Christian Counseling Training : The Theology of the Incarnation
Christian Counseling training should include a solid understanding of the Incarnation. This way Christian Counselors can not only counsel but inform their spiritual children of the awesome nature of the Incarnation. Through an understanding of it, one can appreciate the gift of Christ and his humble birth for our eventual salvation.
There are two aspects to the great mystery of the Incarnation of Christ. First, one of soteriology and second, one of love. Soteriology or the study of Redemption points out that after the sin of Adam, man a finite creature owed an infinite debt for sin. Justice demanded this payment. Until it was paid, man would be under the spell of Original sin and Lucifer. This payment was a paradox though. Man could not pay an infinite debt. He was incapable. The debt required a perfect sacrifice and victim but man had to offer it and he was far from perfect. The answer was the Incarnation of the Logos. God out of pure love and no obligation paid our debt for us. He did this by becoming man. The second person of the Divine Trinity, retaining his divine nature, took upon a human nature to redeem us. In the Incarnation, a divine nature and a human nature become fused together without tainting the other. Christ is both man and God; as man he becomes our representative high priest and as God offers the perfect sacrifice. The second element of the Incarnation is love. While many believe the Incarnation was merely a reaction to Adam’s sin, many also contend that the Incarnation regardless of sin was inevitable because of God’s love for us. Because God is immutable, he cannot change or emotionally interact with us. Through the human infusion into the Logos, Christ is also a human person who can love us as a fellow brother. He can suffer with us, share emotions and love us. God wanted to love us at every level and via the Incarnation he was able to accomplish this.
Through the Incarnation we see a logical step to resolve a paradox but also an ultimate gift of love. In it, we understand a very important dogma that the early councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, Chalcedon and Constantinople taught against the various heresies of Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism and Monothelitism—-namely that Christ through the Incarnation is fully God and fully human, a Divine intellect and a human soul and body. In this way Christ is truly Emmanuel or “God among us”. Christ is Born–Glorify Him
If you are interested in learning more about Christian Counseling Certifications or learning more about Christ, please review the program in Christian Counseling Training.
Mark Moran, MA