God in the Flesh (Incarnation): Difference between revisions

'''God’s coming in the flesh [Incarnation]''' is the essence of Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Incarnation-Jesus-Christ |title=Incarnation |website=Britannica  |publisher=|date= |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote=Incarnation, central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, that God assumed a human nature and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://watv.org/bible_word/incarnation-of-god/ |title=Christianity Is a Religion That Believes in Incarnation of God |website=WATV.org |publisher=  |date= |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote= }}</ref> Two thousand years ago, the early Church believed in Jesus, and now Christians, who are more than 30% of the world's population,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://research.lifeway.com/2022/01/31/7-encouraging-trends-of-global-christianity-in-2022/ |title=7 Encouraging Trends of Global Christianity in 2022 |website=Lifeway Research |publisher=  |date=January 31, 2022 |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote=}}</ref> believe in Him as God who came in the flesh.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=1+Timothy+2%3A5&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=1 Timothy 2:5 |publisher= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Romans+9%3A5&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Romans 9:5 |publisher= }}</ref> The reason the early Church believed in Jesus as the Savior was that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Bible concerning Christ. The Bible also prophesies that Christ will come again in human form for the salvation of mankind.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Hebrews+9%3A27&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Hebrews 9:27 |publisher= }}</ref> The prophecy about [[Second Coming Jesus (Second Coming Christ)|Second Coming Christ Ahnsahnghong]], whom the Church of God believes in, is also clearly recorded in the Bible just like His first coming.

[https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=2379462&cid=50762&categoryId=51369 Christianity] is a religion based on faith in God who came as a man. The word ''[https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=2375073&cid=50762&categoryId=51365 Christ]'' is a transliteration of the Greek word ''Χριστός (Christos)'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://biblehub.com/greek/5547.htm|title=Christos |website=Biblehub |publisher=  |date= |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote=}}</ref> which means the ''[https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=1200241&cid=40942&categoryId=31534 anointed] one''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jesus |title=Jesus |website=Britannica |publisher=  |date= |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote=Christ was not originally a name but a title derived from the Greek word christos, which translates the Hebrew term meshiah (Messiah), meaning "the anointed one."  }}</ref><ref>{{인용 |url= |title=Christian History |website= |publisher= Wiley-Blackwell |date=March 4, 2013|year=|author=Alister McGrath |page= |series=1st edition |isbn= |quote=}}</ref> The Bible records many prophecies about God the Savior who comes as a man. One of them is the prophecy written by the prophet Isaiah. Around 700 B.C., Isaiah prophesied that God Almighty would be born as a child, meaning as a person.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Isaiah+9%3A6&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Isaiah 9:6 |publisher= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Isaiah+7%3A14&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Isaiah 7:14 |publisher= }}</ref> This prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus, who is the center of Christian faith.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity |title=Christianity |website=Britannica |publisher=  |date= |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote=Christianity, major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century CE.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url= |title=Unbroken Cord: Israel and the Church |website=WestBow Press |publisher=  |date=August 23, 2016 |year= |author= D. H. Withers |page= |series= |isbn= |quote=}}</ref>

The image of Jesus depicted in Western culture for centuries has been a white man with long hairs and blue eyes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.history.com/news/what-did-jesus-look-like |title=The Ongoing Mystery of Jesus's Face |website=HISTORY |publisher=  |date= |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote=For centuries, the most common image of Jesus Christ, at least in Western cultures, has been that of a bearded, fair-skinned man with long, wavy, light brown or blond hair and (often) blue eyes.}}</ref> Since the 4th century, the culture of the Byzantine Empire influenced the [https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=1623331&cid=69168&categoryId=50768 Eastern Church], and [https://ko.wikisource.org/wiki/%EA%B8%80%EB%A1%9C%EB%B2%8C_%EC%84%B8%EA%B3%84_%EB%8C%80%EB%B0%B1%EA%B3%BC%EC%82%AC%EC%A0%84/%EC%84%B8%EA%B3%84%EB%AF%B8%EC%88%A0/%EC%84%9C%EC%96%91%EB%AF%B8%EC%88%A0%EC%9D%98_%ED%9D%90%EB%A6%84/%EC%A4%91_%EC%84%B8_%EB%AF%B8_%EC%88%A0/%EB%B9%84%EC%9E%94%ED%8B%B4_%EB%AF%B8%EC%88%A0 Byzantine artists] borrowed the strong and powerful images of the gods in the [https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=3406878&cid=58425&categoryId=58425 Roman Pantheon] to depict Jesus. Around the 6th century, ''[https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=264655&cid=42635&categoryId=42635 Christ Pantocrator]'' introduced Jesus as a man with shoulder-length hair and a beard. Later, during the [https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=1089262&cid=40942&categoryId=33440 Renaissance] era, when the artworks were based on humanism, they began to depict Jesus who had the ideal beauty standards. The Renaissance culture had an influence on the image of Jesus in the Western society in the 20th century. A typical example is the portrait of Jesus, painted by Warner Sallman, an American commercial artist. This painting was used as an image for stained glass and calendars, and it gained great popularity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35120965 |title=What did Jesus really look like? |website=BBC NEWS |publisher=  |date=December 24, 2015 |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.history.com/news/what-did-jesus-look-like |title=The Ongoing Mystery of Jesus's Face |website=HISTORY |publisher=  |date= |year= |author= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote=The long-haired, bearded image of Jesus that emerged beginning in the fourth century A.D. was influenced heavily by representations of Greek and Roman gods, particularly the all-powerful Greek god Zeus. At that point, Jesus started to appear in a long robe, seated on a throne (such as in the fifth-century mosaic on the altar of the Santa Pudenziana church in Rome), sometimes with a halo surrounding his head.}}</ref>