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Our Lord Jesus Christ

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Our Lord and the Faith › Our Lord Jesus Christ

The question

The Apostle Paul says, "When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman." Why did St. Paul use the word "His Son" and not "Himself"?

The answer

I believe "Christology" specifically addresses this question. The center of Christianity is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is the Centerpiece of all history.

St. John, in his Holy Gospel, specifically and definitively explains who the Lord Jesus Christ is "In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and the Word WAS GOD" (1:1). John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, revealed God the Word as "the Light" (1:6-7). "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (1:14).

Who is then the Lord Jesus Christ?

He is God, for He was with God from before all time. We recognize that the One born Jesus of Nazareth did not have His beginnings in His earthly birth. Rather we know He is the Eternal Son of God, without beginning. There never was a time when the Son of God did not exist. We further know He was also a man, without sin and that He became flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ acts as both God and as man. He as if energizes human nature so that human nature is redeemed from sin and death and brought into union with God. The Lord Jesus Christ thus "deifies" humanity.
There are 2 books "Deification in Christ'" and "Deification of Man" which I recommend reading. There is another book, "How Can God be One and Three?" written by His Grace Metropolitan Phillopos of El-Dakahlia and St George Monastery. All three books can be obtained from the Mighty Arrows Magazine Booklist

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 250 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.