How is Jesus both human and God at once?

Question

I am not Christian and am trying to learn about the subject (please no conversion attempts). The stuff I've read claiming Jesus is both God and something seperate from him doesn't make sense, so please use great detail.

Answer 1

He's not. He was simply a great, perhaps somewhat delusional, philosopher.

Answer 2

The most difficult thing about the Christian concept of the Trinity is that there is no way to adequately explain it. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. God is infinitely greater than we are, therefore we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. The Bible also teaches that there is only one God. Though we can understand some facts about the relationship of the different persons of the Trinity to one another, ultimately, it is incomprehensible to the human mind. However, this does not mean it is not true or not based on the teachings of the Bible.



Keep in mind when studying this subject that the word "Trinity" is not used in Scripture. This is a term that is used to attempt to describe the triune God, the fact that there are 3 coexistent, co-eternal persons that make up God. Understand that this is NOT in any way suggesting 3 Gods. The Trinity is 1 God made up of 3 persons. There is nothing wrong with using the term "Trinity" even though the word is not found in the Bible. It is shorter to say the word "Trinity" than to say "3 coexistent, co-eternal persons making up 1 God." If this presents a problem to you, consider this: the word grandfather is not used in the Bible either. Yet, we know there were grandfathers in the Bible. Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob. So don't get hung up on the term "Trinity" itself. What should be of real importance is that the concept that is REPRESENTED by the word "Trinity" does exist in Scripture. With the introduction out of the way, Bible verses will be given in discussion of the Trinity.



1) There is one God: Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Galatians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:5.



2) The Trinity consists of three Persons: Genesis 1:1; 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8; 48:16; 61:1; Matthew 3:16-17; Matt 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14. In the passages in the Old Testament, a knowledge of Hebrew is helpful. In Genesis 1:1, the plural noun "Elohim" is used. In Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8, the plural pronoun for "us" is used. That "Elohim" and "us" refer to more than two is WITHOUT question. In English, you only have two forms, singular and plural. In Hebrew, you have three forms: singular, dual, and plural. Dual is for two ONLY. In Hebrew, the dual form is used for things that come in pairs like eyes, ears, and hands. The word "Elohim" and the pronoun "us" are plural forms - definitely more than two - and must be referring to three or more (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).



In Isaiah 48:16 and 61:1, the Son is speaking while making reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Compare Isaiah 61:1 to Luke 4:14-19 to see that it is the Son speaking. Matthew 3:16-17 describes the event of Jesus' baptism. Seen in this is God the Holy Spirit descending on God the Son while God the Father proclaims His pleasure in the Son. Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 are examples of 3 distinct persons in the Trinity.



3) The members of the Trinity are distinguished one from another in various passages: In the Old Testament, "LORD" is distinguished from "Lord" (Genesis 19:24; Hosea 1:4). The "LORD" has a "Son" (Psalm 2:7, 12; Proverbs 30:2-4). Spirit is distinguished from the "LORD" (Numbers 27:18) and from "God" (Psalm 51:10-12). God the Son is distinguished from God the Father (Psalm 45:6-7; Hebrews 1:8-9). In the New Testament, John 14:16-17 is where Jesus speaks to the Father about sending a Helper, the Holy Spirit. This shows that Jesus did not consider Himself to be the Father or the Holy Spirit. Consider also all of the other times in the Gospels where Jesus speaks to the Father. Was He speaking to Himself? No. He spoke to another person in the Trinity - the Father.



4) Each member of the Trinity is God: The Father is God: John 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2. The Son is God: John 1:1, 14; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 5:20. The Holy Spirit is God: Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16 (The One who indwells is the Holy Spirit - Romans 8:9; John 14:16-17; Acts 2:1-4).



5) The subordination within the Trinity: Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son, and the Son is subordinate to the Father. This is an internal relationship, and does not deny the deity of any person of the Trinity. This is simply an area which our finite minds cannot understand concerning the infinite God. Concerning the Son see: Luke 22:42; John 5:36; John 20:21; 1 John 4:14. Concerning the Holy Spirit see: John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7 and especially John 16:13-14.



6) The tasks of the individual members of the Trinity: The Father is the ultimate source or cause of: 1) the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11); 2) divine revelation (Revelation 1:1); 3) salvation (John 3:16-17); and 4) Jesus' human works (John 5:17; 14:10). The Father INITIATES all of these things.



The Son is the agent through whom the Father does the following works: 1) the creation and maintenance of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17); 2) divine revelation (John 1:1; Matthew 11:27; John 16:12-15; Revelation 1:1); and 3) salvation (2 Corinthians 5:19; Matthew 1:21; John 4:42). The Father does all these things through the Son, who functions as His agent.



The Holy Spirit is the means by whom the Father does the following works: 1) creation and maintenance of the universe (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30); 2) divine revelation (John 16:12-15; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:21); 3) salvation (John 3:6; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2); and 4) Jesus' works (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38). Thus the Father does all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit.



None of the popular illustrations are completely accurate descriptions of the Trinity. The egg (or apple) fails in that the shell, white, and yolk are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not parts of God, each of them is God. The water illustration is somewhat better but still fails to adequately describe the Trinity. Liquid, vapor, and ice are forms of water. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not forms of God, each of them is God. So, while these illustrations may give us a picture of the Trinity, the picture is not entirely accurate. An infinite God cannot be fully described by a finite illustration. Instead of focusing on the Trinity, try to focus on the fact of God's greatness and infinitely higher nature than our own. "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34)

Answer 3

I believe Jesus and God are two separate beings. Period. There are multiple scripture references that discuss this. Not all Christian religions believe this concept but I do. One thing people who claim that God the Father and Jesus Christ are the same person can't explain rationally is who or what the heck is the Holy Ghost? How does the Holy Ghost fit into the picture. Is he God or is he Christ? If God is only spirit and Christ was his manifestation in the flesh as most state, then why is there also the Holy Ghost? If God were only spirit, we wouldn't need a reference of the Holy Ghost, the only reference needed would be for God. There is a distinction though and that is clear from the Bible alone.

When Jesus is baptized, a voice from heaven proclaims, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

If this truly was God's voice from heaven, why wouldn't he have just said "this is my spirit made manifest in the flesh, follow me"? He didn't because Christ was his son and he was pleased in him for obeying the law of baptism.

God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are 3 separate personages comprising the Godhead.

The Holy Ghost does not yet have a body. We are taught through the promptings of the Holy Ghost. When we study gospel principles, the Holy Ghost is the spirit we feel that manifests the truthfullness of those things we have learned.

God is the Father, Christ taught the principles that will help us live more fulfilling lives and the Holy Ghost manifests the truthfullness of those principles to anyone who sincerely seeks truth.

Answer 4

If you're looking for a profound answer, I don't think it will come from a man. Not many people will claim Jesus didn't exist. But was he God? We know that a Messiah was supposed to come. Looking back into scripture we were able to see how he was to come. Too many prophecies fulfilled to be coincidence. He claimed he was God and those who were around him thought the same. Many claimed he rose from the dead just as he said he'd do. He made a big impact on their lives. So much that nearly all made great sacrifice for him. And his influence is seen even today. No other figure has made the claim Jesus made - he was God.
Now think about it. If anyone made that claim today, what would happen? That person's life would be scrutinized until they found fault or sin which would destroy that persons credibility. That is true for anytime in history. We know the faults of nearly every historical figure written about - except one - because there were none.

Answer 5

The same reason that God can create humanity to begin with and the same reason my car is both 100% red and 100% car. Jesus was both 100% man and 100% God. The 2 aspects of his nature dont contradict only in that one is weak and one is unbelievably strong.

Its kinda like all the humans walking around are 4 cyl engines for spirits, and Jesus had the spirit of God which was like a racing engine.

Answer 6

Well, I'm not entirely sure what the full question is, cus u kinda asked 2 things at once, one about Jesus being both human and God, and the other about how He could be a part of God and seperate from God at the same time. So let me try and answer both of them in one, and I pray that this helps. John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and the Word was with God." then the chapter goes on to explain that the Word became flesh and dwelt among men, and became the light of this world, and basically offers us salvation. Now the Word is Jesus. God consists of three parts of one Being, there's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Now Adam and Eve are pretty much the replica of that, in Genesis God created Adam and Eve in the image of God. That image being that although they were two seperate beings, they were still one. . Genesis 2:23 - 24 (NKJV) 23And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." So as you can see its the whole different parts making up one being, also if you read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 it can explain it a little. But keep in mind Adam and Eve are a image of the union within God, its not exactly the same, as in theyre married and have gender and all that, man is basically a symbol to represent God. Ok so I hope that helps explain that part. Now for the other part of your quesiton. As I showed before the Word became flesh and dwelt with man. The Word, now known as God the Son, came of the throne of God and became born of a human woman, making Him human, but at the same time He's still God. Its basically like he wrapped himself in humanity. And He did it because only He was enough to be the sacrifice for alll of our sins, becuase He was fully God, yet still human, He was able to take our human place on the cross and die for us. I really hope that helped, its alot harder to explain typing like this than I thought, but I pray I helped your understanding a little better, and if you want you can email me and I can go more in depth into it, cus it really is a lot to cover.

Answer 7

Jesus' mother (Mary) became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Birthed through a woman (human) and having God start the pregnancy, give Jesus both human and Godly parentage.
That's the simple form.
Old Testament scriptures prophecy that Messiah that was to come would be born of a virgin.
And that's Paul Harvey's "rest of the story."

Answer 8

you have to be so careful these days---sometimes even the Christians don't get this one right! It is something called the hypostatic union. Jesus was the only person in history to have two NATURES. He has a divine nature AND a human nature that existed at the same time. His divine nature always existed and pre-existed his human nature.....

So---Yes---Jesus is both 100% God and 100% human

As far as the trinity is concerned---be very careful here---there are MANY heresies. There is ONE God revealed in threee seperate and distinct PERSONS.....

Answer 9

Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit are part of the Trinity. These Three are One. While Jesus is Who He says He is, He is still part of something that is larger than Himself. In todays' terms, let's say that I am part of an organization. I am a member, yet I am still my own person. I hope this helps. May God Bless U.

Answer 10

Jesus was not, is not, and never will be God. People just made it up at the time and people came to beleive it with out asking questions. Why would God lower himself down to human level to prove his point or to forgive men for Adams original sin. he is God. isn't God the all powerful. He can do anything without question. Jesus is a prophet just like Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Mohamed (peace be upon them all). He was sent down to earth to spread the word of God which was distorted and misunderstood. that is why Mohamed was the last messanger whether u beleive it or not. if u ask any historian he/she will say mohamed was the last prophet known to man.

Answer 11

God put part of Himself into a soul (the non-physical innermost part of a being that controls a body and/or spirit) and the soul into the body He created out of half of Mary's dna and half of the dna that He created. you'll notice that bloodlines trace through the father and so, Jesus is the Son of God.

having a soul made from part of God, His essense actually possessing it, He was 100% God, knowing His mind and having knowledge of all things Godly. However, since He still had a human body (46 chromosomes and all the flaws that come with, plus a spirit and a soul) He was 100% human. But of course, even being God, He still had to abide by man's rules and the Father's rules. He was also, as a man, subject to human emotions, not just God's emotions, and desires, as well as now having the human distraction of fighting off sin. He also of course now had the inate discomforts of a human, such as not liking physical pain, dying and/or being subject to all the physical laws. He also had to keep some things to Himself such as how He did certain things, as they weren't in the right timing or the people around Him could not possibly comprehend it. imagine Him trying to explain particle physics to people who all they knew was "things fall down".

As the Son, He had to set a good example, the best example possible, and be obedient to His Father. As a man, he also was now subject to the spiritual law that made it illegal for Him to work miracles, except by God's Spirit. so of course, anointing was necessary.

I guess it's hardest to understand because we think of everything in matter terms. but God isn't matter. Jesus, the father, and the Holy Spirit are all refered to as 'parakletos' from the Greek, meaning 'of the same essense'. this Divine essense has one mind coursing all throughout it, the same power and the same authority. All of it is God all at once, and even if a part is "separated" physically, it still retains its Godliness. does that help?