Person of Christ, 4-5
John's Testimony in the Epistles
The Apostle John wrote in circumstances that required clear affirmation of both Christ's true deity and true humanity. In his Gospel, John demonstrated step by step that the historical Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. In his first epistle, he reaffirmed that the Christ, the Son of God, was truly human, come in real flesh (1 John 4:2). False teachers were denying the reality of the incarnation, and John responded with the strongest possible language.
John opened his first epistle by appealing to direct sensory experience: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life" (1 John 1:1). The progression from hearing to seeing to touching underscores the physical reality of the incarnation. This was no phantom or spiritual apparition; the eternal Word took on a body that could be perceived by human senses.
John declared that confessing Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh is the test of genuine faith: "Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God" (1 John 4:2-3). He identified denial of the incarnation as the spirit of the antichrist, showing that this doctrine is not optional but essential.
The Prologue of John's Gospel
The prologue to John's Gospel (John 1:1-18) is the most theologically concentrated passage in the New Testament regarding the person of Christ. It may be understood in three movements: the nature of the Word before incarnation, the event of the incarnation, and the nature of the incarnated person.
In three carefully constructed declarations, John establishes the Word's eternal existence, distinct personhood, and divine nature: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). The phrase "in the beginning" echoes Genesis 1:1, asserting that the Word already existed when creation began. "The Word was with God" distinguishes the Word as a person in relationship with God. "The Word was God" affirms the Word's full participation in the divine nature.
The incarnation is stated with breathtaking simplicity: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14). The term "flesh" is deliberately chosen to emphasize the full reality of Christ's human nature, not merely a human appearance. The Word did not cease to be God when he became flesh; rather, the one who was God added a complete human nature to his eternal divine person.
John concludes the prologue by identifying this incarnate Word as "the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father," who "has made him known" (John 1:18). The Son is the ultimate revelation of God because he is God. No one has ever seen God directly, but the incarnate Son has made the invisible God visible.
Christ's Divine Claims in John's Gospel
Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus makes claims that are intelligible only if he possesses a divine nature. He declares, "Before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58), using the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). He states, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30), a claim his opponents correctly understood as making himself equal with God (John 10:33). He promises, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).
The seven "I am" sayings in John (bread of life, light of the world, gate, good shepherd, resurrection and the life, way/truth/life, true vine) each attribute to Jesus a role that belongs to God alone. The Gospel reaches its climax when Thomas, confronted with the risen Christ, exclaims, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Jesus accepts this declaration of deity without correction, confirming that faith in his divine nature is the proper response to the resurrection.
Apostolic Christology Beyond John
The broader apostolic witness affirms the same truths about Christ's person. Paul declared that in Christ "all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9) and that he is "the image of the invisible God" through whom all things were created (Colossians 1:15-17). The Christ hymn in Philippians 2:6-11 describes one who, "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage" but "made himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."
The letter to the Hebrews opens by declaring the Son to be "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" (Hebrews 1:3). Yet this same divine Son was made "fully human in every way" so that he could serve as a merciful and faithful high priest (Hebrews 2:17). The author insists that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15), affirming both the reality of his human experience and the sinlessness that his divine nature ensured.
The Unity of Christ's Person
The New Testament consistently presents Jesus as one person with two natures, not two persons awkwardly joined together. He sleeps in a boat during a storm (fully human) and then calms the storm with a word (fully divine). He weeps at Lazarus's tomb (genuinely human grief) and then raises Lazarus from the dead (divine power over death). He thirsts on the cross (human suffering) and forgives his executioners (divine authority and compassion).
This union of natures in one person is what theologians call the hypostatic union. The New Testament does not use this technical term, but the reality it describes pervades every Gospel account and epistle. The salvation of humanity depends on this union: only one who is truly God can offer an atonement of infinite value, and only one who is truly human can serve as humanity's representative and substitute.
Implications for Faith and Worship
The person of Christ as affirmed in John and the apostolic writings has direct implications for Christian life. Because Jesus is fully God, worship of him is not idolatry but the proper response of the creature to the Creator (John 5:23; Revelation 5:12-14). Because he is fully human, he understands human weakness and suffering from the inside (Hebrews 4:15-16). Because he is one unified person, believers are united to both his divine and human natures through faith, sharing in his resurrection life (Romans 6:5; Colossians 3:1-4).
John summarized the purpose of his Gospel and, by extension, the entire apostolic testimony about Christ's person: "These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).
Biblical Context
This topic draws primarily from the Gospel of John (1:1-18; 5:17-23; 8:58; 10:30; 14:9; 20:28-31) and the Johannine epistles (1 John 1:1-3; 4:2-3; 5:20; 2 John 7). Supporting apostolic teaching includes Philippians 2:6-11, Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9, Hebrews 1:1-14; 2:14-18; 4:15, and Revelation 5:12-14. The Old Testament background includes the divine name in Exodus 3:14 and messianic prophecies throughout the Psalms and Prophets.
Theological Significance
The doctrine of Christ's person is the foundation of all Christian theology. His true deity guarantees that his sacrifice has infinite value and that he can truly reveal the Father. His true humanity ensures that he can represent humanity before God, serve as a merciful high priest, and provide an example of faithful human life. The unity of his person in two natures means that salvation is accomplished by one mediator between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5). Denial of either nature or of their unity in one person has been recognized throughout church history as the most fundamental theological error.
Historical Background
The early church faced multiple challenges to the orthodox understanding of Christ's person. Docetism denied his true humanity, teaching that he only appeared to have a body. Arianism denied his full deity, teaching that he was a created being. Nestorianism was accused of dividing him into two persons. Eutychianism confused his two natures into one. The Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) formulated the definitive orthodox statement: Christ is one person in two natures, fully divine and fully human, the natures being united without confusion, change, division, or separation. This definition drew directly on the biblical witness of John and the apostles, particularly the prologue of John's Gospel and the Christological hymns of Paul.