The incarnation describes the Son of God wrapping himself in human flesh to save humanity from the penalty of sin. Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defined incarnation as, “The act of clothing with flesh. The act of assuming flesh, or of taking a human body and the nature of man; as the incarnation of the Son of God. The apostle Paul explained it like this. “Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us” (Philippians 2:6-7 | CEV). He relinquished for a time his rightful place as the Second Person of the Trinity to take on characteristics he did not previously possess—those of a human being. He did not divest himself of his divinity, rather he became one person with a divine nature who always spoke of himself as a “me” not an “us.” He was one person with two natures, not two persons in one body. In effect, the Creator took on the character of his creation; manifesting the traits of both as a singular entity.

When we speak of the incarnation we begin with the familiar Christmas story. Mary, a virgin, was miraculously impregnated by God and gave birth to Jesus, God’s son. He was born fully human and fully God, yet without sin. He is God-man. Because he did not have an earthly father, he did not become a new, human being—born in sin. Instead he lived and died apart from the covenant of works and free from sin. Even though he was tempted in every respect as other humans he never succombed to sin’s temptation. Because he remained sinless he was able to serve as the atoning sacrifice for all humankind. The death of God’s only begotten son demonstrated God’s mercy and satisfied his judgment. Jesus took the punishment we deserved in order to repair the relationship between God and humankind. “This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God” (1 John 4:10 | MSG).

“The Holy Spirit is the point at which the Trinity becomes personal to the believer.”  That is how author of Christian Theology,  Millard J. Erickson, discribed the role the Holy Spirit plays in the life of a believer. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998, p. 862) Although he is considered the third person of the Trinity, that does not mean he is less important than the Father or the Son. He is equally God.

The last instruction Jesus gave his disciples was, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5 | NIV). When that happened, everyone that was filled with the Holy Spirit spoke in other tongues. You can read all about it in Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts.

God’s Spirit lives inside the true believer. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 | RSV) His presence marks us as genuine Christ-followers. “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit . . .” (Ephesians 1:13 | ESV). We don’t need a list of rules because he guides, teaches and reminds us what it looks like to glorify God by the way we live. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26 | NIV).

He opens our eyes to Scripture and facilitates our understanding of what God reveals to us about himself. “However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-11 | NIV).

Finally, the Holy Spirit prays for us when we are at a loss for words. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” Romans 8:26-27 | ESV).

Sadly, there is a lot of disagreement over whether speaking in tongues, along with the other spiritual gifts, are for the contemporary church. That likely results from lack of experience, rather that solid exegesis. There is no biblical evidence that tongues or the other gifts of the Spirit ceased with the apostles or that they even ceased at all. There is no reason to believe that they are not all available to us today.

The apostle Paul took great pains to explain the importance of spiritual gifts, including tongues, in 1 Corinthians 12. Why would he do that if they were only temporary? In an age when people are too proud to walk to an altar to repent, it is no wonder we do not hear very much about speaking in tongues. It requires complete surrender to God—an abandonment of self-will and self-control. It is a supernatural experience that has no natural equivalent.

There is no Scripture that asserts being filled with the Holy Spirit requires the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues, but that seems to have been the pattern in the 1st century church. Practically every time we read where people received the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues. (Acts 2:4, 10:46, and 19:6) One can’t help but wonder, if it is available and, if the apostle Paul considered it important, “ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Corinthians 14:18) why wouldn’t we want it, along with the other spiritual gifts? “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1 | ESV).

Jesus is where heaven and earth meet. Most Christians hear about heaven in connection with an evangelistic sermon. We decide it is preferable to the alternative and jump on board the train bound for Glory. Yet, life after life misses the real message of Christianity. We were created to dwell with God, but sin messed that up. So, he devised a plan to reconcile us to him and will eventually make his home in our midst. Dwelling with humankind began with the Exodus tabernacle. Sadly, his people rejected him and he departed for a time. Four hundred years later he took on the form of a man and again made his tabernacle among us. (John 1:14) One day God will again dwell with us. Until that happens, we are expected to reflect heaven on earth. That is the job of true disciples and the real Christian message of heaven.

“How you think about heaven affects everything in life—how you prioritize love, how willing you are to sacrifice for the long term, how you view suffering, what you fear or don’t fear.” (John Burke, Imagine Heaven, (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing, 2015). The writer of Ecclesiastes observed, “He has also set eternity in the human heart . . .” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) According to Randy Alcorn (Heaven, Tyndall House Publishers, 2004), “the unifying testimony of the human heart throughout history is belief in life after death. Anthropological evidence suggests that every culture has a God-given innate sense of the eternal—that this world is not all there is.” (Kindle Location 272)

Don Nix wrote a song entitled, “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, but Nobody Wants to Die;” first recorded by blues artist, Albert King in 1986. There is a lot of truth in that sentiment. If you ask someone if they believe in heaven and hell, there is a chance they will say “no.” But, if you ask those same people where they expect to go when they die, they will likely say, “heaven.” In an article entitled “Next Stop, the Pearly Gates . . . or Hell?” published in the Los Angeles Times on October 24, 2003, K. Connie Kang asserted, “For every American who believes he’s going to Hell, there are 120 who believe they’re going to Heaven.”

A Barna Research Group poll, disclosed an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in life after life and that both heaven and hell exist. Perhaps the reason we hear so little about heaven is because the enemy of our souls doesn’t want us living like we are there now. He would prefer we reject Jesus while believing in heaven. The easiest way to do that is by pushing the nearly universal belief that all good people go to heaven. That belief might be widely accepted but it is a gross misconception. It simply provides a false sense of security for those on the wide road to destruction.

The words for heaven (Hebrew: shamim and Greek: ouranos) are translated God’s dwelling place. (Psalm 33:13) Jesus is there now (Acts 1:11) While on this earth he not only believed heaven is a place, he said he was going there and would return to take his followers there, too. (John 14:1-3) According to the apostle Paul, Christians are citizens of heaven and that is where Jesus will be until he returns for his Church. (Philippians 3:20) Revelation 21 describes heaven, but I suspect it will be even better than the apostle John’s description. We will get a new body suited for our eternal home in a new heaven and a new earth. (1 Corinthians 15:40-49) God’s dwelling place will be on earth with his people. Some people interpret 1 Corinthians 13:12 as proof we will know each other in heaven, perhaps as a friends or family members. It also appears that we will be given jobs to do in heaven. There will be no death, pain or tears. (Revelation 21:4) and we will likely eat and drink there. (Matthew 26:29)

Based on the promise Jesus made on the cross, believers will go into the presence of the Lord immediately after they die. (Luke 23:43) Exactly where that will be is uncertain. Some maintain we will sleep until Jesus returns while others hold that we will occupy an “intermediate” heaven, perhaps the “paradise” Jesus promised the thief. According to them the heaven that exists now is not where we will spend eternity, and the body we will be clothed in there will not be our forever body. It would seem, given what the apostle John reported, an intermediate heaven is the most likely place where we will await the Lord’s return. Regardless of whether we go to an intermediate heaven or sleep until the good times roll, when we open our eyes on the other side, it’s going to exceed our wildest imagination.

“Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you,” says Dallas Willard. A disciple has no higher ambition than to glorify God with their life. Jesus instructed all believers to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20) But we can’t make disciples unless we are disciples ourselves. The concept of discipleship is what built the church—mature disciples reproducing other disciples who are mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:28) A disciple is more than a fan or a Jesus groupie. He or she is one who knows Jesus, not one who simply knows about Jesus. Discipleship is more than showing up on Sunday morning to learn even more, but never putting it into practice. Christianity without discipleship is like a car without an engine. It might look good, but isn’t going anywhere.

Discipleship is characterized by sacrifice. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Like 9:23 | NIV) It takes death to self to walk with Jesus. It requires listening to and obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit in all things, not just those that are convenient. A true disciple surrenders his or her life, every facet of it, every day to follow Jesus.

Jesus did not call any Sunday morning disciples. For those who accepted his invitation it was a 24/7/365 commitment. They left everything to respond to his, “Follow me.” And nothing has changed. We cannot be disciples without faith and we cannot have faith without obedience. The heart of discipleship is obedience. Bonhoeffer said, “For faith is only real when there is obedience, never without it, and faith only becomes faith in the act of obedience.”

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15 | NIV). In another place he asked his disciples, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46 | NIV) He followed up by comparing such people to a man who builds his house on the sand. When the torrent came it was destroyed. People who call themselves Christians, but who have not sold out completely to Jesus have built on a faulty foundation.

It takes more than a hand raised in response to a passionate church “invitation” or being a member of the “cool” church at the top of the hill. A disciple acts and thinks like Jesus. A disciple is a different person from what she or he was before. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That is what Jesus meant when he told Nicodemus he must be born again. If we are not being discipled and we are not making disciples, we would be hard pressed to prove that we are, in fact, disciples.