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God the Son

Summary (top)

God the Son has always existed and will always exist. Originally, He existed only as God, but when He came to earth through the Holy Spirit and Mary, He became truly human in addition to his divinity. He remains fully God and fully human, and will be so forever.

Summary
Introduction
Jesus' Divinity

He is called "God" (Theos)
He is Called "Lord" (Kyrios)
Jesus associates Himself with Deity
Jesus' Divine Characteristics

Jesus' Humanity

He had a human body
He will remain human forever

Why did Jesus become human?

Introduction (top)

Through reading the gospels and the rest of the Bible it is clear that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. Much like the teaching of the Trinity, there are certain aspects of this which we simply cannot comprehend, but the purpose of this page is to show that whether we understand how it works or not, it is true that Jesus who is God, became man, and will remain both man and God forever; and He became man so that He could die in our place, as our appropriate though undeserving substitue and representative.

The Biblical Teaching

Jesus' Divinity (top)

Jesus was, is, and always will be divine. He never gave up his divinity, but accepted humanity in addition to His divinity when he became a man.

He is called "God" (Theos) (top)

"God", in the following passages, is meant in the fullest sense of the word to mean God the creator and sustainer.

[Isaiah predicted,] "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." (John 1:1-2)
"No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." (John 1:18)
"Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." (Romans 9:5)
" For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." (Colossians 2:9-10)
"...while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ..." (Titus 2:13)
2 Peter 1:1: "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours..."
For some more direct references to Jesus being referred to as God, see John 20:27-29; Hebrews 1:8-9; 1 John 5:20; Psalm 45:6-7; 2 Pet. 1:1);
For some references to Jesus sharing the same titles etc as God see Rev. 17:14 & 19:16 cf. 1Tim. 6:15-16; Rev. 21:6-7, 22:12-13 cf. Is. 44:6, 48:12 & Rev. 1:8; John 8:58 cf. Ex. 3:13-17)
(See also the section on Jesus as being truly God on the trinity page.)

He is Called "Lord" (Kyrios) (top)

In the days when Jesus and the Apostles walked the earth, “Lord” meant “God”. You see, originally the Jews recorded God's name as “YHWH” in their Scriptures. When these Scriptures were translated into Greek, "YHWH" was translated as "Kyrios", meaning “Lord”. So it was that the Jews in Jesus' time would not call the Roman Emperor - or anyone else for that matter - "Kyrios", for this was how they referred to God, and it was reserved for Him alone. It was basically unheard of for a Jew to call anyone "Lord". Applying “Lord” to Jesus then was literally calling Him God - and the early Christians, the writers of the New Testament, the Apostles the writers of the early Christian creeds were very careful to refer to Jesus as “Lord” frequently! (Acts 2:36 cf. Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3; 1 Pe. 1:3; Luke 2:11 - and about 150 others!)

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36) Imagine the frustration of the Jews to whom Peter was speaking at this point - he's telling them that the guy they killed on the cross has been honored by God to the extent that they will call Him their Lord (God and ruler) and Christ (Saviour)!!
"...Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that 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." (Philippians 2:9-11)

Jesus associates Himself with Deity (top)

When Jesus is questioned as to how He has seen Abraham, He replies "'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'". This response is implying that the person of Jesus in the present was before Abraham in the past, clearly pointing to the divine attribute of immortality (and pre-existence). His use of "I Am" also associates Himself with the name God calls Himself in Exodus 3:14: "I AM".
Jesus' immortality and association with God is also expressed in Jesus' statement to be 'the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End' (Rev. 22:13) when compared with God's statements in Isaiah: "This is what the LORD says - Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." (Isa. 44:6 cf Isa. 48:12).

Jesus' Divine Characteristics (top)

What is necessary to be divine? What is unique about God? I asked myself this, and came up with: eternal (both past-eternal and future-eternal), totally powerful - i.e., not being surpassed by any other being (omnipotent); in all places at all times (omnipresent). God also tells us Himself that only He (God) is to be worshiped.

Now, Jesus is described in all of these ways: -

Eternal: John 1:1-2 ("In the beginning was the Word...He was with God in the beginning") and Jesus' claim to be the "Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" in Revelation 22:13 (cf. 1:8, 21:6) are two pretty obvious claims to being eternal (both in the past and future sense of 'eternal'). For "alpha" means "first" (since it is the first letter in the Greek alphabet) as does obviously "beginning"; and "omega" means "last" (being the last letter in the Greek alphabet), as does obviously "End" - so Jesus is saying "I am the First and the Last, the First and the Last, the First and the Last".
Omnipotent: In Colossians 1:16-17 we read clearly of all things being created by Jesus: "...by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." John 1:3 reads: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." Being involved in the creation of all things in such a way is a pretty clear indication that he is almighty!
Omniscient: Being the creator and sustainer of all things ("He is before all things, and in him all things hold together", Colossians 1:17) implies omniscience, as does his pledge to be our continuous advocate in heaven (Heb. 7:25).
To be Worshiped: Philippians 2 makes it clear that at the culmination of God's plan, at the End of Days, every knee will bow to Christ in worship, confessing Him as Lord: "...Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that 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." (Philippians 2:9-11)

Jesus' Humanity (top)

He had a human body (top)

Was born and grew: "While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:6-7); "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." (Luke 2:40).
Got tired: "Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour." (John 4:6).
Thirsted: "Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.'" (John 19:28).
Hungered: "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." (Matthew 4:2).
Died: "Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last." (Luke 23:46).
Increased in wisdom: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52).
Felt sorrow: "Then he said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'" (Matthew 26:38); "Jesus wept." (John 11:35).
Marvelled: "When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, 'I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'" (Matthew 8:10).
Others saw Him as a man: "Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. 'Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?' they asked. 'Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?'" (Matthew 13:54-56)

He will remain human forever (top)

He was a man after His death and before His ascension: "'Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, 'Do you have anything here to eat?' They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence." (Luke 24:39-43).
John saw Jesus as 'one like a Son of Man' in his vision of Heaven: [talking of Jesus:] "and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest." (Revelation 1:13).

Note here, however, that after his resurrection, Jesus walked the earth in his glorified body. This refers to the physical body that we were all meant to have, but lost the right to when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden. All believers will receive this resurrection body upon Christ's return, which will be impervious to hurt, will never die and will function perfectly for all eternity. (See Glorification for more information on this.)

Why did Jesus become human? (top)

Jesus becoming a man is a pretty big thing. The son of God lowering Himself to the likeness of one of His creation. There had to be a reason (!) - and there was: It was only as a human that He could be an adequate substitute for human beings, and die in our place in order to take the punishment due to us for our sins. But think about that next time you hear someone say they think that since they've been "a good person" God will let them into heaven: if it was as easy as that, why did Christ become a man and die the worst of all deaths? No, Christ died in the place of all who put their faith in him - and so it is only by faith in Christ (not in our own good works) that we may look forward to eternity with God in heaven.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (John 8:29).
"Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:16-17).
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

Check out Find Out About Jesus for more information on why Jesus became a human.