The Mystery of the Incarnation

The Eternal Wisdom of God — The Secret the Devil Did Not Know, Which Crushed Him Forever

If you asked anyone: what is the worst day in the history of Christianity? — most people would answer: the day of the cross. The day when the Lord Jesus Christ was arrested and flogged and humiliated and nailed to a wooden beam and died before the astonished and frightened eyes of His disciples. It appears to be a day of complete defeat — a day on which evil triumphed over good and death over life and the devil over God. But what if I told you that this very day — the day of the cross — was the greatest victory God achieved in all the history of the cosmos? And what if I told you that the devil — who thought himself the victor on that day — discovered too late that he had fallen into the greatest divine plan in history — a plan that the wise God had drawn up before the foundation of the world with a wisdom that surpasses all created intelligence? And what if I told you that it was the devil who drove people to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ — and had he known what would happen as a result of the crucifixion he would never have done it — because the cross was his eternal defeat and not his victory? This is not imagination or human interpretation — but what the King James Bible teaches with complete clarity. The secret of the incarnation — the secret of the appearance of God in the flesh — was hidden from the devil and from all the powers of darkness. They did not understand who the Lord Jesus Christ truly was — and had they understood they would not have dared to lay a hand on Him. Come let us understand this great mystery together — verse by verse and scene by scene.

The Devil Knows That God Is One — But He Did Not Understand the Secret of the Word and the Spirit

This is a point of profound theological importance for understanding why the secret of the incarnation succeeded in hiding itself from the devil. The devil knows that God is one — he was an angel in heaven before his fall and saw the glory of God and knew His oneness. But he did not understand the secret of this oneness — he did not understand that the one God works by His Word and His Spirit. He knew that God is one — but he did not know that the Word of God is God Himself and that this Word can appear in a human body. Think of it this way: the devil looks at God and sees one great God in His glory — and this is true. But he cannot understand that this one great God could "condescend" and appear in the form of a weak human infant born in a manger and growing up in a poor village and working as a carpenter and hungering and growing weary and weeping. This divine humility was completely incomprehensible to a creature who fell because of pride. Pride makes its possessor blind to humility — and whoever does not understand humility cannot understand the incarnation. This is the reason that enabled God to hide His secret from the most intelligent creature in the universe — because intelligence alone is not enough to understand the love and humility of God.

"Made himself of no reputation, taking upon him the form of a servant" — the Almighty God voluntarily emptied Himself and took the form of a servant. From the highest glory in the cosmos to the lowest form among men. The devil who wanted to ascend and become like God — could not imagine that God would choose to descend and become like men. The devil understands ascending — but he does not understand voluntary descending motivated by love. This is the secret that blinded him.

The Key Verse — The Hidden Wisdom That the Devil Did Not Know

Before we speak about anything else — let us read the verse that reveals all of this secret with clarity that admits no ambiguity.

Let us break down this astonishing verse piece by piece because it contains deep theological treasures. "The wisdom of God in a mystery" — the word "mystery" in the King James Bible does not mean an obscure puzzle but means a truth that was hidden and was revealed at the appropriate time. God's plan for salvation was a mystery — a complete divine plan drawn up in the mind of God before the foundation of the world. "Which God ordained before the world unto our glory" — meaning this plan was not improvised or made up after man sinned. God planned it from eternity — from before He created the universe — for our glory. "Which none of the princes of this world knew" — meaning neither the devil nor any of his demons knew this plan fully. They knew parts of it — they knew that a Messiah was coming from the seed of the woman — but they did not know the full details of the plan. "For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" — this is the most astonishing statement. If the devil had known what would happen after the crucifixion — if he had understood that the cross would result in the complete forgiveness of humanity's sins and the destruction of his own power — he would never have driven people to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ. The crucifixion that appeared to be his greatest victory was in reality his eternal defeat. The trap that God set for him with infinite wisdom before the foundation of the world — he walked right into it without knowing.

The First Prophecy — Written in Deliberately Ambiguous Language

The astonishing thing is that God gave the first hint about His plan immediately after the fall of Adam — in Genesis chapter 3 — but He wrote it in language ambiguous enough that He understood it but the devil did not understand all its details.

This prophecy — the first prophecy in the whole King James Bible — told the devil three things: first, that "the seed of the woman" would come — a person from the descendants of Eve. Second, that this person would bruise the head of the devil — meaning defeat him with a crushing final defeat (because a crushed head means death). Third, that the devil would bruise this person's heel — meaning he would hurt him but the injury would be only in the heel (temporary and not fatal). But this prophecy did not tell the devil the decisive details: it did not tell him that "the seed of the woman" was God Himself incarnate. It did not tell him that "the bruising of the heel" meant the cross. It did not tell him that the cross — which would appear to be a defeat — was in reality the means of victory. It did not tell him that "the bruising of the head" would happen precisely through "the bruising of the heel" — meaning that the defeat of the devil would be accomplished through the sufferings of Christ and not despite them. This is what God hid — and this is what the devil did not understand until it was too late.

Why Was the Incarnation Necessary?

The incarnation was not a coincidence or an afterthought. It was a necessary divine plan to achieve three essential purposes. The first reason — to pay the price of sin. The price of sin is death — and specifically eternal death. God in His divine nature does not die. Therefore He took a human body to be able to die in the body. And why did He want to die? To destroy sin's power and open the way for forgiveness. The second reason — to destroy the power of the devil over death. The King James Bible says that through His incarnation and death the Lord Jesus Christ "might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" — Hebrews 2:14. He used death itself — the devil's weapon — as a tool for the devil's destruction! The third reason — to be a Mediator. The true Mediator must be comparable to both parties. For the Lord Jesus Christ to be a Mediator between God and man, He must be completely God and completely man. If He were only God, He could not represent us. If He were only man, He could not reach God. The incarnation of God made Him the only complete Mediator.

The Resurrection — The Moment the Devil Knew He Had Lost

On the day of the cross — the devil thought he had triumphed. The next day — the tomb was closed and guards were standing and the stone was sealed and the body was cold — it appeared as if everything was finished. But at the dawn of the third day as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had said — something happened that the devil did not expect and could not prevent.

He rose. The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead alive by His own power — because He is the living God whom death cannot hold. The stone rolled away and the tomb was empty and the guards trembled and the angels declared: "He is not here, for He is risen!" In that very moment — the devil knew he had lost. He knew that the one He had crucified was not an ordinary man but "the Lord of glory" — God Himself manifest in the flesh. He knew that the cross was not the defeat of Christ but the eternal defeat of the devil. He knew that he had walked into a trap with no way out — a trap set by God with infinite wisdom before the foundation of the world.

"O death, where is thy sting?" — this is a question of mockery and triumph. Death lost its sting. The grave lost its victory. Because the Lord Jesus Christ rose and shattered the power of death forever. And every believer in Him shares in this victory — because He who conquered death lives in him by the Holy Ghost.

The Wisdom of God Surpasses All Created Intelligence

"The foolishness of God is wiser than men" — of course God has no foolishness — but the verse says: even if we supposed that God had foolishness (which is impossible) it would be wiser than all the wisdom of humans and angels and devils combined. This is the infinite difference between the Creator of the cosmos and His creatures. The cross looked like foolishness — but it was the greatest wisdom. The weakness of God — the infant in the manger, the crucified man on the cross — was stronger than all the power of the devil. This is the divine wisdom that no creature can fathom — hidden from the most intelligent creature in the cosmos because intelligence alone is not enough to understand the love of God.

Two Complete Natures in One Person — How?

This is the most difficult theology in the King James Bible. The Lord Jesus Christ has two complete natures: completely divine and completely human, in one undivided person. This is not a mixing (half god and half man) — that is an error. He is completely God 100% and completely man 100%. Our mind finds it difficult to grasp this, but notice what the King James Bible says: He was all-powerful but lived within the limitations of humans — He hungered, thirsted, grew weary, slept. He was all-knowing but grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52). He was eternal but was born at a specific moment in time. He was incapable of death in His divine nature but died in His human nature. These are not contradictions but the mystery of the incarnation. The two natures do not intermingle and do not separate, but each works according to its own characteristics in the one person.

The Incarnation — A Message of Love

Everything above is theological — but the incarnation has a deep emotional dimension. The unlimited God chose to become limited for you personally. He did not do this out of compulsion but out of love. He knew the price of the incarnation — the humiliation, the poverty, the rejection, the crucifixion — and chose to become incarnate anyway. Why? Because He loved you. Not humanity in general — but He loved you personally. Consider this: if you were the only human being on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ would have become incarnate and died for you alone. This is the depth of the personal love of God. Do not think you are lost in the crowd. God knows your name and loves you with your unique personality.

How did the devil know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah, but did not know that He is God? The demons knew that the Lord Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah — they said to Him "we know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God." They knew Him as "the Son of God" in the meaning of "the Anointed One from God" — like the angels who are called "sons of God" in Job 1:6. This was an angelic meaning of the title. But the demons did not know the deeper truth: the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely an anointed Messiah but the eternal Word of God incarnate — God Himself in the flesh. Had they known this, they would never have crucified Him. The apostle Paul reveals this secret: "Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." — 1 Corinthians 2:8. "The princes of this world" includes the devil and his forces. They thought that by killing the Lord Jesus Christ they would win the battle. But God in His wisdom deceived them with His hidden wisdom. The crucifixion that the devil thought was his victory was his eternal defeat. For by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the price of sin was paid. And by His resurrection, the power of death was defeated. The devil walked into the divine trap.

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