The Promised Savior
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh.
1 TIMOTHY 3:16
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The Promised Savior
He paints His person in this way: He is the promised Savior come from heaven—that is, the true Son of God from eternity, for if He comes from heaven, then He must have been with God eternally. However, He descended or came down from heaven not as an angel descends and appears, and then again vanishes and goes away. Rather, He has taken human nature onto Himself and (as John 1:14) says) "has dwelt among us" on earth, etc. That is why He calls Himself here "the Son of Man" [John 3:131, that is, true man who has flesh and blood just like us. However, this descent of the Son of God properly means that He has subjected Himself to our misery and distress; that is, He has taken on Himself God's eternal wrath merited by our sins and become a sacrifice for them, as He here says that "He must be lifted up" (John 3:14). However, because this man comes down from heaven, for His own person He must be without any sin, innocent, and of divine purity. Thus He is not said to be born of flesh, as we are, but of the Holy Spirit, and His flesh is not sinful, but a purely holy flesh and blood. This was so that He could make our sinful flesh and blood pure and holy through His purity and holy, unblemished sacrifice.
From the Church Postil, sermon for Trinity on John 3:1-15 (Luther's Works 78:49)
1 TIMOTHY 3:16
+
The Promised Savior
He paints His person in this way: He is the promised Savior come from heaven—that is, the true Son of God from eternity, for if He comes from heaven, then He must have been with God eternally. However, He descended or came down from heaven not as an angel descends and appears, and then again vanishes and goes away. Rather, He has taken human nature onto Himself and (as John 1:14) says) "has dwelt among us" on earth, etc. That is why He calls Himself here "the Son of Man" [John 3:131, that is, true man who has flesh and blood just like us. However, this descent of the Son of God properly means that He has subjected Himself to our misery and distress; that is, He has taken on Himself God's eternal wrath merited by our sins and become a sacrifice for them, as He here says that "He must be lifted up" (John 3:14). However, because this man comes down from heaven, for His own person He must be without any sin, innocent, and of divine purity. Thus He is not said to be born of flesh, as we are, but of the Holy Spirit, and His flesh is not sinful, but a purely holy flesh and blood. This was so that He could make our sinful flesh and blood pure and holy through His purity and holy, unblemished sacrifice.
From the Church Postil, sermon for Trinity on John 3:1-15 (Luther's Works 78:49)
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