Fully God, fully human
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was with God the Father before the creation of the universe, and shared in the act of creation.
Jesus was born like everyone else is born, and in him God is shown to us. Jesus is both completely human and completely divine, which isn’t an easy thing to understand.
The Bible and the Church use a variety of names and titles for Jesus, which can be confusing at first. Jesus is his human name, placing him in history as a Jewish man in first-century Palestine.
The word Christ comes from the Greek word christos, meaning anointed, which has the same meaning as the Hebrew word Messiah. Christians call Jesus the Christ because we believe he is the one chosen by God to fulfil God’s purposes, as promised in the Old Testament.
When Christians say Jesus Christ, we are saying Jesus is the Messiah, God’s chosen one.
Christ is called Lord because we understand that he shares the full authority and divinity of God, confirmed when he was raised from death to share God’s rule over the world.
You can read more about this in the Bible:
- Acts 2:22-36 “Fellow Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having released him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.
Read full text - 1 John 2:22-23 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also.
- John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
Read full text - Colossians 1:15-20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
- John 20:28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
- Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
- Philippians 2:5-11 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Read full text - Romans 1:1-7 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is the Incarnation?
Incarnation is a word we use to describe God in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, God took on human flesh and blood and shared our human experience of birth, life and death. Jesus rose again from the dead, opening the way for us all to experience God’s new life.
In the Bible, the books (or 'Gospels') of Matthew and Luke describe Jesus as being conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit and born to Mary, who responds freely and faithfully to God’s call. These accounts are reflected in the historic creeds of the Church, which affirm that Jesus Christ was “conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary”.
For many Christians, this language expresses the conviction that Jesus’ life begins as a gift of God’s grace, not through human choice or achievement, and that God is at work.
Mary holds an important place in the Christian story, not because she has any supernatural power, but because of her trust, courage and willingness. She embodies God’s pattern of working through human faithfulness and co-operation rather than force.
For some Christians, the birth narratives offer a biological explanation of Jesus’ birth. For all who hear of Christ’s birth, they are theological testimony: a way of proclaiming that in Jesus, God is truly with us.
You can read more about this in the Bible:
- John 1:1–14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
Read full text - 1 John 4:1–3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
- Galatians 4:4–5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.
- Matthew 1:18–25 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly.
Read full text - Luke 1:26–56 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
Read full text - Luke 2:1–20 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.
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Why did Jesus live as a human?
Jesus came to save humanity from the power of sin and death by fully sharing and participating in our experience of life and death.
Christians believe that through Jesus, God restores what is broken and offers forgiveness, healing and new life.
Early statements of Christian belief, known as the creeds, describe Jesus having “suffered under Pontius Pilate” (a first-century political leader) which locates Jesus’ life and death in real history. It reminds us that Christian faith is grounded in events that took place at a particular time and place.
The evidence that Jesus rose from the dead comes from the testimony of those who saw him alive, the experience of Christians throughout history, and our own experience of Jesus’ living presence today.
Jesus’ work continues through the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. His death by crucifixion shows the depth of that sharing: Christians believe that in Jesus’ suffering and death, God enters fully into human pain, injustice and vulnerability.
Through his resurrection, Jesus showed that there is no place or people beyond the reach of his saving power. Through the resurrection, Jesus defeated sin and death.
The ascension, an event which took place shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, describes Jesus being taken from his followers and moving into God’s presence.
Early Christians spoke about this using the language and worldview of their time, often imagining heaven as physically above the earth. As our understanding of the universe has changed, Christians have recognised that the ascension is not about Jesus travelling upwards through the sky, but about a change of mode or state: the risen Christ is no longer limited by time and space.
The ascension proclaims that Jesus is fully caught up into the life of God, sharing God’s authority and presence everywhere, rather than being located in one place. It affirms not distance from the world, but a deeper, transformed nearness.
You can read more about this in the Bible:
- 1 Corinthians 15:1–57 Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
Read full text - 1 Peter 3:18–19 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,
- 1 Peter 4:6 For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.
- Romans 8:18–23 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
- Ephesians 1:6–10 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
- Colossians 1:20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
- Luke 24:50–53 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
- Acts 1:6–11 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
- Philippians 2:5–11 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Read full text - Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
What is Jesus’ second coming and the final judgement?
Christians believe that, in God’s own way and time, God will heal the world through Jesus Christ. This hope is often spoken of as Christ’s coming again.
Even within the Methodist Church there is no single consensus as to what this would look like. Most Methodists do not focus on predicting events or timetables and, in fact, Jesus tells us that no one knows the day or hour of the final judgement. Instead, we emphasise trusting in God’s faithfulness and on living responsibly in the present.
Christians believe that God will judge the world through Christ. In Methodist theology, judgement is not primarily about fear or punishment, but about truth, justice, and healing. God’s judgement is understood as the setting right of what is broken: the exposure of injustice, the naming of truth and the restoration of all things to what God intends. Judgement and grace belong together. God’s purpose is not destruction, but renewal.
The New Testament speaks of Christ reigning with God, not as a distant ruler, but as one who has shared human life fully and knows its joy and suffering from within. Because Christ is the one who lived, suffered, died, and was raised from the dead, Christians trust that God’s judgment is shaped by mercy, love, and compassion.
Therefore, Methodists tend to speak less about dramatic images of the end of the world, and more about God’s reign of love. The Christian hope is that nothing is beyond God’s power to redeem and make whole, and that God will bring justice, peace, and reconciliation to fulfilment.
This hope calls Christians not to withdraw from the world, but to live now in ways that reflect God’s future: seeking justice, practising mercy, and loving God and neighbour.
You can read more about this in the Bible:
- Mark 13:24–27 “But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
“Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels and gather the elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
- Matthew 25:31–46 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
Read full text - Acts 1:7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
- Mark 13:32–37 “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
Find out more about who God is
Who is God the Father?
When Christians speak of God as “Father,” it is a way of expressing relationship, care, and love—not a statement about gender.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is and always has been God, present and active in the world from the very beginning of Creation.
