The Person of Christ

When Jesus came to the earth by way of the incarnation it was a paradox. At the same time, he was both fully God and fully human. Jesus was a distinct and authentic human being who walked on the earth with a body (Gal 4:4). There is an abundance of historical evidence that a person named Jesus lived; however since his birth, people have debated exactly who he is and was. Historically, he lived during a specific time and place and he had two human parents in Mary and Joseph along with several brothers. Jesus acted like all humans in that he human characteristics and grew in wisdom and stature as he grew older (Luke 2:52). Jesus ate, slept, grew tired and showed a wide variety of emotions. Jesus was called by human names as well. Spiritually, he prayed and talked to the Father as much as possible because he also had a human soul and spirit. Jesus was tempted throughout his entire life. In the dessert, he was tempted for forty days and forty nights by the devil and he struggled with temptation not only there but to the moment he had to go to the cross not to mention countless other times that are not recorded in the Gospels. Even though Jesus was tempted throughout his life, at no time did he ever give in and commit sin (Heb 4:15).

To redeem a sinful person to God, the full Godhead must unite with authentic humanity. The unity of deity and humanity is called the “hypostatic union.” This is what happened when the two natures came together. The Gospel of John is clear that Jesus was God and descended from heaven and became flesh making his dwelling among us (1:14). The union of God and human into one nature but at both time being full natures. Jesus was both fully God and fully human at the same time. Jesus knew this his entire life but understood that the purpose of this was to offer himself as a servant and sacrifice to the rest of the world, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil 2:6-7). The Greek word in v. 7 is εκένωσεν (kenosis), which is a self-emptying of himself to take on human attributes.

While Jesus was fully human, at the same time he was also fully Lord as authentic deity. Jesus had to be fully God in order to avenge sin and reconcile humans to God. The Lordship of Christ is seen through His many attributes and actions, which only God has. First, Jesus is eternal who has always been and will continue to be (Jn 1:1, Re 1:8). Next he is omnipresence (everywhere) in Matthew 18:20 and His Omniscience (knows everything) in John 16:30. Jesus is also immutable (Heb 13:5), completely holy (1 Pet 1:19) and self-existent (Jn. 5:26). Last, Jesus was given the names “Son of God” and “Lord” and “God”.

Jesus committed a number of divine works during his life. John 1:3 says he was the agent of creation and Hebrews 1:3 likewise shows that he is the sustainer as well. He was a miracle worker (Jn. 10:37. Most of all, the greatest work of Christ was his resurrection proving that he had power over death itself.

A proper view of Christ is at the heart of Christianity. Knowing who Jesus helps determine what he does. Because he was both fully human and fully God, Jesus was able to die on the cross as the sacrifice for the sin of every person. In addition, because of this, he is the only mediator between God and man because he had both natures.

The purpose of studying Christology is the more we know who Christ is, the more we can act like him and show him to other people. If one does not know who Jesus is, it is hard to give an accurate example in witnessing. An improper view of who Jesus is usually is the main cause for doctrinal heresy. In youth ministry, I have met and mentored a number of kids who thought they had a relationship with Jesus but after studying who Christ is, it turns out that they never did know him and had to met him all over again for the first time.