05/05/2025
In Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God as chronicled in the Bible's New Testament, and in most Christian denominations he is held to be God the Son, a prosopon (Person) of the Trinity of God. Christians believe him to be the messiah (giving him the title Christ), who was prophesied in the Bible's Old Testament. Through Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection, Christians believe that God offers humans salvation and eternal life,[1] with Jesus's death atoning for all sin.
These teachings emphasise that as the Lamb of God, Jesus chose to suffer nailed to the cross at Calvary as a sign of his obedience to the will of God, as an "agent and servant of God".[2][3] Jesus's choice positions him as a man of obedience, in contrast to Adam's disobedience.[4] According to the New Testament, after God raised him from the dead,[5] Jesus ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father,[6] with his followers awaiting his return to Earth and God's subsequent Last Judgment.[7]
According to the gospel accounts, Jesus was born of a virgin, and he taught other Jews how to follow God (sometimes using parables), performed miracles and gathered disciples. Christians generally believe that this narrative is historically true.
While there has been theological debate over the nature of Jesus, Trinitarian Christians believe that Jesus is the Logos, God incarnate (God in human form), God the Son, and "true God and true man"—fully divine and fully human. Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, yet he did not sin.
Core teachings
Although Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to summarise the key elements of the beliefs shared by major Christian denominations by analysing their catechetical or confessional texts.[8][9][10] Christian views of Jesus are derived from various biblical sources, particularly from the canonical gospels and New Testament letters such as the Paul epistles. Christians predominantly hold that these works are historically true.[1