“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see” (Greatest Christmas Song II)

The first stanza of the “other” greatest Christmas song, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, rang with the announcement of the angels, and the call to worship. The second stanza invites us to wonder at the “incarnation”.

English speakers who know the word “carnal” may recognize the same root in “incarnation”. It simply means the act of being made flesh – specifically referring to the Son of God, who became human. But first, who is this Person who becomes incarnate? Wesley writes:

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.

Christ – the Messiah – a title referring to the One who was long predicted throughout history. The one chosen by God to come and save us. Who is this “Christ”?

Connecting us with the first stanza, He is worshipped by the host of Heaven. The author of Hebrews writes: “. . . when he [God] brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.'” (Hebrews 1:6)

He is worshipped by angels (those who warn us to worship only God (Revelation 22:8-9)). He is the everlasting Lord (see Isaiah 9:6 and this look at the prophecy).

He comes “late in time” – that is, after many years of waiting and many prophecies – He finally arrives. In fact, His coming begins the “last days” in which we now live (See Hebrews 1:2).

And, of course, a recognition of the virgin birth – this everlasting Lord was truly and physically born.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased as Man with men to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Veiled – hidden – Jesus did not walk around with a brilliant glow of glory – His deity was hidden, in a sense, in His flesh. Hidden – and yet in flesh we SEE Him! Through His flesh He revealed God to us humans! (John 1:18) He was truly God – the incarnate Deity!

Wait – what’s with this word “Godhead”? Actually, it has nothing to do with a “head” as we know it now. English speakers may recognize a suffix with the same meaning – “-hood”. Fatherhood – the state of being a father. Personhood – the state of being a person. You might say “Godhood” or God-ness. The One who is God, who is in nature God (Philippians 2:5-7).

Jesus was pleased to live with us – He voluntarily came. (Incidentally, this line has gone through some minor changes through the years, being originally “Pleas’d as Man with Men t’ appear, Jesus, our Immanuel here!”. Same idea!)

In the Bible, Matthew quoted from the prophet Isaiah: “‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:23) Jesus, as the eternal God, is our “God-with-us”.

And so Matthew concludes his book with the further fulfillment of the idea of Immanuel (or Emmanuel):

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (emphasis mine)

Absolutely astounding – that the everlasting Lord, worshipped in Heaven – would desire to come and live with us! What a paradox, that He would reveal the invisible God to us through visible flesh – by becoming like His own creatures. And yet, how else could we understand Someone so different from us?

But the incarnation is going to become more personal and meaningful in the stanzas to come. Another one of the Wesleys’ poems says:

But will He not at last appear
And make His power and Godhead known?
Surely He shall the Mourner cheer
And make the broken heart His throne

Hymns and Sacred Poems

Meanwhile, we marvel at the incarnation of the eternal Lord…

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

John 1:14-18