True God and True Man

(Plain Text Version)

If we get to know who Jesus Christ really is, many other things will be easy to understand.  We will get this knowledge by learning the Church’s teachings and accepting them on Faith.

Church Teaches the Truth

Jesus entrusted the Apostles with the duty to spread His teachings throughout the world.  This teaching was clear and was not to be modified for any reason.  For 2000 years, the Church has faithfully carried out this mission.

It wasn’t long before people started to spread their own ideas about Christ.  This created (and still creates) great confusion among the people.  In a recent issue (2021-23), we discussed the Divinity of Christ.  Today, we will discuss His humanity.

Jesus Christ is True God and True Man

Jesus is one with the Father as God and one with us as Man.  The four Gospels make it clear that Jesus wasn’t a spirit who  appeared to be human.  He experienced hunger (Matthew 4:2), fatigue (Mark 4:38), and grief (John 11:35).  When pierced with a lance, He bled (John 19:34).

Just like us, Jesus had a human body and a human soul.  Because of this, He could redeem us by suffering pain in body and spirit. 

We can model our lives on the life of Jesus because He is one of us.  We may not be able to work miracles, but we must imitate Jesus’ kindness, generosity, courage, faithfulness to mission, and His countless other qualities.

The glorified body and soul of Jesus Christ offers us tremendous blessings in the Holy Eucharist.

Christ’s Human Free Will

Because Jesus was truly human, He had a free human will.  He was able to choose things freely.  He always chose the thing most pleasing to His Father.  In order to win the graces we need for salvation, Jesus willingly suffered and died on the Cross. 

Is Jesus a “Human Being”?

The Second Person of the Holy Trinity became a man like us in all things but sin.  Although it would seem that He is a “human being”, He is actually a Divine Person who took on a human nature.

Modern Errors About Jesus

Disbelief in God’s love for us is spread under clever disguises.  A common error is to teach that Jesus was such a good man that the early Christians honored Him by exaggerating what took place.  It is claimed that the events in the Gospels were made up by well-meaning people. 

A clear-thinking person would expect the followers of a great person to write accurate accounts, not fantasies.  Not everyone thinks clearly.  As St. Paul advised St. Timothy:

Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge”, for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.  (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

References

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., Pocket Catholic Catechism, 1989, Doubleday

Scripture: English Standard Version Catholic Edition, 2017, Good News Publishers