Why did God become man? (Ezekiel 1-3; John 1)

How often do you wonder at the fact that God became a man?! The gospel of John helps us to see something of the enormity of the incarnation. He begins in eternity past, reminding us that God the Son has always existed, He was there in the beginning with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He made everything (John 1:3)

John tells us that the one who made everything became a part of His creation. He took on flesh (John 1:14). Why did He do this? Why take such an enormous step down? So that we can become children of God. John tells us in v12, “to all who did receive him, he gave the right to become children of God.” This an amazing truth, but before we see the wonderful privilege, we need to recognise the negative. If we need to receive Jesus to be children of God, then we are not by nature children of God.

Sometimes you will hear someone saying “we are all God’s children” but John says, no we’re not! By nature we are enemies of God, we don’t want Him to rule over us. He tells us the shocking truth that when Jesus came into the world that He had made, He was rejected even by his own people (the Jews).

But, not everyone rejects Jesus, and to those who receive Him, we get the enormous privilege of becoming part of God’s family. If we receive Jesus, we get the right to become children of God! What does it mean to receive Jesus? It means to recognise Him as the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). If you see that Jesus is the one who came to die for your sin, and you receive Him as your Saviour and Lord, then you become a child of God! What a privilege to know God as your Father and every other person who has received Jesus as your brother and sister in Christ.

In his great book “knowing God” Jim Packer writes a chapter on adoption and he concludes by saying we should remind ourselves of this wonderful truth everyday, remind yourselves of these truths:

• I am a child of God.
• God is my Father.
• Heaven is my home.
• Every day is one day nearer.
• My Savior is my brother.
• Every Christian is my brother too.

Have you received Jesus, then these wonderful truths are yours. If you haven’t yet received Jesus, what is stopping you from coming to Him today? Why miss out on this enormous privilege of being a child of God?