The main theological topic addressed in Don Fortner's article “A Body Hast Thou Prepared Me” is the necessity of the incarnation of Christ for the redemption of humanity. Fortner argues that for Jesus to serve as the Redeemer, He had to become one with humanity by taking on a human body, fulfilling divine justice while offering salvation. Key scripture references include Hebrews 10:5, which emphasizes the requirement of a body for Christ, and Hebrews 2:16-17, highlighting God's purpose in the incarnation to create a union between the divine and human natures. The practical significance of this doctrine is profound, as it illustrates the impossibility of atonement without the dual nature of Christ, thereby deepening believers' reverence for the mystery of the incarnation and God's sovereignty in salvation.
Key Quotes
“If the Son of God would be our Redeemer and Savior it was necessary for him to become one with us, one of us.”
“There was no other way of atonement whereby God could be both a just God and a Savior.”
“A body was prepared for his Son in the womb of the virgin by the Holy Spirit, a body which our blessed Savior gladly took into indissolvable union with himself.”
“We must stand here upon this holy ground upon the bare feet of reverence and faith.”
What does the Bible say about the incarnation of Christ?
The Bible reveals that God became flesh in Jesus Christ to redeem humanity, as stated in Hebrews 10:5.
Hebrews 10:5, 1 Timothy 3:16, Luke 1:35
How do we know the necessity of Christ's humanity?
Christ's humanity was necessary for our redemption, as it allowed Him to be both a just God and a Savior.
Hebrews 2:16-17
Why is the incarnation of Christ important for Christians?
The incarnation is vital as it signifies God's active involvement in saving humanity through Jesus.
1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 2:16-17
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: hast...: Or, thou hast fitted me - Hebrews 10:5“A Body Hast Thou Prepared Me”
If the Son of God would be our Redeemer and Savior, it was necessary for him to become one with us one of us, God in our nature, Immanuel. -- Therefore, in order to redeem and save his people, a body was prepared for him.
It was not necessary for the Lord of glory to redeem and save anyone. The Triune God is independent and self-sufficient. He does not need us! There is nothing man could do to cause God to save him. But, having purposed to be gracious, having purposed to save a people for the glory of his name, the only way it could be done was for God himself to take humanity into union with himself (Heb. 216-17).
"Wherefore" -- Because there was no other way of atonement whereby God could be both a just God and a Savior, whereby he could both forgive our sins and satisfy his own holy law and justice, -- "when he cometh into the world," -- At that precise moment in time when the Son of God entered into Mary's virgin womb, as he was entering that holy thing prepared in the womb of the virgin by the Holy Spirit, -- "he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not," -- Because no sacrifice would do but the sacrifice of one who is both God and man in one glorious being, -- "but" -- because God found a way to save sinners in the person of his own dear Son, -- "a body hast thou prepared me." Because it pleased God, the great, glorious, triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to make an external manifestation of his divine glory, a body was prepared for his Son in the womb of the virgin by the Holy Spirit, a body which our blessed Savior gladly took into indissolvable union with himself (1 Tim. 3:16).
This is, indeed, the great mystery of godliness -- God was manifest in human flesh! As we consider this great mystery, the mystery of the incarnate God, let us do so with reverent, believing hearts. If Moses, when he stood before the burning bush, was required to take off his polluted shoes, how much more must we, as we stand before the incarnate God (of whom the burning bush was but a type), take off the polluted shoes of carnal curiosity, speculation, and reason! We must stand here, upon this holy ground, upon the bare feet of reverence and faith.
J. C. Philpot wrote, "The sacred humanity of the blessed Lord consists of a perfect human body and a perfect human soul, taken at one and the same instant in the womb of the virgin Mary, under the overshadowing operation and influence of the Holy Ghost." That is precisely the meaning of the angel's message to Mary. "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).
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