Two words I shall deal with
That are not even nearly alike
Yet some believers confuse them
And don’t get them right.
One of these is immaculate
While the other is incarnate:
They make good rhyming words
But let’s get it straight…
They are not synonyms
And I mean, not by a long shot,
For some I might be nitpicking
But I can’t let this drop.
Immaculate means perfect
And while this is very true
It is not the same as incarnate
As is some people’s view.
I would be the first to agree
That neither is in God’s Word
But please follow me carefully
Before calling me absurd.
Some hold the virgin Mary
In very high esteem
And I could not disagree with this
When I review the nativity scene.
Jesus’ birth was on this wise
In Bethlehem’s town
As angels announced to shepherds
With glorious sound.
Emmanuel was his name
Meaning God is with us:
God reconciling the world to Himself
Through His Son, Jesus.
Thus, the incarnation:
Almighty God is come in the flesh!
To which the birth of His Son
Undoubtedly attest.
In the incarnation
The emphasis is on the Christ
And this looks forward to the time
Regarding his sacrifice.
His cradle preceded the cross
On which he would die,
There for the sins of the world
He was crucified.
Joseph was by the angel informed
Fear not to take Mary to wife
For it was the Holy Ghost
That in her had placed that life.
This was spoken of Jesus
And not of the virgin Mary
Who, by the way, the Bible shows
Could not be a virgin perpetually.
Mary had sons and daughters
After Jesus was born
So, all who claim perpetual virginity,
Please be warned!
Mary was not under sin’s curse
Some denominations hold
But are unable to show in the Bible
Where this unfolds.
We know she was a virgin
For she had not known a man
But she too, as the Bible implies,
Needed redemption’s plan.
She was not perfect
As the word immaculate implies
And even the mother of Christ
For her too he was crucified.
Stewart Russell © May 17, 2021
