Jesus is the Son of God by His very nature, not in the same sense that we are children of God or sons of God in an earthly way. He is the Son of God by His substance, and by His nature. Paul speaks about this in Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5-11: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

When Jesus came to this earth, in substance and nature He WAS, and IS, the Son of God, John 1:1-2. He He He did not become Deity when He was born, as is the doctrine of some man-made religions. He always had been Deity. He remains Deity to this day. He was not just a man who was given Deity by God. The phrase “Only Begotten,” that we read in John 1, verse 14, means that He is one of a kind, the only One of His kind, being born as the God-man of God.

That’s Who Jesus is. He was pre-incarnate—He existed with God before He came to this earth, John 1:1-4; Colossians 1:16-17; He was sent by God with a mission, John 6:38; He knows God, and He speaks for God, John 17:1-5; He had a part in the creation of the world, John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17.

Next, let’s look at the INCARNATION of Jesus. The incarnation of Jesus saw God come in the flesh. “The Word became flesh,” as John says [John 1:14—see all of John 1:1-14]. This is the incarnation of Christ. This is Deity taking on the “form of humanity.” Like we said before, the One Who created became a part of the creation. In becoming a man, Jesus emptied Himself of His equality with God, but not His full Deity. That’s what we just read in Philippians 2, verses 6 and 7. He took upon Himself all that was needed to be man. Isn’t that an interesting idea? As Deity, He took upon Himself everything that He needed to be man. That included the physical form and the emotional part of man. All of it! But here is a great mystery. He took upon Himself all that He needed to be man, BUT He was BOTH man and God at the same time. How was that? How do we explain that? How do we quantify that? Well, it’s beyond me to be able to explain that. It is a deep mystery, one that I personally have trouble comprehending. How could He be both? But we accept this fact by faith. He was both man and God when He became incarnate.

The virgin birth of Christ is central in this matter. The “conception” of Christ did not occur in the normal way. Luke tells us that, the Holy Spirit conceived the Christ child within Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was a virgin at that time. She had not had any sexual relationship with a man. Luke 1:26-35 tells about that. [See Luke 1:34-35: “Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One Who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’”]. So, His conception was miraculous; He was conceived in this young woman by the Holy Spirit. But the rest of His birth was “normal.” In this process, man and God were united through this birth, Matthew 1, verses 20 through 23 [“But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His Name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’”]. Again, this is difficult for us to understand, to comprehend, and to really appreciate! But this is how Jesus came into this world and how He became incarnate. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born in a natural way, and in that process, God and Man were combined.

Then we move on to the NAMES OF JESUS. While we were looking at the Doctrine concerning God, we studied the Names of God. Understanding the Names of God is important to our ability to understand and appreciate the nature or character of God. The same is true with Jesus. There are a number of Names contained in the Scriptures by which we see Him called or referred to, and even by which He refers to Himself. These Names tell us something about Him. They also show us His relationship to God, to the world, to mankind, to the church, and to us as Christians.

First of all, the Name “Jesus” is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew word “Joshua.” In Hebrew, “Joshua” means “Jehovah is salvation.” This is the personal Name of the Lord, and it was given to Him by God through an angel, Luke 1:31 [“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His Name Jesus.”]. This Name “Jesus” was not something that His earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, decided to call him. Rather, the Name “Jesus” was revealed by an angel of God. The angel instructed Joseph: “You will call His Name Jesus.”

And then, we see the Name “Christ.” Rather than a name, “Christ” is actually a title. “Christ” means “Messiah” or “The Anointed One.” This Name, then, becomes the official title of Jesus. This title demonstrates Him as the One Who was to come, the One Who fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. Jesus is anointed prophet, priest and king, Matthew 16, verse 16 [“Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”]; 1 John 5:1 [“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him Who begot also loves Him Who is begotten of Him. ”]. So we see that “Jesus” is His Name, and “Christ” is His title.