Humanity of Christ

Definition and Meaning

The humanity of Christ (his human nature) is the teaching that Jesus Christ did not merely appear to be human but is a true human being, possessing a body and a soul, emotions and a will. Christianity confesses that Christ is one person with both a divine nature and a human nature, a teaching known as the doctrine of the two natures of Christ. Christ's human nature, however, is held to be without sin. This doctrine is tied to the understanding that only a human being could pay the penalty for sin on behalf of humanity and serve as the mediator between God and humankind (1 Timothy 2:5).

Biblical and Historical Background

The New Testament records that Jesus was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4), that he increased in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52), and that he hungered, grew weary, and wept (Matthew 4:2; John 4:6; John 11:35). Hebrews 4:15 states that he "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

In the early church, Docetism arose, teaching that Christ's body was merely an illusion, and 1 John 4:2–3 sets forth as a test of discernment whether one confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. In the fourth century, Apollinaris's claim that Christ lacked a rational human soul was rejected at the First Council of Constantinople in 381. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon defined Christ as "truly God and truly man," like us in all respects apart from sin, and this definition subsequently became the standard accepted by most churches.

Practice in the Korean Church

Korean Protestant churches generally accept the Chalcedonian Definition in common. The phrase "born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate" in the Apostles' Creed, which is confessed in worship, expresses the humanity of Christ. Chapter 8 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, which Presbyterian churches adopt as their doctrinal standard, confesses that the Son took upon himself human nature with all its essential properties and common infirmities, yet without sin.

Differences among denominations appear mainly in matters of detailed interpretation. Lutherans, holding a strong view of the communication of attributes—the teaching that the properties of the two natures are shared with each other—maintain that Christ's body is truly present with the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. By contrast, the Reformed tradition, including Presbyterians, holds that the humanity of the ascended Christ is in heaven and that he is present in the Lord's Supper through the Holy Spirit. This difference became one of the main points of contention in the Eucharistic controversy.

In preaching, the fact that Christ personally experienced human suffering is frequently emphasized during Holy Week and when comforting church members who are undergoing trials.