In Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God as chronicled in the Bible's New Testament, and is in traditional Trinitarian theology held to be God the Son, a prosopon (person) of the Trinity of God. Christians believe him to be the Jewish messiah (giving him the title Christ), who was prophesied in the Bible's Old Testament. Through Jesus's crucifixion and his raising from the dead, Christians believe that God offers humans salvation and eternal life,Oxford Companion to the Bible p. 649. with Jesus's death atoning for all sin.
These teachings emphasize that, as the Lamb of God, Jesus voluntarily endured being nailed to the cross at Calvary as a sign of his obedience to the will of God, serving as an "agent and servant of God".The Christology of Anselm of Canterbury by Dániel Deme 2004 , pp. 199–200 Jesus's choice positions him as a man of obedience, in contrast to Adam's disobedience.Systematic Theology, Volume 2 by Wolfhart Pannenberg 2004 0567084663 ISBN, pp. 297–303 According to the New Testament, after God raised him from the dead,, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Jesus ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father,, , , , , , , , , , , , with his followers awaiting his return to Earth and God's subsequent Last Judgement.
According to the gospel accounts, Jesus was born of a virgin, and he taught other Jews how to follow God, performed miracles and gathered disciples. Christians generally believe that this narrative is historically true.
His teaching is presented in terms of words and works. His words include the discourses, most notably the Sermon on the Mount and its Beatitudes, as well as approximately thirty parables. These parables make up about a third of his recorded teaching and set everyday images against spiritual ones, particularly concerning the "Kingdom of God". The miracles are likewise portrayed not simply as demonstrations of power, but as signs that accompany and reinforce his message. The accounts commonly associate these acts with faith, performed without payment, and present them as evidence of his divine authority.
While there has been theological debate over the nature of Jesus, Trinitarian Christians believe that Jesus is the , God incarnate (God in human form), God the Son, and "true God and true man"—fully divine and fully human. Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, yet he did not sin.
Nontrinitarian Christians, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses and Unitarians, reject the Trinity and differ widely among themselves on his nature, some holding him to be a prophet or a perfect created human rather than divine.
Key ideas
Although Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to summarise the key elements of the beliefs shared by major Christian denominations by analysing their catechetical or confessional texts.Jackson, Gregory Lee, Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant: a doctrinal comparison 1993 Part One: "Areas of Agreement", pages 11-17The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Its History, Doctrine by John Anthony McGuckin 2010 pages 6-7Basic Christian doctrine by John H. Leith 1993 pages 1-2 Christian views of Jesus are derived from various biblical sources, particularly from the canonical gospels and New Testament letters such as the Pauline epistles. Christians predominantly hold that these works are historically true.Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum (V.19) ; Thomas Aquinas, Whether in Holy Scripture a word may have several senses? ; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, §116 ; R.C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture pp. 45–61; Greg Bahnsen, A Reformed Confession Regarding Hermeneutics (art. 6) ; Scott Foutz, Martin Luther and Scripture
Those Christian groups or denominations which are committed to what are considered biblically orthodox Christianity nearly all agree that Jesus:"Who is Jesus? What Do Christians Believe?" Johns Hopkins University. Graduate Christian Fellowship. 1 May 2013 was born of a virgin; is a human being who is also fully God; has never sinned during his existence; was crucified, died, and was buried in a tomb; rose from the dead on the third day; ascended back to God the Father 40 days after his resurrection; will return to Earth.cf. , , , Some groups considered to be Christian hold beliefs that are considered to be heterodox. For example, believers in monophysitism reject the idea that Jesus has two natures, one human and one divine.
The five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus are his baptism, transfiguration, death by crucifixion, resurrection and ascension to Heaven.Essays in New Testament interpretation by Charles Francis Digby Moule 1982 page 63The Melody of Faith: Theology in an Orthodox Key by Vigen Guroian 2010 page 28 These are usually bracketed by two other episodes: his nativity at the beginning and the sending of the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) at the end.Scripture in tradition by John Breck 2001 page 12 The gospel accounts of the teachings of Jesus are often presented in terms of specific categories involving his "works and words", e.g., his ministry, parables and miracles.The Bible Knowledge Commentary by John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck 1983 page 100The words and works of Jesus Christ by J. Dwight Pentecost 2000 page 212
Christians not only attach theological significance to the works of Jesus, but also to his name; devotions to the name of Jesus go back to the earliest days of Christianity.Hunter, Sylvester. Outlines of dogmatic theology, Volume 2. 2010 p. 443Houlden, Leslie. Jesus: the Complete Guide, 2006. p. 426 These exist today both in Eastern and Western Christianity.
Christians predominantly profess that through Jesus' life, death, and rising from the dead, he restored humanity's right relationship with God with the blood of the New Covenant. His death on a cross is understood as a redemptive sacrifice: the source of humanity's salvation and the atonement for sinCatechism of the Catholic Church §606–618; Council of Trent (1547) in Denzinger-Schönmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum (1965) §1529; which had entered human history through the sin of Adam.Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, article 9; Augsburg Confession, article 2; Second Helvetic Confession, chapter 8; ; .
Christ, Logos and Son of God
Most Christians generally consider Jesus to be the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, as well as the one and only Son of God. The opening words in the Gospel of Mark (1:1), "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God", provide Jesus with the two distinct attributions as Christ and as the Son of God. His divinity is again re-affirmed in Mark 1:11.Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity by Larry W. Hurtado 2005 page 288 Matthew 1:1 which begins by calling Jesus the Christ and in verse 16 explains it again with the affirmation: "Jesus, who is called Christ".
In the Pauline epistles, the word Christ is so closely associated with Jesus that apparently for the early Christians there was no need to claim that Jesus was Christ, for that was considered widely accepted among them. Hence Paul could use the term Christos with no confusion about who it referred to, and as in 1 Corinthians 4:15 and Romans 12:5 he could use expressions such as "in Christ" to refer to the followers of Jesus.Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity by Larry W. Hurtado 2005 page 99
In the New Testament, the title "Son of God" is applied to Jesus on many occasions, from the Annunciation up to the Crucifixion. The declaration that Jesus is the Son of God is made by many individuals in the New Testament, and on two occasions by God the Father as a voice from Heaven, and is asserted by Jesus himself.One teacher: Jesus' teaching role in Matthew's gospel by John Yueh-Han Yieh 2004 pages 240-241Dwight Pentecost The words and works of Jesus Christ 2000 page 234The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia by Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1988 page 571-572
In Christology, the concept that Christ is the Logos (i.e., "The Word") has been important in establishing the doctrine of the divinity of Christ and his position as God the Son in the Trinity as set forth in the Chalcedonian Creed. This derives from the opening of the Gospel of John, commonly translated into English as: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." λόγος in the original Koine Greek is translated as Word and in theological discourse, this is often left in its English transliterated form, .
The pre-existence of Christ refers to the existence of Christ before his incarnation as Jesus. One of the relevant New Testament passages is John 1:1-18 where, in the Trinitarian view, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasis called the Logos or Word. This doctrine is reiterated in John 17:5 when Jesus refers to the glory which he had with the Father "before the world was" during the Farewell Discourse.Creation and Christology by Masanobu Endo 2002 page 233 also refers to the Father loving Jesus "before the foundation of the world". Nontrinitarian views about the pre-existence of Christ vary, with some rejecting it and others accepting it.
Following the Apostolic Age, from the 2nd century forward, several controversies developed about how the human and divine are related within the person of Jesus. Eventually in 451, the concept of a hypostatic union was stated at the Council of Chalcedon, namely that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human.Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd series, Vol XIV p207, translated edition by H.R. Percival. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/ephesus.html The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church, trans H. R. Percival, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series, ed. P. Schaff and H. Wace, (repr. Grand Rapids MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1955), XIV, pp. 192-242 However, differences among Christian denominations continued thereafter, with some rejecting the hypostatic union in favour of monophysitism.
Incarnation, Nativity and Second Adam
The above verse from Colossians regards the birth of Jesus as the model for all creation.Bromiley, Geoffrey W. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1988. Espín, Orlando O. and James B. Nickoloff.An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies, 2007. , p. 238Mills, Watson E. and Roger Aubrey Bullard. Mercer dictionary of the Bible, 1998. . p. 712Ryrie, Charles C. Basic Theology:, 1999. . p. 275
Paul the Apostle viewed the birth of Jesus as an event of cosmic significance which brought forth a "new man" who undid the damage caused by the fall of the first man, Adam. Just as the Johannine view of Jesus as the incarnate Logos proclaims the universal relevance of his birth, the Pauline perspective emphasizes the birth of a new man and a new world in the birth of Jesus. Paul's eschatological view of Jesus counter-positions him as a new man of morality and obedience, in contrast to Adam. Unlike Adam, the new man born in Jesus obeys God and ushers in a world of morality and salvation.
In the Pauline view, Adam is positioned as the first man and Jesus as the second: Adam, having corrupted himself by his disobedience, also infected humanity and left it with a curse as its inheritance. The birth of Jesus counterbalanced the fall of Adam, bringing forth redemption and repairing the damage done by Adam.Daille, Jean. An exposition of the epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians, 1995. . pp. 194-195
In the 2nd century Church Father Irenaeus writes: