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WHAT
PRESBYTERIANS BELIEVE
ABOUT
JESUS CHRIST |
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The Resurrection of Christ
c.1620 Alexandre Turchi
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Who is Jesus?
Presbyterians
believe, as do other Christians, that Jesus of Nazareth is
the Lord of all and the Savior of the world. Jesus lived,
died, and was raised from death by the grace of God. We
affirm that this same Jesus is the Christ of God.
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What is the Christ?
“Christ” is not
the sir name of Jesus. Rather, it is His title—His office.
The Christ is Jesus’ purpose. In Greek, the word “Christ”
means anointed
(in Hebrew, the word is “Messiah”). To affirm that Jesus is
the Christ is to proclaim that He is the one anointed by God
for a special purpose. That purpose is to restore humanity
to a relationship with God—a relationship for which
humankind was originally created and intended.
Presbyterians
believe that humanity exists in a state of sin and has
broken its relationship with God and, consequently, with
each other. It is because of sin that humankind is in need
of reconciliation with God. Yet, it is precisely because
human sinfulness has alienated us from God that we cannot
mend this broken relationship. Thus, God Himself has
anointed Jesus as the “One Mediator between God and
humankind” (1 Timothy 2:5) |
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How is Jesus Christ able to be the Mediator between God and
humanity?
Presbyterians
believe that Jesus Christ is “fully human and fully divine,
one person in two natures, without confusion and without
change, without separation and without division.” This
statement dates back to 451 AD and is known as the
Chalcedonian Definition. The early Christians who wrote
this statement were trying to put into words their belief
that Jesus Christ is divine as well as human.
As Christians,
Presbyterians reaffirm this statement of faith about Jesus
Christ. We recognize that we would be without hope if Jesus
were either only human or only divine. Because Jesus is
both divine and human, we have confidence that God does not
stand at a distance from us, but has entered into existence
with us. Because Jesus is not God in a mere human disguise,
but is fully human as well as divine, we have confidence
that God truly understands us and loves us. |
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What does it mean for us that Jesus Christ is both fully
human and fully divine?
The apostle Paul
writes that Jesus Christ, “though He was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be
exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness, being found in human form”
(Philippians 2:6-7).
Presbyterians
believe the two natures of Jesus allow us to affirm two very
important aspects of our relationship with God. The first
aspect is that, in the person of Jesus Christ, God has
exalted humanity. God did not make Himself known to us as
an angel or as a superhuman spirit, but as a human being.
In so doing, God places a divine stamp of approval on human
life. In Christ, God is showing us that our humanity is not
something from which we must escape. Rather, God shows us
that our humanity is a divine gift—a gift which we are to
share with God and with each other—a gift for which we are
to live lives of gratitude.
The second
aspect is that, in the person of Jesus, God has humbled
Himself. God does not consider His goodness and holiness as
barriers to fellowship with humankind. God is not a
prisoner of His own spirituality, but is able to be God even
in a non-spiritual realm. God can accomplish His will in
weakness as well as in strength. God can accomplish His
will by sacrificing Himself as well as by asserting
Himself. And this is precisely what God accomplishes in
Jesus Christ.
We believe that
if we want to know God, then we must look to Jesus Christ.
We also believe that if we want to know what it means to be
a human being, then we must look to Jesus Christ.
Back to
"What We Believe." |
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