Who is Jesus Christ?
The Son of God and our Lord Jesus Christ are one person in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united.
Catechism for the Global Methodist Church, question 12
6For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; dominion rests on his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
20But while he was reflecting on these things, look, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a Son, and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22All this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled. 23Look, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call his name Immanuel, which is translated "God with us."
1:14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; we have seen his glory, the glory as of the unique one from the Father, full of grace and truth. 14:9Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you have not known me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father?'" 14:10Do you not trust that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The declarations that I say to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who remains in me does his works. 14:11Trust me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, trust on account of the works themselves.
3concerning his Son, who came from the seed of David according to the flesh, 4who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord
15who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation 16because in him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him 17and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together 18and he is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything 19because in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell 20and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens
16And undeniably the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
1God spoke to the fathers in the prophets little by little and in many ways of old. 2In these last days he has spoken to us in a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the ages. 3Who being the radiance of his glory and the reproduction of his essence, and bearing all things by the declaration of his power, after making cleansing of sins, sat down at the right of the Majesty on high.
Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, one person with two natures. Article II of the Confession of Faith confesses it this way: "We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united." Article II of the Articles of Religion teaches the same doctrine in the older language of the English Reformation, "two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man." The two articles restate the Definition of Chalcedon (451).
One person. The Son of God and the man Jesus of Nazareth are the same "he." Isaiah foretold a child who would be born and yet be called "Mighty God, Everlasting Father" (Isaiah 9:6). The angel tells Joseph that the child in Mary is "from the Holy Spirit" and Matthew, quoting Isaiah, calls him "Immanuel, which is translated 'God with us'" (Matthew 1:20, 23). Paul describes one Son who came "from the seed of David according to the flesh" and was "declared the son of God with power" (Romans 1:3-4).
The divine and human natures. Each nature is complete in him. As God he is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation," in whom "all things hold together" (Colossians 1:15, 17), "the radiance of his glory and the reproduction of his essence" (Hebrews 1:3). As man he was "manifested in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). Perfectly and inseparably united. The union is without confusion and without division. So Jesus can say to Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the father" (John 14:9), and the Father is seen in a man who ate, slept, wept, and died.
A Methodist lives on this doctrine in ordinary ways. Because Jesus is truly God, his forgiveness is God's forgiveness. Because he is truly man, he can be followed as one who has walked the road first. Wesley's phrase for the goal of the Christian life, "the mind that was in Christ," assumes that Christ's human mind is a real pattern for human hearts. The Confession of Faith calls him "eternal Savior and Mediator," the one person able to stand between God and humanity because he belongs fully to each side.