을 보내사 ...

제 18 조 예수 그리스도의 성육신에 관하여

그러므로 우리는 하나님이 옛날에 조상들에게 거룩한 예언자의 입을 통하여 그가 정하신 때에 자기의 독생자이신 영원한 아들을 이 세상에 보내실 것을 약속하시고 이것을 이루신 것을 믿는다. 그 아들은 종의 형상을 취하셔서 사람과 같이 되셨고, 모든 연약함을 지닌 참된 인간성을 취하셨으나 사람의 방법이 아니고 성령의 힘으로 복된 동정녀 마리아의 태내에서 수태되었다. 그는 다만 몸으로만 인간성을 취하신 것만이 아니고 참 사람이 되기 위하여 참된 인간의 영혼도 취하셨다. 그가 몸과 영혼을 다 구원하기 위하여 두 가지를 다 취할 필요가 있었던 까닭은 영혼과 함께 몸도 타락하였기 때문이다.

그러므로 우리는 그리스도가 그의 어머니의 몸을 취하신 것이 아니라고 주장하는 재세례파 신도들의 이단설을 반대하고 그리스도는 어린이들과 같은 몸과 피를 공유하고 계심을 믿는다. 즉 그는 육신으로는 다윗의 자손이어서 육신으로는 다윗의 씨에서 태어나셨다. 그는 동정녀 마리아의 태의 씨, 여자에게서 나서 다윗의 후손 이새의 뿌리에서 나셨고 유다의 지파이다. 육신으로는 유대인에게서 나셨고, 아브라함의 씨를 받아 모든 것에 있어서 죄를 제외하고는 그의 형제들과 같이 되셨다. 그리하여 참으로 그는 우리의 임마누엘, 즉 하나님이 우리와 함께 하신 것이다.

Article 18: Of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We confess, therefore, that God did fulfill the promise, which he made to the fathers, by the mouth of his holy prophets, when he sent into the world, at the time appointed by him, his own, only-begotten and eternal Son, who took upon him the form of a servant, and became like unto man, really assuming the true human nature, with all its infirmities, sin excepted, being conceived in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Ghost, without the means of man, and did not only assume human nature as to the body, but also a true human soul, that he might be a real man. For since the soul was lost as well as the body, it was necessary that he should take both upon him, to save both. Therefore we confess (in opposition to the heresy of the Anabaptists, who deny that Christ assumed human flesh of his mother) that Christ is become a partaker of the flesh and blood of the children; that he is a fruit of the loins of David after the flesh; made of the seed of David according to the flesh; a fruit of the womb of the Virgin Mary, made of a woman, a branch of David; a shoot of the root of Jesse; sprung from the tribe of Judah; descended from the Jews according to the flesh; of the seed of Abraham, since he took on him the seed of Abraham, and became like unto his brethren in all things, sin excepted, so that in truth he is our Immanuel, that is to say, God with us.

The incarnation. This is a term we so often use in our Christian lingo that it has become another phrase we simply let roll off our tongues all too easily. The incarnation, though, is no mere phrase; it was a climactic, redemptive event. It was a moment in which there was hushed silence in heaven and earth as God was doing something He had never done before – and then there was exuberant praise! We cannot simply define this term every so often in our Christmas sermons or Heidelberg Catechism sermons, as if the incarnation were simply a vocabulary lesson or a doctrine to pull off of the shelf when required. Instead, we need to understand the incarnation’s significance so we can apply its benefits to our daily spirituality.

To do so we must define the term. The Latin title of Article 18 is de incarnatione filii Dei, “Of the incarnation of the Son of God.” Our English word “incarnation” comes from the Latin incarnatio, meaning, “the unition (unitio), or act of uniting, human nature with the Logos.” It is the event in which the eternal Son took upon Himself a human nature: “And the Word became flesh” (John 1:14).

The Climax of History⤒