A MAJOR BRAIN-TWISTER FOR THE CHURCH WAS HOW TO RECONCILE JESUS BEING BOTH GOD AND MAN. HOW DO THOSE TWO COMPONENTS RELATE TO EACH OTHER? WAS JESUS GOD'S SON FROM ETERNITY, OR DID HE BECOME GOD'S SON AT SOME POINT? IF THE DIVINE SON BECAME HUMAN, DID HE GIVE UP HIS DIVINITY? WAS JESUS MERELY THE ALMIGHTY GOD IN A HUMAN DISGUISE? WAS JESUS HALF-GOD, HALF-MAN, LIKE A DEMIGOD?
THE BASIC COMPONENTS OF THIS MESSAGE HAVE BEEN FORMULATED IN ORTHODOX-CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY: THERE IS ONE GOD, WHO IS ALSO GOD THE FATHER. THERE IS ONE SON OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST, WHO IS ALSO PART OF THE TRINITY. THERE IS ONE HOLY SPIRIT.