Atonement - Jesus as God Incarnate - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - WJEC - BBC Bitesize

Jesus as God Incarnate Atonement

Many Christians believe that Jesus is God Incarnate, which means God in the flesh. Many Christians hold different beliefs about Jesus, his birth, crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension.

Part of Religious StudiesBeliefs, teachings & practices - Unit 1

Atonement

The term atonement refers to the belief that Jesus dying on the cross resolved the problems between humans and God. These problems began with Adam and Eve, who went against God's wishes by eating the fruit from the tree in the Garden of Eden.

Many Christians believe that Jesus’s death on the cross was an atonement for the sins caused by humans. In John's Gospel, Jesus is described as:

The lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world
— John 1:19

Word

Jesus is referred to as the Word in John's Gospel. The exact meaning of this is not clear and different Christians explain it in different ways. In John 1:1, it states that the word existed in the beginning.

John’s Gospel starts by describing Jesus as the Word, ie the Living Word of God. In the Old Testament the Word was through the prophets, whereas in the New Testament the Word is revealed through the person of Christ.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
— John 1:14
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