Who Is Christ?
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How is Jesus fully God and fully man, yet one person?
How is Jesus fully God and fully man, yet one person?
fully man, yet one person?
Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know Jesus—Fully Man
Jesus was fully and completely human. He was conceived in the womb of his mother by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. This is made clear in Matthew 1:18: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” While many things could be said about this, one thing is clear: Jesus was born of a human mother. His ordinary human birth affirms his humanity.
Jesus was fully and completely human. He was conceived in the womb of his mother by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. This is made clear in
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
While many things could be said about this, one thing is clear: Jesus was born of a human mother. His ordinary human birth affirms his humanity.
Doctrinal Importance of the Virgin Birth
Doctrinal Importance of the Virgin Birth
It shows that salvation ultimately must come from the Lord. Just as God had promised that the “seed” of the woman () would ultimately destroy the serpent, so God brought it about by his own power, not through mere human effort.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Our salvation only comes about through the supernatural work of God, and that was evident at the very beginning of Jesus’ life when “God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” ().
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
The virgin birth made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person. This was the means God used to send his Son (; ) into the world as a man
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
If we think for a moment of other possible ways in which Christ might have come to the earth, none of them would so clearly unite humanity and deity in one person. It probably would have been possible for God to create Jesus as a complete human being in heaven and send him to descend from heaven to earth without the benefit of any human parent.
The Importance of His Humanity
The Importance of His Humanity
As a child, he “grew and became strong” (), and as he grew older, he “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (). He became “wearied” from a journey (); after a fast, “he was hungry” (); and while on the cross, he said, “I thirst” (). His body was, in every respect, just like ours.
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
In his human nature he did not know the day he would return to earth, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (). Look at
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Emptying himself does not mean he let go of his deity - but that he subjected himself to that of a servant - giving up his status and position in Heaven.
Jesus rose from the dead in a physical, human body that was no longer subject to weakness, disease, or death. As he told his disciples, who were astonished at the risen Christ, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Look at .
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
Jesus continues to reside in this perfect but human body in heaven.
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
Jesus had to be fully human to serve as our perfectly obedient representative.
What biblical character is this in contrast to?
His representative obedience as a man is in contrast to Adam’s representative disobedience. Paul says that “as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (). If Jesus wasn’t fully human, his obedience in our place would be meaningless.
For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
Just as Jesus had to be human to live in our place, he also had to be human to die in our place. This was necessary because of our humanity. Look at
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
If Jesus weren’t fully human, his death in our place would be meaningless.
In addition, Jesus’ humanity (as well as his deity) allows him to serve as the one mediator between God and men ().
It also means that as a man, he was tempted in every way that we are. Look at and
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
The Importance of His Deity
The Importance of His Deity
The Bible clearly says that Jesus is fully God. For example, Look at what Paul writes of Jesus in
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
What is Jesus saying in
So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
What is the significance of ?
So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
which is what any self-respecting religious leader would have done if someone claimed to be God. They understood that Jesus was claiming the same title God claimed for himself in —“I am who I am.”
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know Jesus—Fully God
If Jesus wasn’t fully God, he could not have borne the full penalty for sin for the whole world. And if he didn’t bear the full penalty of sin for the world as a sinless man, there would be no valid payment for anyone’s sins, and nobody could be saved.
If Jesus wasn’t fully God, he could not have borne the full penalty for sin for the whole world. And if he didn’t bear the full penalty of sin for the world as a sinless man, there would be no valid payment for anyone’s sins, and nobody could be saved.
Thus, if Jesus is not fully God, we have no salvation and ultimately no Christianity.
Look at and compare it to . How do these tie together?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
John not only calls Jesus “God” but also refers to him as “the Word” (Gk. logos). John’s readers would have recognized in this term logos a dual reference, both to the powerful, creative Word of God in the Old Testament by which the heavens and earth were created () and to the organizing or unifying principle of the universe, the thing that held it together and allowed it to make sense, in Greek thinking.
John is identifying Jesus with both of these ideas and saying that he is not only the powerful, creative Word of God and the organizing or unifying force in the universe, but also that he became man: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (). Here is another strong claim to deity coupled with an explicit statement that Jesus also became man and moved among us as a man.
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.
What did Jesus mean when He calls himself “the Son of man” ?
This title is used eighty-four times in the four gospels but only by Jesus and only to speak of himself . Go to
“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
This passage clearly speaks of someone who had heavenly origin and who was given eternal rule over the whole world.
Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
This unique term has as its background the vision in where Daniel saw one like a “Son of Man” who “came to the Ancient of Days” and was given “dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away” (). It is striking that this “son of man” came “with the clouds of heaven” (). This passage clearly speaks of someone who had heavenly origin and who was given eternal rule over the whole world. The high priests did not miss the point of this passage when Jesus said, “Hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” ().
The high priests did not miss the point of this passage when Jesus said, “Hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” ().
Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Immediately they said, “He has uttered blasphemy. . . .He deserves death” (). Here Jesus finally made explicit the strong claims to eternal world rule that were earlier hinted at in his frequent use of the title “the Son of man” to apply to himself.
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”
Attributes of Deity
Attributes of Deity
In addition to the specific affirmations of Jesus’ deity seen in the many passages quoted above, we see many examples of actions in Jesus’ lifetime that point to his divine character.
Jesus demonstrated his omnipotence when he stilled the storm at sea with a word (), multiplied the loaves and fish (), and changed water into wine ().
Some might object that these miracles just showed the power of the Holy Spirit working through him, just as the Holy Spirit could work through any other human being, and therefore these do not demonstrate Jesus’ own deity. But the contextual explanations of these events often point not to what they demonstrate about the power of the Holy Spirit but to what they demonstrate about Jesus himself. For instance, after Jesus turned water into wine, John tells us, “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (). It was not the glory of the Holy Spirit that was manifested but the glory of Jesus himself, as his divine power worked to change water into wine.
Similarly, after Jesus stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples did not say, “How great is the power of the Holy Spirit working through this prophet,” but rather, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (). It was the authority of Jesus himself to which the winds and the waves were subject, and this could only be the authority of God who rules over the seas and has power to still the waves (cf. ; ; ).
The omniscience of Jesus is demonstrated in his knowing people’s thoughts () and seeing Nathaniel under the fig tree from far away (), and knowing “from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him” ().
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
Of course, the revelation of individual, specific events or facts is something that God could give to anyone who had a gift of prophecy in the Old or New Testaments. But Jesus’ knowledge was much more extensive than that. He knew “who those were that did not believe,” thus implying that he knew the belief or unbelief that was in the hearts of all men. In fact, John says explicitly that Jesus “knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man” (). The disciples could later say to him, “Now we know that you know all things” ().
These statements say much more than what could be said of any great prophet or apostle of the Old Testament or New Testament, for they imply omniscience on the part of Jesus.
Finally, after his resurrection, when Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, Peter answered, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you” (). Here Peter is saying much more than that Jesus knows his heart and knows that he loves him. He is rather making a general statement (“You know everything”) and from it he is drawing a specific conclusion (“You know that I love you”). Peter is confident that Jesus knows what is in the heart of every person, and therefore he is sure that Jesus knows his own heart.
The divine attribute of omnipresence is not directly affirmed to be true of Jesus during his earthly ministry. However, while looking forward to the time that the church would be established, Jesus could say, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (). Moreover, before he left the earth, he told his disciples, “I am with you always, to the close of the age” ().
That Jesus possessed divine sovereignty, a kind of authority possessed by God alone, is seen in the fact that he could forgive sins (). Unlike the Old Testament prophets who declared, “Thus says the LORD,” he could preface his statements with the phrase, “But I say to you” (, , , , , )—an amazing claim to his own authority.
He could speak with the authority of God himself because he was himself fully God. He had “all things” delivered into his hands by the Father and the authority to reveal the Father to whomever he chose (). Such is his authority that the future eternal state of everyone in the universe depends on whether they believe in him or reject him ().
Jesus also possessed the divine attribute of immortality, the inability to die. We see this indicated near the beginning of John’s gospel, when Jesus says to the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” ().
When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken” (). We must insist of course that Jesus really did die: this very passage speaks of the time when “he was raised from the dead.” But it is also significant that Jesus predicts that he will have an active role in his own resurrection: “I will raise it up.” Although other Scripture passages tell us that God the Father was active in raising Christ from the dead, here he says that he himself will be active in his resurrection.
Jesus claims the power to lay down his life and take it up again in another passage in John’s gospel: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father” (). Here Jesus speaks of a power no other human being has had—the power to lay down his own life and the power to take it up again. Once again, this is an indication that Jesus possessed the divine attribute of immortality.
Another clear attestation to the deity of Christ is the fact that he is counted worthy to be worshiped, something that is true of no other creature, including angels (see ), but only God alone.
Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Another clear attestation to the deity of Christ is the fact that he is counted worthy to be worshiped, something that is true of no other creature, including angels (see ), but only God alone.
Yet Scripture says of Christ that “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (). Similarly, God commands the angels to worship Christ, for we read, “When he brings the first-born into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him’ ” ().
Questions for Reflection
Questions for Reflection
The Incarnation: Deity and Humanity in the One Person of Christ
A precise understanding of how full deity and full humanity could be combined together in one person was formulated only gradually in the church and did not reach the final form until the Chalcedonian Definition in A.D. 451.
Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know The Chalcedonian Creed
The Chalcedonian Creed
(A.D. 451)
We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us p 140 according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
Jesus is fully God. What are some ways that this encourages you?
The biblical teaching about the full deity and full humanity of Christ is so extensive that both have been believed from the earliest times in the history of the church. But a precise understanding of how full deity and full humanity could be combined together in one person was formulated only gradually in the church and did not reach the final form until the Chalcedonian Definition in A.D. 451. Before that point, several inadequate views of the person of Christ were proposed and then rejected. One view,
Jesus is fully man. What are some ways that this encourages you?