Hi, my name is Miss Minton, and welcome to this Christianity Beliefs and Teachings lesson on "Jesus Christ: Incarnation." Now by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain Christian beliefs about the incarnation and the importance and influence of these beliefs for Christians today.

Now lots of our learning today might be new to you, but please don't worry because I'm here to guide you through each step of our lesson, and I'm confident that by the end, you will achieve this outcome.

Let's take a look at our keywords for today.

We have divine, incarnation, and Jesus.

Now the word divine means of or like God or a god or goddess.

Incarnation refers to the belief that God became human in the form of Jesus.

And Jesus was a first century Jewish teacher who's believed by Christians to be the Son of God.

Now our lesson today will have two parts.

We'll start by looking at Christian beliefs about the incarnation, and we'll then look at the importance and influence of the incarnation.

So let's get started and take a look at Christian beliefs in the incarnation.

So on the screen here, you can see two pieces of art.

Now I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself about what event is being shown through these pieces of artwork.

Off you go.

So, well done for recognising that these pieces of artwork are showing the birth of Jesus, commonly referred to as the nativity.

Now we often hear that Jesus' birth is referred to as the moment that the Son of God entered the world, but actually, for many Christians, the title Son of God reflects that Jesus is the incarnation of God.

Now the word incarnation comes from the Latin word carn, which means flesh, and for many Christians, they believe that the incarnation refers to God taking on human form in the person of Jesus and that Jesus' birth, the nativity, is when God entered the world as a human being.

So let's check your understanding.

Which keyword refers to God becoming human in the form of Jesus, a, incarnation; b, resurrection; c, ascension; or d, crucifixion? Fantastic.

The correct answer is a.

Incarnation is the word that refers to God becoming human in the form of Jesus, well done.

Now for most Christians, the belief that Jesus is the incarnation of God comes from the Bible, and we see this in the Old Testament in the Book of Isaiah, where the prophet Isaiah predicted the arrival of Jesus.

Now Isaiah 7:14 says this: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Now the name Immanuel means that God is with us.

Now you know this, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself about how this is relevant to the incarnation.

So how is Isaiah 7:14 relevant to the incarnation? Off you go.

So this is relevant to the incarnation because Jesus as the incarnation of God would mean that God lived among ordinary people and that God was with humans, and this is reflected in the name Immanuel, which means God is with us.

Now although Jesus's actual name is not Immanuel, the name Immanuel is reflected in Jesus's nature as God.

Now Isaiah's prophecy is then confirmed in the New Testament, and we see this in John 1:1-18, which describes God as becoming human in the person of Jesus.

Now we're going to focus on John 1:14 now, which says this: "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Now I'd like you to consider two questions based on this passage.

Firstly, what is the Word? And secondly, how might Christians interpret this passage to support the incarnation? So pause the video and either talk to a partner or have a think to yourself.

Off you go.

So the Word is a title that's used for Jesus, and sometimes Christians will also refer to Jesus as the Divine Word.

Now this passage suggests that Jesus or God became human and that he made his dwelling on earth and lived among ordinary people.

So he made his home or his residence on earth with ordinary people.

So let's check your understanding, fill in the blank.

The Gospel of John says that the Word became blank and made His dwelling among us.

Fantastic.

The missing word is flesh.

So the Gospel of John says that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, well done.

Now many Christians believe that because Jesus is the incarnation God, that this means Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.

Now for many Christians, this means that Jesus possessed the nature of an ordinary person at the same time as being fully God.

Now we're going to take a look at some examples from the New Testament of where Jesus is seen as being fully human.

These include the Gospel of Luke, which says that Jesus' birth was humble and simple, so He had the birth of an ordinary person.

It includes times in the New Testament when Jesus is seen to feel emotion, like joy in Luke 10:21, or when Jesus felt anger and frustration in Matthew 21:21.

It also includes Mark 15:37, which says that Jesus cried out when He died, and many Christians interpret this as suggesting that Jesus felt pain during his crucifixion.

It also includes stories of Jesus living among and socialising with ordinary people.

Let's now look at some examples of where Jesus is seen as fully divine in the New Testament, so where Jesus is seen as being fully God.

And these include Jesus having the authority to forgive sins and perform miracles.

Jesus being worshipped by His followers.

Jesus coming back to life three days after His death, so Jesus resurrecting.

And when we see that Jesus' mother was actually a virgin who conceived through the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus's mother had not had sexual intercourse but became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

So as we've seen, the beginning and end of Jesus' life are significant for understanding Jesus as being fully divine.

And we're going to take a look at those two events in a bit more detail now, starting with Jesus's birth.

So in the Gospel of Luke 1:28-33, an angel tells the Virgin Mary that she will give birth to Jesus and describes Jesus as being the Son of the Most High who will rule God's kingdom on earth.

So this isn't an event that would happen for the birth of an ordinary person.

These details show that Jesus was God.

If we then look at Jesus' death, most Christians believe that Jesus' death proves that Jesus is fully divine in two ways.

The first way is that His death actually saved humanity from sin, so Jesus' death paid the price for all of the sins of humanity and saved them from sin and its consequences.

And also, Jesus resurrected after His death.

So Jesus came back to life after He died, and this shows the power of good over evil and victory over death.

So let's check your understanding.

Which of the following is not an example of Jesus as fully divine, a, He was resurrected after death; b, He performed miracles, c, His mother was a virgin; or d, He felt emotion and pain? Fantastic.

The correct is D.

Jesus feeling emotion and pain is not an example of Jesus as fully divine.

Instead, this would be an example of Jesus as fully human.

Well done.

It's now time for you to have a go at a task.

I would like you to complete the table to explain Christian beliefs about the incarnation.

When completing the table, there are two things that you should do.

Firstly, support each point with a source of wisdom and authority, and secondly, develop the source by explaining how it supports the point that's been given.

So the points are many Christians believe that Jesus is God in human form and many Christians believe that the incarnation reflects that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.

So pause the video and have a go.

Well done for your work on that task.

So you were asked to complete the table by explaining Christian beliefs about the incarnation, and your responses might look similar to this.

For the point that many Christians believe that Jesus was God in human form, you may have used the source of wisdom and authority from John 1:14, which states that "the Word became flesh." And you may have developed this by saying that this shows that God became human in the person of Jesus and entered the world when Jesus was born.

For the point that many Christians believe that the incarnation reflects Jesus as both fully human and fully divine, you may have used the source of wisdom and authority from Luke 1:28-33, which highlights that Jesus was born to a virgin.

And you may have developed this by saying that it shows although Jesus was an ordinary human, He was also fully divine because His birth was a miracle.

So well done again for your work during that task.

We're now moving on to the second part of our lesson, which is to look at the importance and influence of the incarnation.

Now I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself.

Why do you think the incarnation would still be significant for Christians today? Off you go.

So as part of your thinking time or your discussion, you may have considered that the incarnation is still significant because it provides comfort that God was once an ordinary person.

It also allows Christians to relate to God through Jesus being fully human, and it allows Christians to have a better understanding of God and God's nature.

Or you may have considered that it actually confirms the belief in the Trinity, so it confirms God as Jesus in the second person of the Trinity.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false, the incarnation is no longer important for Christians because it took place a long time ago.

Fantastic, that statement is false, but how do we know that this statement is false? Well, it's because for many Christians, the incarnation is still significant, and that's because the incarnation provides comfort and it allows Christians to relate and understand God through Jesus.

Also, it confirms the belief in the Trinity.

So well done for identifying that that statement is false and for identifying the reason why.

Like you, Laura is learning about the incarnation, and she's considering how the belief that Jesus is the incarnation of God might influence Christians today.

Laura says, "I think that the belief in the incarnation might influence Christians to have a strong faith in God.

This is because the incarnation is a sign of God's love for humanity." Now like Laura has done, I would like you to also consider how the belief in the incarnation might influence Christians today.

So pause the video and either talk to a partner or have a think to yourself.

Off you go.

Okay, so we're now going to hear from some Christians, and they're going to explain to you how their belief in the incarnation influences them.

Whilst they explain this, you can consider whether you thought of any of these points as part of your thinking time or your discussion.

Now Fergus is a Liberal Anglican, and he explains how the belief in the incarnation influences him.

He says, "My belief that Jesus is the incarnation of God influences my moral decisions.

I believe that Jesus is God, and, therefore, I believe that Jesus' teachings and actions are God's teachings and actions.

This influences me to follow examples set by Jesus because I know I'm following God.

For example, Jesus taught forgiveness.

So I try to choose forgiveness rather than seeking revenge when someone hurts me." Now we have Grace who is Roman Catholic, and she explains how her belief influences her in a different way.

Grace says, "My belief that Jesus is the incarnation of God provides me with comfort during difficult times.

When I feel sad or angry, I take comfort in knowing that God understands how I feel because he experienced emotions as Jesus.

I also feel comforted when I experience physical pain because I know that God endured the most severe physical pain when Jesus died so that I could have the hope of eternal life." Now we have Fiona who is an Anglican Christian, and she explains how this belief influences her.

She says, "My belief that Jesus is the incarnation of God strengthens prayer and devotion in my daily life.

I regularly say prayers of thanksgiving to show my gratitude for God becoming human so that I could have the possibility of eternal life." And finally, we have James who is Roman Catholic, and he explains how this belief influences him.

James says, "My belief in the incarnation influences me to celebrate Jesus' birth.

I celebrate the period of Advent and believe that this is a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus.

At the end of the period of Advent, I celebrate Christmas day, which is a celebration of God entering the world as a human in the person of Jesus." So now we've heard some examples of how the incarnation can influence Christians.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false, the belief in the incarnation only influences Christians to celebrate Christmas.

Fantastic, that statement is false, but why is that statement false? Well, many Christians are influenced to celebrate Christmas because of their belief in the incarnation, but this belief can also influence Christians in other ways.

For example, many Christians feel comforted during times of suffering, and they're encouraged to have a close relationship with God because of this belief.

So well done for identifying that the statement was false and for identifying the reason why.

It's now time for you to have a go at a task.

Andeep has written a point responding to this task: explain why the incarnation is important to Christians.

Andeep has said, "The incarnation is the belief that God became human in the form of Jesus, and this is important because it shows that God once experienced life as an ordinary human." Now Andeep has not included a source of wisdom and authority in his response, so I would like you to add to Andeep's answer by including a source of wisdom and authority and applying this to the point that he's given.

So pause the video and have a go.

Well done for your work on that task.

<v ->So you were asked to add to Andeep's answer</v> by including a source of wisdom and authority and accurately applying that to the point that he'd given.

And your response might look similar to this.

The incarnation is the belief that God became human in the form of Jesus.

This is important because it shows that God once experience life as an ordinary human.

The Gospel of John 1:14 says that the "Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." This highlights the importance of the incarnation because it shows that God became a human and had the experience of living with ordinary people, making God more relatable to ordinary Christians today.

So well done again for your work on that task, adding to Andeep's answer to include that source of wisdom and authority and accurately apply it to his point.

We've now reached the end of our lesson on "Jesus Christ: Incarnation," but before we finish up, let's take a look at some of the key things that we've learned today.

So we've learned that the incarnation is when God became human in the form of Jesus and that most Christians agree that the incarnation was prophesied in the Old Testament and confirmed in the New Testament.

We've also seen that for most Christians, the belief that Jesus is God means that Jesus is fully human and fully divine, and that the belief in the incarnation is still significant today because it allows Christians to understand and relate to God.

And we also looked at how the belief in the incarnation can influence worship, understandings of God, and Christmas celebrations.

So a huge well done for all of your work today.

It's been wonderful learning with you.