Of course, there is THE Incarnation, God becoming flesh and dwelling among us at a specific moment in history. That’s the necessity of our human condition – since we lack a faith sufficient to make evidence unnecessary. Everything that is intangible must become tangible. Every feeling and thought must manifest itself. We speak and create sound, a physical disturbance. God “spoke” and created the tangible world.
Jesus Christ was not presented to us as a metaphor – but rather as a fulfillment – the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9-10). In human cases of incarnation, the tangible product of our labors is always inferior to the ideas and images which drive it. Metaphor is a form of incarnation, but it acknowledges its own insufficiency. We might describe metaphor as a form of imperfect or diverted incarnation.
As physical beings we can only truly grasp that which is physical. The intangible remains ineffable – it dwells in the realm of feelings and mental constructs – dreamlike and not fully knowable.