Christian was born at Siegen Castle [de][1][2][note 1] on 16 July 1616[3] as the sixth son of Count John VII 'the Middle' of Nassau-Siegen and his second wife, Duchess Margaret of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.

[4] The will and testament of Count John VII 'the Middle' of 1621 bequeathed John Maurice and his younger brothers from their father's second marriage the district of Freudenberg, some villages in the Haingericht[note 2] and a third part of the administration of the city of Siegen.

[6][7] After his older half-brother John 'the Younger' had accepted the homage of the city of Siegen for the entire county of Nassau-Siegen on 12 January 1624[8] and had voluntarily ceded the sovereignty over the Hilchenbach district with Ginsburg Castle [de] and some villages belonging to the Ferndorf [de] and Netphen districts to his younger brother William on 13/23 January 1624,[9][10] Christian and his brothers, with the exception of the oldest two brothers John Maurice and George Frederick, accepted only modest appanages.

[1][13][14] He was killed in action near Düren on 1/11 April 1644[1][15][note 3] and was buried in the Fürstengruft [nl] in the Evangelische Stadtkirche [de] in Dillenburg on 4/14 June 1644.

[1] At a hitherto unknown time his body was transferred to Siegen to be interred in the Fürstengruft [nl] there.