Pentecostal (Assemblies of God)
Evangelical Free Church of America
Affirms

Fully divine and human; eternal Son incarnate; crucified, risen, and returning

The Nazarene Articles of Faith affirm that 'Jesus Christ, the second person of the Triune God, became incarnate by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary.' He is fully God and fully man — one person with two natures. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for sin, rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the Father, and will return in glory.

The Nazarene Christology is fully Chalcedonian: the divine and human natures are united in one person without confusion or separation. Jesus is not a lesser divine being or a human elevated to godhood, but the eternal Son who took on genuine human nature while remaining fully divine. His sinlessness is both historical fact and essential to the atonement — only the sinless Son of God could bear the sins of the world.

The Nazarene tradition's emphasis on the holy life finds its pattern in Jesus himself — he is not merely the means of forgiveness but the model and source of the sanctified life. The imitation of Christ and participation in his holy character, made possible by the Spirit's sanctifying work, is central to Nazarene spirituality.

Key Distinctions

Natures formula:
two complete natures (divine and human) united in one person (hypostatic union)
Conciliar affiliation:
Council of Chalcedon (451) affirmed

Scripture References

Sources

  • Church of the Nazarene Manual, Articles of Faith, §II: Jesus Christ