86. What does the word “Incarnation” mean?

The Church calls the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one divine Person of the Word the “Incarnation”. To bring about our salvation the Son of God was made “flesh” (John 1:14) and became truly man. Faith in the Incarnation is a distinctive sign of the Christian faith.


Veja este tema no Catecismo

Paragraph 461

461. Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh", The Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

Paragraph 462

462. The Letter to the Hebrews refers to the same mystery:

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Lo, I have come to do your will, O God."

Paragraph 463

463. Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning whenever she sings "the mystery of our religion": "He was manifested in the flesh."

Paragraph 483

483. The Incarnation is therefore the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word.


Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:

What is the message of Abdias 1:11 about Edom’s injustice and oppression of the weak?

What does the Assyrian conquest of Samaria and the fall of the Northern Kingdom teach about the importance of obedience to God?

What is David’s example of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11:32-40?

How is God’s mercy manifested in Isaiah? What does the book of Isaiah teach us about God’s grace and mercy?

How does Job 38:1-11 reveal God’s sovereignty in the midst of suffering?

How can we cultivate peace in the church and in our personal lives, as guided by 2 Thessalonians 3:16?

What can we learn from Judith’s victory in Judith 16:1-3?