There should be little doubt in the mind of the Christian as to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. To the church, the whole of history and eternity are held together in this unique act of incarnation. Jesus: fully human and fully divine.
McFarlane observes that ‘never before had such an event required expression. Something hitherto unspoken broke through the established markers concerning God’s being.’ (13)
In essence, this unique event has no parallels from which comparisons might be drawn. No precedents to which it can be referred. It is the most important component of the Christian gospel in its unique quality.
Yet, as Bosch (14) asserts, protestant churches have ‘by and large had an underdeveloped theology of the incarnation.’ Within evangelicalism there has been a great stress placed upon the eternal work of Christ, often to the detriment of teaching regarding and compassion for those in need in this life (15).
Before I made a decision to become a Christian as a fourteen year-old youth I, strangely enough, gave out leaflets on behalf of a local church at the Whit Walks (16) in my home village. Here I was, someone who knew very little about Christianity, someone who wasn’t even sure if he wanted anything to do with it, giving out leaflets to others. During this unregenerate evangelistic début I realised that it would be a good idea to read the words for myself. The tract was called 'The Incomparable Christ'. For the first time I had been made aware of enormity of the person of Jesus.
His uniqueness is a challenge to us all and we in the church should never allow such revelation to fade with familiarity.
The uniqueness of Christ, the head, is reflected by the uniqueness of the Church, his body. None of us can claim to be perfect or, indeed, to be part of a church without faults. But ontologically the church is unique. Although not to be confused with the Kingdom of God, the church, as the body of Christ, is unique in its calling and in its relationship to God. It is my understanding that whatever can be said of the character and ministry of Christ, should be said of his body.
No individual can rightly compare with the Incarnate One yet we are all designed to image God. In terms of design and purpose the church, is to continue all that Christ has begun and finished. When we look at his life we must be moved to respond in kind. When we look at his character we must be charged to walk in his footsteps.
The New Testament gives us a good deal of help in trying to navigate this journey. Jesus is described as our great High Priest (17) and in this he is depicted as unique. No one else was found good enough to break through the veil into the Holy of Holies and thereby blaze a trail for us to follow. The church on the other hand is to be a priestly nation and in that role we follow Christ in making intercession for a world that does not understand. Great High Priest and priestly nation: an incredible relationship.
Jesus again is described as our Apostle being sent as a messenger on behalf of the Father to this prodigal world: unique in his place of departure and also in his arrival on this earth. We, his body, are also sent and therefore apostolic by design and purpose. We are called to continue this message of grace and hope (18).
The first chapter of the book of Hebrews tells us that God spoke to humanity in many different ways through the Prophets of old, but now he has spoken to us by his Son. Ephesians chapter three tells us that it is God’s intention that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known. This tells us that the story continues and that the manifold things that God has in store for his creation are to be shown through the church. They resonate through the words of the Prophets; we have seen them and have access to them, in the finishing work of Christ. Now the world should be able to touch them through his body, the church. In this there is something of a tension. How can we communicate such a unique event? What symbols, motifs and analogies can we utilise in order that such a unique story can be embraced?
It is interesting to see the uniqueness spoken of here in the context of the relative hiddenness of his earthly life and ministry.
It is hard to resist the sense in which the church tends to see itself as the 'A' team in God's plan and purpose. In fact as you read the words above, you may think that I am suggesting this. In truth I am deeply worried by how the church has seen itself and its mission towards the world.
I will cover this in more detail in a later chapter, but for now I want to suggest that there are several things about the incarnation that have been generally overlooked in my own context and that should shock us to the very heart of our ecclesiology.
Our search for fame is likely to see us in conflict with the principles of the kingdom of God
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