Jesus Christ was fully and truly human
born of a virgin,
subject to all the normal experiences of human life,
and capable of suffering and death
— while remaining fully God.
The humanity of Christ is essential to God’s plan of redemption. Only a sinless human could represent humanity and die as a substitute. Jesus experienced hunger, thirst, weariness, sorrow, temptation, and physical death, yet He never sinned. His full humanity allows Him to be our sympathetic High Priest who understands our weaknesses.
- The incarnation means God entered fully into the human condition without ceasing to be God.
- Jesus’ humanity was real and complete: He grew, learned, felt emotions, and died a real physical death.
- His sinless humanity qualified Him to be the perfect sacrifice and to represent us before God.
- The union of full deity and full humanity in one person (the hypostatic union) is central to understanding who Jesus is and what He accomplished.
- John 1:14 — “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
- Philippians 2:5-8 — Jesus, being in very nature God, took the nature of a servant and was made in human likeness.
- Hebrews 2:14-18 — Jesus shared in our humanity so that by His death He might destroy the devil and free those held in slavery.
- Hebrews 4:15 — “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin.”
- Luke 1:35 — The angel’s announcement to Mary about the miraculous conception.
- Luke 2:52 — Jesus grew in wisdom and stature.
The reality of Christ’s humanity is what makes the cross effective for us and what makes Him approachable as our Savior and Lord.