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The lesson library / Lesson 18

Jesus Christ

Confess Jesus as the eternal Son incarnate, fully God and fully man, the promised Messiah and only Savior.

Christ and His saving work

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John 1:1-18 · Hebrews 2:5-18 · Philippians 2:1-16 · John 20:19-31

A person can admire Jesus while refusing almost everything Jesus says about Himself. Admiration sounds respectful, but it can become a way of keeping Him at a manageable distance. Scripture presents a stronger claim. The eternal Son became truly human, lived without sin, died for sinners, and rose again. That identity determines why His saving work is sufficient.

Read John 1:1-18

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.
9 The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him.
11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.
12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’ ”
16 From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only born Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him.

John begins before Bethlehem. The One who becomes flesh is already the Word through whom all things were made. The incarnation is therefore not the beginning of the Son's existence. Nor does becoming human mean He stops being divine. The wording is deliberately substantial: the Word becomes flesh and dwells among people. That rules out a merely human teacher receiving an honorary divine title, and it rules out a divine visitor pretending to have a human life.

Read Hebrews 2:5-18

5 For he didn’t subject the world to come, of which we speak, to angels.
6 But one has somewhere testified, saying, “What is man, that you think of him? Or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we don’t yet see all things subjected to him.
9 But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone.
10 For it became him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
12 saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.”
13 Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.”
14 Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16 For most certainly, he doesn’t give help to angels, but he gives help to the offspring of Abraham.
17 Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
18 For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

Jesus' humanity is not decorative. He participates in the life of the people He came to redeem. Hunger, suffering, and death are real, not theatrical effects. Yet sin is not a necessary ingredient of humanity. Adam was human before he sinned, and redeemed humanity will not become less human when sin is gone. Christ's sinlessness therefore does not weaken His humanity. It shows the obedience human life owes to God and which the rest of humanity has failed to render.

The two-natures distinction becomes important when reading statements about Jesus’ weakness and authority. His hunger does not disprove His deity, and His divine authority does not make His hunger theatrical. The one person truly lives a human life while remaining the eternal Son. Christians should not solve the difficulty by dividing Him into two persons who take turns appearing. Nor should they mix the natures into something neither fully human nor fully divine. The terms protect the identity of the Savior. A merely human Christ could not bear the full saving role Scripture gives Him, while a Christ without real humanity could not represent the people He redeems.

Read Philippians 2:1-16

1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
2 make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and arguing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
16 holding up the word of life, that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.

Paul explains Christ's humility by describing what He took: the form of a servant and the reality of human life. The text does not say He ceased to be God. His obedience reaches the cross, and His exaltation reveals the authority before which every knee will bow. Paul uses that truth to address ordinary rivalry and self-importance. It is an extraordinary passage to use for a church argument, but the connection is exact. People who belong to this Lord should have less enthusiasm for making themselves the center.

Read John 20:19-31

19 When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!
23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 After eight days, again his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and said, “Peace be to you.”
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
30 Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

Thomas is invited to face the evidence concerning the risen Jesus. His response recognizes far more than the return of a respected friend. John then states the purpose of the written signs: faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and life through His name. That purpose matters when reading the whole book. The miracles aren't merely interesting stories about power. They identify the person whose authority and saving promise require a response.

Read the Gospel accounts with the question of identity in view. Who speaks, commands, forgives, suffers, and rises? Do not separate the tenderness of Jesus from His authority or His humanity from His deity. The Savior Christians trust is the Jesus Scripture actually presents, not a reduced version designed to be easier to approve.

Consider your perspective

Jesus is more than an inspiring moral example: He is the divine Son who truly became human to save His people. His authority calls for trust, and His humility challenges the way we use whatever status or influence we possess.

Put it into practice

Read a Gospel encounter and notice both Christ's authority and His treatment of people. Follow His example in one conversation where you could choose patient service instead of asserting your importance.

Reflect and respond

  • Why does salvation require both Christ’s deity and His humanity?
  • How does His humility challenge your treatment of others?
  • What would it mean to trust His authority rather than merely admire His character?

Passages and further study

Scripture quotations are from the public-domain World English Bible (WEB). Historical confessions are study aids, subordinate to Scripture. This independent lesson is not an official denominational statement.