Article II
The Son made truly human
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human.
The Article
OF THE WORD OR SON OF GOD, WHICH WAS MADE VERY MAN
The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took Man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that 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; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men.
In modern English
The Son is the Word of the Father, eternally begotten of the Father. He is truly and eternally God, sharing the Father's divine being. He took our human nature from the Virgin Mary in her womb. His complete divine nature and complete human nature are united in one Person and can never be separated. This one Christ is truly God and truly human. He truly suffered, was crucified, died and was buried, to reconcile the Father to us and to be a sacrifice both for humanity's inherited guilt and for the sins people actually commit.
Scripture readings
- John 1:1–5, 14, 18
- Hebrews 2:14–18
- 2 Corinthians 5:18–21
Understand the teaching
Why the identity of Jesus matters
Article II asks who Jesus must be to accomplish the salvation Christians proclaim. A teacher can explain truth, and a martyr can inspire courage, but reconciliation with God requires the Saviour described here: the eternal Son who becomes fully human. The Article receives the ancient church's careful account of Christ's person and joins it directly to his saving death. Its theology is intended to make our trust in Jesus more definite, informed and secure.
The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. Begotten describes his eternal relationship to the Father; it does not mean that God brought him into existence at some distant moment. The Son shares the Father's divine being and eternity. John 1:1–3 places the Word before creation and identifies him as the agent through whom everything was made. There was therefore no time when the Father existed without his Son. Bethlehem marks the beginning of Jesus' human life, not the beginning of his existence.
Fully divine and fully human
The Article says the Son took human nature from Mary. His humanity was genuinely continuous with ours: he received a human body, human mind, human affections and human will. Luke 2:52 describes growth in wisdom and maturity. Hebrews 2:14–18 stresses his participation in our flesh and blood. Hunger, exhaustion, friendship and grief belonged to his earthly experience. Calling Mary blessed recognises her unique place in God's purposes, while the focus remains upon the identity of her Son.
Two complete natures are united in one person. Jesus is always the same personal subject, the eternal Son, acting through his divine and human natures. His humanity is never absorbed into deity, and his deity is never reduced by becoming human. These distinctions follow the concern expressed at Chalcedon in 451. They help us read the Gospels without separating the compassionate man from the divine Lord. The one who weeps at Lazarus's tomb is the one who calls Lazarus from death.
Reading the biblical evidence carefully
John 1:14 describes the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. The movement begins with God's initiative: the Son enters our condition. Philippians 2:5–11 explains his humility through taking the form of a servant and accepting death on a cross. His self-emptying is expressed in this costly service. The passage gives no basis for imagining that he ceased to possess divine attributes. It concludes with universal acknowledgement of his lordship, to the glory of the Father.
Hebrews 4:14–16 connects Christ's identity to our confidence in prayer. He is the great high priest who has passed through the heavens and who understands human weakness through real temptation. Sinlessness does not make his temptations imaginary; he endured temptation faithfully. When we ask for mercy, we approach someone who knows human vulnerability from within. His sympathy includes the wisdom and power to help. He understands more deeply than a fellow sufferer whose own resources are exhausted.
His sacrifice and our reconciliation
The Article insists that Jesus truly suffered, died and was buried. According to his human nature, the divine Son experienced suffering and death; the divine nature itself did not become mortal. This careful distinction preserves the reality of the incarnation. His death addresses original guilt and actual sins: both humanity's fallen condition and the particular wrongdoing for which we are responsible. An Anglican reading recognises here the centrality of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice and the objective removal of guilt before God.
The phrase about reconciling the Father to us can sound as though Jesus persuades an unwilling Father to love. Read it alongside John 3:16 and Romans 5:8: the Father gives the Son because God already loves sinners. Second Corinthians 5:19 locates reconciliation in God's own action in Christ. The cross deals with the real offence of sin and God's righteous judgement. Father and Son act in united saving love; they are never opponents struggling over whether humanity should receive mercy.
Receiving the whole Christ
Imagine a Christian who admits ordinary mistakes but believes one deliberate betrayal must fall outside Christ's provision. Article II directs attention to the sufficiency of his sacrifice for actual sins. Confession should name that betrayal honestly, including any restitution needed. Confidence then rests upon the Saviour's completed work. The Article provides no encouragement to minimise harm. It gives a reason to face the truth without believing that shame has placed us permanently beyond God's grace.
The incarnation also dignifies embodied discipleship. Eating with lonely people, caring for the sick and respecting our own physical limits fit the humanity Christ assumed. We should resist versions of spirituality that treat ordinary bodily needs as embarrassing interruptions to real ministry. For reflection, take one Gospel scene showing Jesus' humanity and one showing his divine authority. Ask how both reveal the same Saviour. Then bring him one concrete weakness, trusting that his compassion and authority meet together in the person who receives your prayer.
Bring it into everyday life
- What would be lost from the gospel if Jesus were only a remarkable human teacher?