Article of Faith: I believe in Jesus Christ.

Who is Jesus Christ? A question that is still relevant, timeless, and thought-provoking. The name Jesus means “God gives salvation.” It expresses Jesus’ identity and his mission. And in turn, Christ means “anointed one.” God sanctified him and anointed him with the Holy Spirit for the work of redemption. Thus, his very name reveals to us who he is. At the outset, however, we must answer the question whether this is a fictional character or a real person who lived on this earth. Many opponents say that Jesus is a mere invention of the evangelists, a kind of ideal that the Church created for itself. But the evidence is clear. Many non-Christian historical sources, such as the pagan writers Pliny and Tacitus, as well as the Jewish historians Josephus Flavius and the Talmud, testify to the life of Jesus Christ. Based on these sources, we know that Christ is not some fictional character, but a real person. We learn the most about his life from the Gospels, as recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each of them, in a particular style, presents their perspective, but they have one thing in common – the Good News. The Son of God became man, by the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh from the Virgin Mary for us humans and our salvation. He did this to reconcile us sinners to God, to let us know his infinite love, to be a model of holiness for us, and to make us partakers of God’s nature. The Holy Father Benedict XVI says: “God is so great that he can become small. God is so powerful that he can become defenseless and comes to us as a helpless child so that we can love him.” Jesus showed by many signs that He has divine power over nature, evil spirits, sin, and over death. His divine origin, his divine son ship, he supremely proved by his resurrection. Jesus Christ is both a true God and a true man in one person. They are not two distinct persons, nor is there any competition between the two natures, nor is there any mixture or fusion. In Jesus Christ, God became one of us and our brother, and yet He never ceased to be God and therefore our Lord. That is to say, the 2nd article of faith is pointing to faith in Christ, the God-man, who is our only Lord because He saved us.