Jesus Christ: True God and he is a man who lived in

True Man the specific context and

1. The Incarnation of the
Word
The origin of the
Incarnation is God’s love for
mankind, since God gives
himself to us through the
Second Person of the
Blessed Trinity coming to
share in our human nature in
the unity of the Sons’ divine
Person.
who died after a life spent
on earth in the course of
history.
2. Jesus Christ, true God and
true man.
The Incarnation “is the
mystery of the wonderful
union of the divine and
human natures in the one
person of the Word” ( CCC,
483).

After the fall of Adam

and Eve in paradise, the
 The Church defended
and clarified the truth of
Incarnation has a saving
faith during the first
and redemptive purpose.
centuries against the
Christ himself said that
heresies which denied or
“the Son of man came to
misrepresented it.
seek and to save what is
lost: (Lk. 19:10) and that
God “sent his Son into the
world not to condemn the
 Adoptionism arose in
the second century,
world, but that the world maintaining that Jesus
might save by him. was the adopted son of
God: that Jesus was only
only
The incarnation is not
showing God’s
a man in whom God’s
strength dwell.
infinite love for mankind,


but also the divine
wisdom shown in the way The Arian heresy, by
God decided to save denying the divinity of
man, which is the way the Word, also denied
that was most that Jesus Christ was
appropriate to human God. Arius was
nature; through the condemned by the
incarnation of the word. Council of Nicaea in the

 Jesus Christ, the

Incarnate Word, “is not a
year 325.

myth, or an abstract idea:


Laodicea
Arius and Apollinarius of
denied that
Christ had a true human
soul. The latter was
particularly important in
spreading this error and
his influence was felt for
several centuries in the
later Christological
controversies.
 3. The Hypostatic Union
At the beginning of the
fifth century, after the
preceding controversies,
there was a clear need
to firmly defend the
integrity of the two
natures, human and
divine, in the Person of
the Word.
The first controversy
originated with some
statements by Nestorius,
patriarch of
Constantinople, who
implied that in Christ
there are two subjects:
the divine subject and
human subject. This
Christological error was
the origin of his rejection
of the title of the Mother
of God, Theotokos,
applied to our Lady.
4. The Sacred Humanity of
Jesus Christ
In the Incarnation,
human nature was assumed,
not absorbed (CCC 470).
Eveything that Christ is and
does in this nature derives
from ‘one of the Trinity’.
Christ’s human soul possess
true human knowledge.
Questions?
Heresies in the Church
 Gnosticism
It is one of the
heresy in the Church
around second century
claiming that salvation
could be gained through
secret knowledge.
Gnosticism is derived
from the Greek word
gnosis, meaning “to
know” or “knowledge”.

Gnostic belief
Gnostics also
believed that the
created, material world
(matter) is evil, and
therefore in opposition to
the world of spirit and
that only the spirit of
good.
Their beliefs clash
strongly with accepted
Christian doctrine.
 Docetism
It came from the
Greek word, dokein,
which means to seem.
Docetists focused
on Jesus’ divinity rather
than his humanity. They
believed that because
 he was so divine, he
could hardly be human.
 And if he was not God,
he couldn’t offer
salvation! 
Lesson 6 Reed
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students
should be able to:
• Explain the Church as the Body
of Christ.
• Determine the significance of
unity in the church.
• Cite ways the role of the
members of the Church.
• Compose a prayer for the unity
of the church.
Lesson 6: The Church as
the Body of Christ
Have you ever experienced being
terribly ill?
What usually happens to a person
when one sense or organ does not
function properly?
How does it affect the whole
body?
* Why is the Church called the
Body of Christ?
According to Catechism of the
Catholic Church 789, “the comparison
of the Church with the body casts the
light on the intimate bond between
Christ and His Church. Not only she
gathered around Him, she is united in
Him, in His Body.”
There are 3 aspects of the Church as
the Body of Christ to be more
specifically noted:
 One Body
 Christ is the Head of this
Body
 The Church is the Bride of
Christ
Questions?
Saying “Amen” implies three
things: the belief that Christ is
present, body and soul.
His humanity and divinity in
the sacred host: the genuine
acceptance of the body of Christ;
and the desire to be in communion
with Him.
For Catholics, the expression
of “Body of Christ” means real
presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
However, as recalled earlier,
St. Paul used used this expression
to refer to the Christian Church.
“As a body is one though it has
many parts, and all the parts of
the body, though many, are one
body, whether Jews or Greeks,
slaves or free persons, and we are
all given to drink of one Spirit. Now
the body is not a single part, but
many” (1 Cor 12:12-14).
When we speak of Christ’s “body”, it
can mean three things:
1. The physical body of the historical
Jesus assumed at the incarnation;
2. The Eucharist body which is the
sacramental presence of the
Risen Christ in His saving
sacrifice; and
2. The mystical body, the church, the
faithful united to Christ as their
head and vivified by His spirit.
Pope Pius XII, in his Encyclical
Letter Mystical Corporis Christi
published in 1943, states: “If we
would define and describe this true
Church of Jesus Christ as the One,
Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Roman
Church, we shall find no expression
more noble, more sublime or more
divine than the Mystical Body of
Jesus Christ” (MC, 199).
Through the Spirit and its vital
role in the sacraments, particularly
the Eucharist, Christ established
the community of believers, the
Church, as His own Body. Thus,
understanding the Church as Body
of Christ also underlines the dignity
of each member who has a specific
and important role to play.

Questions?
Compose a prayer for the unity of the
Church.
Write true on the line if the
statement is correct. If the
statement is false, replace the
underlined word or group of words
with the correct answer. Write your
answer on the line provided for.
___________1. The Church is the
organism through which Christ
continually performs His work
of salvation.

___________2. Saying “Amen”

implies that we are fully believe
that Christ is present, body and
soul.

___________3. According to St.

Peter, Christ is the head and the
body, and we are its members.

___________4. Christ’s body means

the mystical body, the Church, the
faithful united to Christ as their
head.

___________5. Communicants
wholeheartedly accept the body of
Christ during the communion.

Thank you!!! 