Defense of the Humanity of Christ. Jesus Christ was without a doubt a real, living, breathing human being. His human nature is separate and distinct from His divine nature, yet unified in the person that He is. He was not God merely making himself appear as a person: He was truly human. Jesus's humanity is very clear from the testimony of scripture and records of his life.
Jesus's humanity is attested to by scripture through the accounts of people who view Him as an ordinary person. He was born of a human mother, experiencing the natural process of gestation and birth (though miraculously conceived) just like every other person on this planet (Luke 2:7). According to Luke 2:52, Jesus went through a human growth process. The disciples viewed
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For example, when Jesus was fasting in the desert for forty days, He experienced hunger (Matthew 4:2). At the end of His fasting, Jesus was so terribly exhausted and weak that angels had to come and minister to Him (Matthew 4:11). When Jesus was on the cross, He experienced thirst (John 19:28). Jesus also became fatigued and tired, just like everyone else (John 4:6). The ultimate human experience that Christ endured was His death on the cross (Luke 23:46). All of Jesus's experiences, as recorded by the Bible, demonstrate that He was truly …show more content…
Jesus Himself claimed to be eternal (John 8:58). Jesus also demonstrated His divine attributes, particularly when he demonstrated his omniscience to the woman at the well. In John 4, Jesus approaches a woman and tells her things about her life that He could not have possibly known if He was only human. He tells her about her relationships in a way that no ordinary man could have. In His interaction with her, He exercises His deity by using His omniscience. Jesus's deity is also shown by the fact that He is worthy of worship. Worship is reserved exclusively for God alone in both the new and Old Testament. Exodus 20 is clear that people should not in any way worship anything but God. In Revelation 19:10, an angel denies worship because it is for God alone. Jesus accepts worship from people, demonstrating His deity clearly. The records of Jesus' life show that He was in fact
One of the main principles of Christianity is the belief in both the divinity and humanity of Jesus, that these two natures are combined harmoniously in one being. In general, all modern Christians believe that Jesus was human, he was considered to be “The Word was made flesh” (John, I: 14). However, Jesus was more than just a human, despite being subjected to pain, suffering and death like all other human beings, he was sinless and also possessed the power to heal and to defy death in order to ascend, both body and spirit, into heaven. He was all man and all God, a combination of these two elements, remaining distinct but united in one being. The deity of Jesus is a non-negotiable belief in Christianity, which is referred to in many parts of scripture, “God was revealed in the flesh” (I Timothy, 3:16). The Christian faith does not perceive Jesus as God but rather a reincarnation of God, a mysterious deity who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Throughout history, controversy has surrounded the issue of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, leading to the formation of Docetism, the belief that Jesus was fully divine but not fully human, Arianism, that Jesus was superior to all of creation, but less divine than God, and Nestorius, that there were two separate persons within Jesus. This the proportion of the divine and human within Je...
Jesus Christ became human and walked with men and women. The Creator of heaven and earth became a creature and entered the creation that he made into existence. God made himself known so humanity could have the most basic understanding of who he was and Christ there would be no Christianity. Jesus taught mankind a high view of Scripture and inspired his followers and others to uphold it as God’s Word. (A Starting Point for Wisdom by Jason Hiles and Anna Faith
Jesus is not a mere man. He is so much more than a man; we can see
With each religion comes things to learn and understand. Some things are easy to grasp onto, while others can be impossible to comprehend. Why was it necessary for Jesus to be human? How did Jesus overcome the most powerful of human leaders? Why did God send His only son for us? In the book On the Incarnation by Athanasius, these questions are thoroughly explained. Beginning with the creation of man, God promised to protect and care for us. This promise He fulfills through Jesus His son.
b) Biblical Foundation Many question if Jesus ever claimed to be God. First, Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God, resulting in the Jewish leaders stoning Him ‘because you,’ the leaders said, ‘a mere man, claim to be God’ (John 10:33). On another occasion, a High Priest asked him: ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ to which Jesus replied ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’ (Mark 14:61-62). Jesus also claimed to possess the same attributes of God. In the Bible, Jesus has never been recorded saying the exact words, “I am God.” However, Jesus’ original spectators seemed to think He said “I am the Father.” They were even ready to kill Him right there. The controversy is: Jesus didn’t have to say the specific words “I am God,” to claim this. Jesus did, however,...
There are several ways in which we can be assured that what we are taught about Jesus is true and not just made up. These are called our faith sources. These sources, like the Bible and other sources of information about Jesus have accounts of Jesus’ life. The most important part of these faith sources is the Christian Scriptures. Although the Christian Scriptures are one of the most valuable tools we have to learn about Jesus there are also the Gospels, and also other non-biblical, and non-Christian accounts of Jesus’ life that we can consider when trying to answer the question How can we be sure that what we are taught about Jesus is true and not just made up?
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."(New Revised Standard Version, John 1:14) As the only son of God in the Christian theology, Jesus Christ was tasked with a multitude of trials, and horrors the common man would have rebuked and refused to undertake. However, as a demi-god born of the divine Christian deity and the mortal, virgin Mary, Jesus was not the average mortal man.
One of the greatest debates that continues to rage on amongst theologians, as well as others, is in regards to the balance between the humanity and the divinity of the person of Jesus Christ (also known as Christology). This debate can be especially challenging in the Scripture passage of Matthew 26:36-46 where the reader finds Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many of the ancient and medieval theologians worked to explain away apparent humanistic characteristics seen in this section of the text, while more modern theologians seem to be more open to embracing these characteristics. While the ancient and medieval theologians may not have embraced the humanity of Jesus, the translations and backgrounds of the words “cup”, “grieved”, and “agitated”, along with the translation of the passage itself, the humanity of Jesus is not only present in the passage but also a necessity to the salvation of humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus. Simply put, for the salvation through death to be relatable for humanity, Jesus had to also be, at least in part, fully human as well as being fully divine.
In the book One the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius it talks about why Jesus became human for our salvation. Jesus had no reason not to enter into the world as a human, because “it was right that they should be thus attributed to his as man, in order to show that his body was a real one and not merely an appearance” (Athanasius 15). Showing that it was important for Jesus to be a human and spread his knowledge among us; to help us learn and be able to teach other through oral and written tradition. It was now necessary for Jesus to come for our salvation because “had he surrendered his body to death and then raised it at once…which showed him to be not only a man, but also a God the word” (Athanasius 14). This connects back to by why Jesus wants humans to believe that he died a human death.
This would mean Christ’s sacrifice could not entirely cover the sinful nature of man. There could not be a genuine salvific event without a physical sacrifice on the cross. These two views understand the divinity and the humanity of Christ as either one or the other but not both. However, Kärkkäinen connects the Johannine concept of Logos to explain how Jesus is both human and divine (65). “Logos Christology is a dominant way of interpreting Christ’s incarnation while showing us how Christology has taken various forms throughout history” (67).
Because Christ was human he experienced all the trials and temptations that we experience. Christ, however was strong enough to resist all temptation and lived a life without sinning - that is without disobeying God."[Jesus Christ] was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15). Christ was "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.". (Philippians 2:8)
Jesus Christ was both fully human and fully God at the same time, He lowered himself through kenosis to be like us. Through the Holy Spirit we are risen up, we are
Christ's humanity included both the material and immaterial aspects of the human body (he was flesh but at the same time he was also Soul and Spirit). For Christians - "The Church" "The elements of the Person of Christ are to be established; the faith which accompanies the theoretic process always presupposes their unity; this is for faith immediately certain, though not as yet narrowly defined, not as yet mediately cognised through the knowledge of the distinct elements, which in it are combined (Dorner History of the Development Doctrine of Christ p.85). Christ is fully human. " He was hungry, thirsty, grew weary, experienced love and compassion, he wept, he was tested, and he died. Christ was called by human names as he designated Himself as the "Son of Man".
was a faithful Jew and followed all the Jewish customs. Jesus was a human being.
Jesus Christ was the light that came to earth to brighten the lives of the people. He taught phenomenal and meaningful lessons that changed many hearts and caused people to accept Jesus as their Lord. Jesus Christ is the life of Christianity; the Word of God in flesh. His life, his ministry, and his crucifixion where prophesied long before he was born and Christians believe that they were all fulfilled. He had so much love for human kind that he came to earth to die for the sins of the people, so that their souls would be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Bible testifies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who taught memorable life lessons and performed astonishing miracles during his ministry.