This is the first of three articles that unpack the Biblical truths that Jesus is fully God, he is fully man, and he is also both fully God and fully man at the same time.
One of Christianity’s most breathtaking truths is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. That God took on human flesh is not a peripheral doctrine. As C. S. Lewis wrote, it is “the central miracle of Christianity”—the miracle on which all other miracles stand.
God took on flesh.
Divinity wrapped himself in humanity.
The eternal Son entered our world as a man to save us from our sins.
Across this series, we will explore three essential truths:
- Jesus Is Fully God
- Jesus Is Fully Man
- Jesus Is Both Fully God and Fully Man
We begin where Scripture begins—with the full divinity of Jesus Christ (John 1:1–4, 10:30, 17:5, 5:18)
Doubts About the Incarnation
In the Indian context, many admire Jesus deeply yet hesitate to call him God. Broadly speaking, these doubts fall into two categories—and a surprising third.
The Cultural Doubt: “Jesus Was a Good Teacher, Not God.”
Mahatma Gandhi expressed great admiration for Christ. He quoted the Sermon on the Mount often and saw Jesus as the perfect expression of God’s will. Yet Gandhi stopped short of believing Jesus was divine. Many in India hold a similar view, respecting Jesus as a noble teacher while denying his divinity.
The Religious Doubt: “Incarnation is Common. What Makes Jesus Different?”
India’s spiritual landscape is familiar with divine beings appearing in human form. But the biblical incarnation is radically different in at least two ways:
- Jesus is fully God—not partly or occasionally divine. He perfectly expressed every attribute of God and lived without sin (Col. 1:15, Heb. 1:3, 4:15).
- Jesus came not to destroy the wicked but to save them—by laying down His life. His mission of sacrificial love sets him apart from every other figure (Luke 5:32).
The Internal Doubt: Believing in Theory, Forgetting in Practice
There is also a quieter doubt—found among Christians themselves. We often affirm that Jesus is fully God, yet live as if he is not.
Many of us approach Jesus as helper, healer, problem-solver, or Saviour. All true, yet all centred on what he gives us. But to believe Jesus is fully God requires something far deeper.
Obedience. Full obedience. Costly obedience.
We often affirm that Jesus is fully God, yet live as if he is not.
A believer may be in ministry for years yet remain in deliberate disobedience to Christ’s commands. In such moments, we must ask: Do I truly believe Jesus is fully God?
Doubts about the incarnation are not only around us.
They are within us.
The Truth of the Incarnation
The Testimony of Jesus Himself
To know whether Jesus is God, we begin with the strongest evidence: Jesus’s own words.
“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
This does not sound like a moral teacher. It is a claim to deity.
On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5).
No human can seriously say such a thing. No angel can say it.
Only God can.
John opens his Gospel with unmistakable clarity.
“In the beginning was the Word. . . and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
The incarnation was not the beginning of Jesus. It was his unveiling.
C. S. Lewis famously wrote that it is intellectually dishonest to call Jesus “a good man but not God.”
Why?
Because good men do not claim to be God unless it is true.
Jesus repeatedly claimed equality with God. Therefore, we must either accept his claim—and worship him—or reject him entirely. There is no middle ground.
The Testimony of His Disciples
The disciples—devout Jews who fiercely protected monotheistic worship—bowed before Jesus at various times.
- After he calmed the storm (Matt. 14:33)
- At the healing of the man born blind (John 9:38)
- At the empty tomb (Matt. 28:9)
- At His ascension (Luke 24:52)
- At seeing him in the flesh, Thomas confessed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
The Confession of His Enemies
The Roman centurion who crucified Jesus is one of the most striking witnesses of all.
This soldier oversaw every moment of the execution—the mocking, the scourging, the nails, and the agony.
He would have seen many criminals die. Some begged, some cursed, some trembled.
But Jesus entrusted himself to the Father.
He forgave his enemies.
He opened his arms to a world that was nailing them down.
The centurion had never witnessed such strength in surrender, such love in suffering.
And when Jesus breathed his last, this hardened soldier declared, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).
The incarnation was not the beginning of Jesus. It was his unveiling.
This was not pity. This was worship.
And it was treason. Because Rome executed Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God.
Yet the executioner himself turned and proclaimed: “This man truly is the Son of God.”
Even his spiritual enemies—the demons—recognised him. They cried out his divine identity during various deliverances (Mark 1:23-24, 3:11, Matt. 8:28-29, Luke 4:33-34, Acts 19:15).
From every direction—Jesus’s testimony, the disciples, his enemies, and the acknowledgement of demons—the verdict is the same: Jesus Christ is fully God.
The Glorious Implications of the Incarnation
Across this series, we will explore many implications, but here is the first and foundational.
In Christ, God Became More Knowable
When Philip asked, “Show us the Father,” Jesus replied: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
In Christ, we do not make guesses about God. We see him—up close, personally, intimately.
Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”
Before the incarnation, sin created an unbridgeable distance between humanity and God. But in Christ, the unapproachable God became approachable.
John writes of Jesus: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands. . .” (1 John 1:1, emphasis added).
In Christ, God became more knowable.
The disciples touched Jesus—and touched God.
Mary wiped his feet—and touched God.
John leaned on his chest—and leaned on God himself.
That night in Bethlehem—the untouchable God became touchable.
The invisible God became visible.
The God whom no one could see, lay sleeping in a manger.
What This Means for Us Today
In Jesus welcoming sinners, you see God’s heart.
When he heals the sick, you see God’s compassion.
As he weeps, you see God’s tenderness.
When he rebukes hypocrisy, you see God’s holiness.
In forgiving the guilty, you see God’s justice and mercy.
And when you see him on the cross, you see the fullness of God’s love poured out.
The incarnation brings God near.
The incarnation makes God known.
Jesus Christ is Immanuel—God with us.
