Incarnations

Incarnations

God . . . was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles.

Galatians 1:15-16

IN WORD Paul’s mission to preach to the Gentiles is well known. We have stories of his proclamation of the gospel in cities all across the Mediterranean, boldly asserting the supremacy of Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection of the dead. What we sometimes don’t realize is the comprehensive nature of his proclamation. It wasn’t just a matter of words; it was a matter of life.

That comprehensive sense of calling often comes through in Paul’s letters. Here in Galatians, he could have told the congregation that God was pleased to reveal His Son to Paul, but he chose another way to say it. God revealed His Son in Paul. The wording is subtle, but the difference is enormous. Paul’s mission was more than just information about the gospel. It was an incarnation of the Son of God.

Paul said that we “carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:10). He said that God’s glory will be revealed in us, and that “the creation waits in eager expectation” for that revelation (Romans 8:18-19). And, perhaps the boldest of all statements, he believed that he himself no longer lived, but rather, Christ lived in him (Galatians 2:20). The ministry of Paul was not the words he said, but what he carried around within him all the time.

IN DEED Most of us deeply desire for God to reveal Himself to us so we can worship Him more clearly and profoundly. And God wants to do that. But He wants more. After revealing Himself to us, He wants to reveal Himself in us so others can worship Him more clearly and profoundly. Just as Jesus was the incarnation of God, so are we to be incarnations of Jesus. The Spirit lives in us specifically so that the world might see, in the flesh, a power worth worshiping. Make that your heart’s desire—not just to see a revelation of God’s grace, but to be a revelation of God’s grace.

The incarnation is the pattern for all evangelism.

—EVERETT L. CATTELL