Who is Jesus Christ?
The eternal Son of God. The promised Messiah. The only Saviour.
The Identity and Person of Jesus Christ
Few questions in human history carry greater significance than the question of who Jesus Christ is.
To some, He is a moral teacher. To others, a prophet, religious reformer or influential figure of antiquity. Yet the testimony of Scripture presents a far greater identity.
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the Word made flesh, fully God and fully man. He is the promised Messiah of Israel, the only mediator between God and humanity, and the One through whom salvation is offered to the world.
His identity cannot be separated from His mission. The One who created all things entered His creation to accomplish redemption through His death and resurrection.
The Eternal Word:
In the Beginning Was the Word
Before Bethlehem. Before Abraham. Before creation.
His existence did not begin in Bethlehem. The Gospel of John opens with an extraordinary declaration: the Word already existed in the beginning, was with God, and was God. John subsequently identifies this Word as the One who became flesh and dwelt among humanity.
Jesus did not become divine through His ministry or resurrection. His divine nature belongs to His eternal identity. The New Testament also declares that all things were created through Him and that He possesses the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Scriptures: John 1:1-3 | John 1:14 | John 17:5 | Colossians 2:9 | Hebrews 1:1-3
Original language study: λόγος (logos, G3056) - word, expression, reason. In John 1, the term is used as a personal designation for the pre-existent Christ, not merely an impersonal principle.
The Son of God:
The Beloved Son of the Father
His divine identity revealed in Scripture.
The title Son of God expresses Christ's unique relationship with the Father and, in the context of the New Testament's teaching, His divine identity. The Christian confession of Jesus as the Son of God does not mean that He was created by the Father or that He is inferior in divine nature.
At His baptism, the Father identifies Him as His beloved Son. At His transfiguration, the Father's testimony is repeated. Jesus teaches that the Son must receive honour even as the Father is honoured. The apostles likewise proclaim Him as the Son of God.
Key Scriptures: Matthew 3:16-17 | Matthew 17:5 | John 5:17-23 | Hebrews 1:1-8 | John 20:30-31
Original language study: υἱός (huios, G5207) - son. The significance of the title depends upon its biblical context, particularly Jesus' unique relationship with the Father.
The Incarnation:
Fully God and Fully Man
The eternal Son took on genuine humanity.
The incarnation is the astonishing truth that the eternal Son of God took on genuine human nature. He experienced hunger, thirst, sorrow, weariness and temptation, yet remained without sin. His humanity was real, not an appearance. His deity was not surrendered when He became man.
The Christian confession is that Jesus Christ is one divine Person possessing both a complete divine nature and a complete human nature. His genuine humanity enabled Him to suffer and die. His sinlessness and divine identity are inseparable from the sufficiency of His saving work.
Scriptures: John 1:14 | Philippians 2:5-11 | Hebrews 2:14-18 | Hebrews 4:15 | Luke 2:52
Original language study: σάρξ (sarx, G4561) - flesh. John 1:14 uses this term to affirm the genuine incarnation of the Word.
The Promised Messiah:
The Christ of the Scriptures
The promises of God find their fulfilment in Him.
The Hebrew Scriptures anticipate a coming anointed ruler, deliverer and servant of the Lord. The New Testament identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the promised Messiah. His identity must therefore be understood within the history of Israel, the promises given to Abraham and David, and the prophetic testimony of the Old Testament.
Jesus is not presented as an unrelated religious founder, but as the One whose coming belongs to the unfolding purposes of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Scriptures: Psalms 2:1-12 | Isaiah 9:6-7 | Daniel 7:13-14 | Matthew 16:13-17 | Luke 24:44-47
Original language study: מָשִׁיחַ (mashiach, H4899) - anointed one; Χριστός (Christos, G5547) - Christ, Anointed One.
The Only Saviour:
The Way, the Truth and the Life
Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone.
Scripture does not present Jesus as one possible means of reconciliation with God among many. He declares Himself to be the way, the truth and the life. The apostles proclaim salvation through His name.
This exclusive claim is central to the Christian gospel and cannot be separated from the identity of Jesus Christ. The One who calls sinners to repentance is also the One who gave Himself for their salvation and rose bodily from the dead.
Scriptures: John 14:6 | Acts 4:12 | 1 Timothy 2:5-6 | Romans 10:9-13 | John 3:16-18
Original language study: σωτήρ (sōtēr, G4990) - saviour or deliverer. The New Testament applies this title to Jesus Christ in connection with His saving work.
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