Jesus Christ and God: Difference Between God the Father and Jesus

Is Jesus God? Are you confusing the two? Is there a particular difference between Jesus and God?

The questions are confusing. So we decided to reveal everything to you on the subject so that you know what to expect. But a priori we can remember that:

The name "Emmanuel" comes from the Old Testament. That is, on the day Jesus was born, at Christmas, a prophecy that appears in the Bible is fulfilled. In the book of the prophet Isaiah it says: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and she will call him Emmanuel. Emmanuel means "God with us", so there is no doubt about it.

Discover in this article:

• The nuances to be made between the two concepts

• Why We Sometimes Confuse Jesus and God

• Does God really exist?

Let's explore the topic instead!

Jesus and God: the multitudes of appellations

Jesus, Emmanuel, the Christ... Son of God , Lamb of God, Son of Man , Son of David, King of the Jews .... Names that all refer to Jesus. Ultimately, what matters is that he was a man and he is God who came into the world to save us, who died for us, who loved us without limit and who rose again to give hope to our lives. Few names have been given to him for all that he is.

Why does the Lord have so many names?

We call Jesus by many names, but at Christmas there is a gospel that could confuse us with his name. We already know that we have given our father many names since we were little: daddy, papa, his nickname... But he only has one name. Even if each house calls him by a different name. With our other Father, this time the one above, the same thing happens: we call him Lord , Father , God , Savior , Messiah ...

But we might be confused by the name Jesus , since - besides using all sorts of distinctions regarding him in the Gospel - we call him Emmanuel , Jesus Christ , etc.

At the beginning of the Gospel of Saint Matthew (Mt 1:18-24), the angel says to Joseph: "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus , because he will save his people from their sins . 🙏

Just in case, to clarify, Jesus only has one name and that is Jesus, which literally means " Savior " in Aramaic, Yeshua. That is the name that Mary and Jesus give their son because of what the angel tells them. Also, we call ourselves Christians, because we follow Christ. But weren't we following Jesus? Yes, we were. Christ literally means " Messiah ," which comes from "anointed one." That means that when we call Jesus, Jesus Christ, we are simply adding that Jesus is the Messiah .

Jesus and God: One Being, But Different Persons

The Trinity is a concept that can make our brains spin. Indeed, how can a single god be made up of three distinct divinities? How can we imagine such an image?

There is indeed one God, and we pray to one God whom we consider to be the one and only true one. God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are but different manifestations of the same entity. Each constituent of the trinity has its own way of operating. Jesus is the human aspect of God. He took human form so that men could draw closer to God. Christ was a real human being, made of flesh and blood. His coming symbolized God's effort to draw closer to men. He died, just as all men are destined to die. However, Jesus rose again , and this is one of the greatest feats ever accomplished. It was as a divine being that he accomplished this feat. He did it to show us that death can be conquered, and he taught us how.

Christians pray to one and only one God. But they call on God the Father, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit depending on what they expect from Him. For example, we pray to the Holy Spirit to guide us in the decisions we must make. In this kind of situation, we ask God to send us this part of Him.

The difference between God and Jesus Christ

God is also called the Creator because he made all things from nothing, he is also called Lord because he is still the absolute master of all things. God is not human , he has no body, but he is pure spirit. He has no fixed abode or rather he is everywhere, he is both in heaven and on earth, he is immense. God has no date of birth , he has always existed and will live forever because he is eternal. There is no point in hiding things from God, because He knows everything about everyone, even our thoughts, He is the Omniscient.

According to whether in earthly life he has adopted a certain type of behavior, he rewards and punishes by sending the souls of the dead to heaven or to hell . Heaven is the eternal enjoyment of God , our happiness, and, in Him, every other good, without any evil. Heaven is deserved by those who are good, that is, those who love and serve God faithfully, and die in his grace.

Hell is the eternal suffering of deprivation of God, of our happiness, and of fire, with every other evil without any good. He who is bad, that is, who does not serve God and who dies in mortal sin, deserves hell. Jesus Christ is the second person of the Most Holy Trinity , that is, the Son of God made man ; Jesus is the true God and the true man . Jesus was born in Bethlehem , in a stable, and was laid in a manger. Jesus became man to save us, that is, to redeem us from sin, and to preserve Paradise by taking a body and soul, like us, in the purest womb of the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit.

It is said that the parents of Jesus were Joseph and Mary because they were the ones who took care of him in the stable, but in reality, Saint Joseph was not the real father of Jesus Christ, but a putative father, as his guardian. Jesus Christ wanted to be poor to teach us to be humble and not to place happiness in the riches, honors and pleasures of the world.

How is God different from Jesus Christ

We often hear people asking themselves: "Is there really a God?" To this never-ending question, humanity has always wanted to hear the answer. Despite the great existence of various religions, beliefs and scientific research, everyone has their own opinion about how the existence of man on earth appeared, what is the cause of it. But now we are going to talk about the Christian faith and such a confusing question about the difference between God and Jesus Christ .

In the book of Acts of the Apostles it is written: "God, who created the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth. For Christians, God is the Supreme Being who created life. He created everything known and unknown to man. Believers see God as transcendent and immanent. Transcendence is that God is beyond the control of humanity, therefore he is eternal and distant from the universe. Immanence at the same time makes him involved in the world and human affairs. And this happens despite his transcendence.

God is almighty . He has unlimited power and omniscience. His knowledge is infinite. God is present everywhere and in everything. Of course, other religions also have their gods, but the Christian God is more almighty. Disrespect for His name is punished according to the Ten Commandments or laws written in the Old Testament and the Bible. The Christian Holy Book contains many proofs of God's love for humanity, but also many proofs of the punishment He inflicts on those who disobey Him.

The Christian God has no body, but he can take many forms. It is up to believers to decide who He is. In the doctrine of the Trinity, God is represented before men in three forms at once: God the Father , God the Son , and God the Holy Spirit . He is always spoken of as a man. The most commonly used names are "Father", Jehovah, Yahweh, Elohim, and Adonai. But in Christianity, too, believers are to "honor the Son as they honor the Father," "he who does not honor the Son does not honor his Father who sent him." The name Jesus Christ is most often shortened to Jesus.

The Holy Spirit as an Integral Part of the Trinity

He is one of the three divine personalities of God. According to the faith and doctrine of the Trinity, God is three separate entities: God the Father , God the Son , and God the Holy Spirit . Jesus Christ is the Son of God , the beloved Son of God . Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the chosen and long-awaited Messiah. Therefore, he received the title "Christ", which means "Anointed One". Previously, the word "Christ" was associated not only with Jesus, but also with his disciples. This became especially evident after his death. Followers began to be called "Christians".

Christianity believes that Jesus was sent by God the Father to save mankind, he is the physical manifestation of God. In the New Testament, God the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus with the Virgin Mary. He taught the Son the word of God . The Son passed this knowledge on to men, forgave them their sins, and laid the foundations of the Church. During his journey, Jesus gathered 12 apostolic disciples. He entrusted them with the task of spreading his teaching after his departure.

At the end of his earthly journey, he was captured by his enemies because he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples. Jesus accepted death by crucifixion as a sacrifice. He had atoned for the sins of humanity. According to prophecy, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. There Christ was reunited with God the Father . The prophecy of the Messiah was fulfilled.

The Real Difference Between God and Jesus Christ

Jesus was a man for men , they endowed him with physical qualities. This makes Jesus a different being from God the Father . Often, Jesus Christ is depicted with brown hair and a long beard, with a kind and forgiving look. What is the difference between God and Jesus Christ? What do Christians think about it? Let us also try to understand it. To do this, we must begin teaching about the Trinity again. There, God is the Supreme Being divided into three distinct individuals. If a Christian speaks of God, he immediately thinks of God the Father . He is the most important figure in religion for believing Christians.

Even in the Old Testament, when there were no images of Jesus Christ yet, the omnipotence of God was fully felt. God was the creator of everything. He destroyed the enemies of his people. The Old Testament shows God as a powerful presence who can bring great mercy and destruction to men. Jesus, in turn, is part of the Three Persons of God, God the Son . God the Father sent him to purify humanity from sins. For this, Jesus received a human physical form. He became the physical manifestation of God.

His words are therefore clear: "I and the Father are one." But at the same time, Jesus is different from other divine entities - he has feelings, he has bones and flesh. On several occasions he was subjected to devilish temptations. In the Old Testament, God is powerful and punishing, and in the person of the Son he represents his merciful and forgiving side.

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God and Jesus: Divine Being

So, developing; we can therefore hold that the Christian God is a combination of three divine entities. By "God", a Christian means his three personalities, one of which is Jesus Christ. He is part of God, he is not a being separate from him. The desires of Jesus Christ are the reflection of the desires of God; he speaks in his words, as he is God himself. The confusion has arisen from the fact that some Christians think of God the Father separately from God the Son when they speak of God. Jesus Christ did not become a divine being until after his ascension into heaven.

If you like this kind of article, do not hesitate to visit our blog, there you will find plenty of answers to the questions you ask yourself. We would like to present you another of our articles, which highlights the difference between the Catholic and the Orthodox. Click here to read it.