Jesus Christ

Definition and Meaning

Jesus Christ is the name by which Christians confess Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. The name "Jesus" derives from the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua (Joshua, meaning "the LORD is salvation"). "Christ" comes from the Greek Christos, meaning "anointed one," which translates the Hebrew "Messiah." The name "Jesus Christ" therefore expresses the confession of faith that "Jesus is the Messiah."

Biblical and Historical Background

According to the Gospels, Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. He taught and healed the sick in Galilee and elsewhere, and he was crucified in Jerusalem under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. A widely held view dates his birth to about 6–4 BC and his death to about AD 30. The New Testament testifies that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day (resurrection), ascended into heaven, and will come again (the Second Coming).

From the time of the early church, debate continued over who Jesus is. The Council of Nicaea in 325 confessed that God the Son is "of one substance" with God the Father and rejected Arianism. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 defined Christ as possessing two natures, truly God and truly man, in one person. The branch of theology concerned with who Jesus is is called Christology.

In Korean Protestant Churches

Most Protestant denominations in Korea accept the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition. Accordingly, they confess Jesus as the Second Person of the triune God (Trinity). They also confess that he became man and came into the world (Incarnation) and that by his death on the cross he paid for human sin in humanity's place (atonement). In worship this faith is confessed through the Apostles' Creed, and prayers commonly close with "In the name of Jesus Christ we pray" (John 14:13–14).

Denominations differ, however, in their emphases.

• Presbyterians, following the Westminster Confession of Faith, describe Jesus as the Mediator (the one who stands between God and humanity) who holds the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.
• Holiness churches, such as the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, summarize the work of Christ in the "Fourfold Gospel" of regeneration, sanctification, divine healing, and the Second Coming.
• Full Gospel denominations, such as the Korea Assemblies of God, proclaim the "Fivefold Gospel" of regeneration, the fullness of the Holy Spirit, divine healing, blessing, and the Second Coming, emphasizing the fullness of the Spirit and healing through Christ.
• Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, and others differ in their understanding of how Christ is present in the Lord's Supper; this topic is treated under Eucharistic controversy. Views on the timing and manner of the Second Coming also diverge according to how the Millennium is understood.

The general assemblies of various Korean denominations have treated claims that deny the deity or the humanity of Jesus, as well as claims that present a particular individual as the returned Jesus, as principal grounds for heresy designations.