Was Jesus human or divine when He was on this earth?

Some find it difficult to harmonize the idea that Jesus was both human and divine. “If Christ was human, then how could He “see” Nathaniel praying under a fig tree?” (John 1:46–49). Yet the Bible is full of statements that emphasize the divinity and the humanity of Jesus. Our Savior was 100-percent human and 100-percent divine, fully God and fully a man.

While Christ was on earth, He obviously did not have all the infinite knowledge of God swirling around in His head. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He grew in the natural course of human beings, both physically, mentally, and spiritually (Luke 2:52). Early on in His life, we see Him beginning to grasp His divine mission (v. 49).

As we study the life of Jesus, we see both His human nature and divine nature revealed. Jesus walked with the disciples, He ate food, and slept as we sleep. Yet we also see moments when His divinity flashed through, such as on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2). Apparently, our Lord had access to divine knowledge and power when it was needed.

Matthew tells us that Jesus was called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). John describes Christ by stating, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He later quotes Jesus saying, “O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (17:5). Jesus limited Himself in many ways in order to identify with us, yet He was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). That is why He is our Lord and Savior!

Key Bible Texts

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8 KJV)