It’s one of the most beautiful and profound questions a Christian can ask. When we say Jesus is both God and man, we are speaking about the very mystery of how God chose to come near to us—not from afar, but by becoming one of us. Many believers, even lifelong Christians, pause in awe before this truth. How can the infinite God fit within a human body? How can the Creator walk among His creation?
In the Gospel of John, we hear, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This single sentence contains the heart of the mystery. The “Word” —the eternal Son of God, who has existed with the Father from the beginning—took on our human nature. He did not stop being God, but added to Himself what He did not have before: humanity. Jesus is not half God and half man; He is fully God and fully man, united in one divine Person.
The Church has always taught this truth clearly. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, Christians affirmed that Jesus Christ is “one Person in two natures—divine and human—without confusion, change, division, or separation.” In simple words, this means that everything human about Jesus—His hunger, His tiredness, His tears—is real; and everything divine about Him—His power to forgive sins, to heal, to conquer death—is also real. These two realities coexist perfectly in Him.
What this means for us is deeply personal. Because Jesus is God, His love and mercy have infinite power. And because He is human, He knows our weakness, our pain, our loneliness. When we pray, we do not reach toward a distant God; we speak to One who has felt what we feel. On the Cross, His divine love met our human suffering, and through that union, He redeemed us.
When we look at Jesus, we see the bridge between heaven and earth. He shows us not only who God is, but who we are meant to be. In His humanity, our nature is lifted up and healed. In His divinity, our destiny is revealed—to share forever in the life of God.
May we never lose our wonder before this mystery—that in Jesus Christ, God has forever joined Himself to humanity. When you gaze upon His face, remember: this is the face of God who became man out of love for you.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
