Lesson 1 of 4 · 9 min
Who Is Jesus?
Fully God, fully human — the claim the whole faith rests on.
The incarnation
The New Testament presents Jesus of Nazareth as the eternal Son of God who took on human nature. He grew tired, wept, ate and died — and he forgave sins, calmed storms and received worship.
The Council of Chalcedon (451) summarised it: one person in two natures, truly God and truly human, without confusion, change, division or separation.
His own claims
Jesus did not merely teach ethics. He claimed authority to forgive sin, to be lord of the Sabbath, to judge the world, and to exist before Abraham. Those claims are why he was executed, and why 'good teacher' alone has never been an option his hearers could comfortably settle on.
Key passages
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.
John 1:14
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.
Colossians 2:9
'Son, your sins are forgiven.'... 'Who can forgive sins but God alone?'
Mark 2:5-7
Reflect
If Jesus is who he claimed to be, what is one area of your life that claim reaches into?
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Where this came from
We're not experts — these are the sources we used while researching this page. Read them yourself, keep digging, and hold us to them.
- [1]The Holy Bible — Blue Letter Bible interlinear and lexicons
Primary source for every lesson; Strong's and BDB/Thayer entries for word studies.
- [2]The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381) — full text and history, Britannica
The doctrinal frame for the lessons on God, Christ and the Spirit.
- [3]N. T. Wright, lectures and articles archive (NTWrightPage)
New Testament scholarship drawn on for the gospel, kingdom and resurrection lessons.
- [4]Catechism of the Catholic Church (Vatican) and the Westminster Confession of Faith
Consulted side by side wherever a lesson describes how different traditions teach a doctrine.