Skip to main contentAccessibility feedback

Dear catholic.com visitors: This website from Catholic Answers, with all its many resources, is the world's largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. A fully independent, lay-run, 501(c)(3) ministry that receives no funding from the institutional Church, we rely entirely on the generosity of everyday people like you to keep this website going with trustworthy , fresh, and relevant content. If everyone visiting this month gave just $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. Do you find catholic.com helpful? Please make a gift today. SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR NEW MONTHLY DONATIONS! Thank you and God bless.

Dear catholic.com visitors: This website from Catholic Answers, with all its many resources, is the world's largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. A fully independent, lay-run, 501(c)(3) ministry that receives no funding from the institutional Church, we rely entirely on the generosity of everyday people like you to keep this website going with trustworthy , fresh, and relevant content. If everyone visiting this month gave just $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. Do you find catholic.com helpful? Please make a gift today. SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR NEW MONTHLY DONATIONS! Thank you and God bless.

Was Jesus male before the Incarnation?

Question:

Was Jesus male before the Incarnation?

Answer:

Before the Incarnation the Son was pure spirit, just as are the Father and the Holy Spirit. As such, he did not have gender at that time. Only when the Son incarnated as the man Christ Jesus did he become male. The Father and the Holy Spirit remain pure spirit and so do not have biological gender.

For the purpose of revealing himself to us, God has revealed his Trinitarian self primarily in masculine terms because he is the instigator, the first cause; it is he who initiates salvation. It is the Church that is revealed in feminine terms because the Church is the recipient of salvation and the one who nurtures Christians with the graces received from God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Did you like this content? Please help keep us ad-free
Enjoying this content?  Please support our mission!Donatewww.catholic.com/support-us