Is Jesus human, or is Jesus God? What is the true nature of Jesus? These are profound questions that many people don’t fully understand. We were recently discussing this topic with members of our WhatsApp Bible study group, and two people in the conversation were focusing only on the verses that describe Jesus’ humanity.
So, is Jesus human or divine? God calls us to be wise and to search the Scriptures to discover what He wants to teach us — not simply what we want to see. Is Jesus human, or is Jesus God? The answer is: Jesus is both. How can Jesus be both, when God cannot become human? Jesus is fully God. He existed before He took on a human form two thousand years ago. What is the nature of Jesus? Jesus is fully God, just as His Father is.
The two friends in our group were looking at Bible verses that describe Jesus as fully human. But do those verses say that Jesus is not God? No — they simply show that when Jesus came to earth, He took on the likeness of humanity. It’s similar to when we leave the house and put on a coat. Do we become the coat? No. When we return home, we take the coat off, and we are still the same human being who merely wore it for a time.
Jesus: Both Divine and Human
This is difficult to fully grasp, but Jesus has always existed. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” He also said that Abraham saw Him and rejoiced. How could Abraham have seen Jesus, when Abraham lived thousands of years before Jesus was born? It’s because Jesus took on human form when He was born in Bethlehem — His existence did not begin there. Jesus never ceased to be God.
Consider an illustration: imagine a professional player like Messi or Mbappé came to a local stadium to play a friendly match with children and won the game. The referee would likely say the result doesn’t count, since professionals competing against children isn’t a fair contest. In the same way, if God had simply lived a sinless life on earth by relying on His divine power, Satan could rightly object that the victory wasn’t fair — that God had used His divinity to win the battle of living without sin.
It would have been entirely unfair for Jesus to come as God alone. So Jesus had to become fully what we are — human — and live a sinless life in that humanity, then die on the cross.
Romans 8:3 explains: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.” Jesus took on the likeness of mankind.
Philippians 2:6-7 adds: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and was found in fashion as a man.” Jesus took on the form of a servant. He was made like mankind. Notice that Scripture does not say Jesus became a mere man — Jesus put on human nature in addition to His divine nature. Why? Because there was no other way to win the battle against sin and pay the price for our sins.
Both Divine and Human — Why It Had to Be This Way
So, was Jesus divine or human? The answer is both. Jesus could not have come only as God, because that would have made the contest with sin unfair, and Satan would have had grounds to claim victory. At the same time, Jesus could never set aside His divine nature, because He will always be God — and for God, nothing is impossible. Jesus put on human nature the way we might put on a coat.
Is Jesus human, or is Jesus God? Jesus is God, and Jesus took on a human body. What is the nature of Jesus? His nature is divine — but He clothed Himself in a human body.
Did the Divine Jesus Die on the Cross?
No. According to the writings of Ellen G. White, this would have been impossible, because God can never die.
“There is no one who can explain the mystery of the incarnation of Christ. Yet we know that He came to this earth and lived as a man among men. The man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty, yet Christ and the Father are one. The Deity did not sink under the agonizing torture of Calvary, yet it is nonetheless true that ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’” (Letter 140, 1903, in Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 1129–1130)
“Was the human nature of the Son of Mary changed into the divine nature of the Son of God? No; the two natures were mysteriously blended in one person — the man Christ Jesus. In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
When Christ was crucified, it was His human nature that died. Deity did not sink and die; that would have been impossible. Christ, the sinless One, will save every son and daughter of Adam who accepts the salvation proffered them, consenting to become the children of God. The Saviour has purchased the fallen race with His own blood.” (Letter 280, 1904, in Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1113)
How Can Jesus Be God and Man at the Same Time?
The Bible says that nothing is impossible for God. Can God make rocks speak? Yes. Can God make a donkey speak? Yes. Can God make an iron axhead float? Yes. Can God transport Elijah and Enoch to heaven? Yes. Can God send a flood to cover the whole earth? Yes. Can God send fire from heaven to destroy Sodom? Yes. So why would it be hard to believe that God could take on a human body and still remain fully God?
Does the Bible teach that Jesus was divine or human? Jesus is God, and Jesus took on a human body. Just as a caterpillar can transform into a butterfly, all things are possible for God.
Luke 1:37 — “For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Jeremiah 32:27 — “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?”
Verses That Describe Jesus as a Man
There are verses that seem to describe Jesus simply as a man. But wisdom requires that we not take one part of Scripture while neglecting the rest — to do so would be dishonest with the text.
1 Timothy 2:5 — “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Likewise, Jesus said He did not know the hour or the day of His return, and Jesus needed water, food, and sleep. In His humanity, Jesus became like us in every way.
Hebrews 2:17 — “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be merciful and a faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
These verses describe the humanity Jesus took on when He came to earth two thousand years ago. But consider three things:
- We see Jesus worshiped as God throughout the Old Testament.
- Jesus never set aside His divinity when He became a man.
- While the Bible sometimes describes Jesus in His human form, those verses never say that Jesus was not God at the same time.
Jesus as God in the Bible
In the Old Testament, Jesus appears as the Angel of the LORD — note the capital letters, which distinguish this figure from the ordinary angels the Bible refers to using lowercase. In Genesis 18, the LORD appears to Abraham along with two angels. Genesis 19:1 tells us that the two angels then leave for Sodom, while Abraham remains in the presence of the LORD.
Genesis 19:1 — “Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.”
Later in that same chapter, the LORD who had been speaking with Abraham on earth calls on the LORD in heaven to send fire and brimstone:
Genesis 19:24 — “Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.”
In Hebrews 1, the Father commands all the angels to worship Jesus. If Jesus were not God, why would the Father command the angels to worship Him?
Hebrews 1:6 — “And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’”
And finally, the Father Himself declares to Jesus that He is God:
Hebrews 1:8 — “But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.’”
Conclusion: Jesus Is Fully God and Fully Man
Does the Bible teach that Jesus was divine or human? The Bible is clear: Jesus is fully God, and He took on a human body. The mistake many make is refusing to look at the verses that affirm Jesus’ divinity, focusing only on those that describe His human body.
Is Jesus human, or is Jesus God? This is no small question. If Jesus were merely a man, then no one could go to heaven, and no one’s sins could be forgiven — because a man cannot even pay for his own sins, much less for the sins of the whole world. What is the nature of Jesus? Jesus is God. Jesus has always existed. Jesus is as fully God as His Father is.
What is keeping you from accepting Jesus into your heart today, and asking forgiveness for your sins? You can pray this simple prayer right now: “Father God, I believe Jesus is God. Please forgive my sins and help me make it to heaven, in the name of Jesus. Amen.”