God With Us

"But he was speaking about the temple of his body." (John 2:21 ESV)

The incarnation represents the most profound mystery in human history—God taking on flesh and dwelling among us. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones understood that in this single event, the entire redemptive plan of God finds its focal point.

Throughout the Old Testament, God's presence with His people was always mediated. He dwelt in the tabernacle and later the temple, but access remained restricted. The Holy of Holies stood separated by a veil, indicating that the full communion between God and humanity—broken by sin—had not yet been restored.

Christ's declaration about destroying the temple and raising it in three days revealed a revolutionary truth: God's dwelling place would no longer be confined to buildings made by human hands. Instead, the eternal Word would become flesh—God's presence embodied in human form.

The temple in Jerusalem, with its elaborate rituals and restricted access, was merely a shadow pointing to its fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. In Him, God and man unite without confusion or separation. The infinite embraces the finite; the eternal enters time; the creator joins the created.

Lloyd-Jones emphasized that this distinguishes Christianity from all religions. Where other faiths present pathways for humans to ascend to God, Christianity alone proclaims that God has descended to us. The initiative is entirely His. Our redemption begins not with our reaching up but with God reaching down.

This temple-body connection illuminates why Jesus was born in such humble circumstances. The glory of God was veiled in human flesh—recognizable only to those with eyes of faith. Just as the temple's ordinary exterior concealed the glory within, so Christ's ordinary appearance concealed His divine nature.

The incarnation means God has made Himself directly accessible. When the temple veil tore at Christ's crucifixion, it signified that the way to God stood permanently open. No more intermediaries, no more separation.

Today, recognize that the heart of Christmas is not primarily the birth of a child but the entrance of God into human experience. He became what we are so that we might become what He is. The glory of the incarnation is not merely that God came among us, but that He came to be one of us—Emmanuel, God with us.

Listen to all of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermons on Christmas at mljtrust.org.