Welcome to Authorized Sword Ministries. This is Lesson 5 in our series, Who Is Jesus? Today's lesson is called The Word Was Made Flesh: Jesus Is God.

We're so glad you're here.

In our first four lessons we met Jesus as the eternal Son of God, watched Him go about doing good, stood at the cross with the Lamb of God, and looked ahead to the day the King comes back. Now we're going to go deeper. In this part of the series we're going to slow down and dig into the big truths about who Jesus is. And we start with the biggest one of all. Jesus is not just a good man, a prophet, or an angel. Jesus is God, come in the flesh.

Our Key Verse

Today's key verse is Colossians 2:9.

"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." — Colossians 2:9 (KJV)

Read that slowly. Not part of God. Not a piece of God. All the fulness of the Godhead. And it dwells in Him bodily, in a real body. Everything that makes God, God, lived in the man Christ Jesus.

Paul wrote this because false teachers were trying to pull the Colossians away from Christ with "philosophy and vain deceit," as the verse before it says. Paul's answer was simple. You don't need anything more than Jesus, because in Jesus you have all of God.

God Was Manifest in the Flesh

Paul said the same thing to Timothy:

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." — 1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)

"God was manifest in the flesh." To be manifest means to be shown openly, to be made plain where everyone can see. The God no man had seen stepped into His own creation where men could see Him, hear Him, and touch Him.

This verse is a good example of why we hold to the King James Bible. The King James says "God was manifest in the flesh." Many modern versions, like the ESV and the NIV, say only "He" was manifested or "He appeared" in the flesh. The New American Standard Bible says "He who was revealed in the flesh." The King James Bible names Him plainly. The one who came in the flesh was God.

In Lesson 1 we read John 1, which says "the Word was God," and then, "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." The God who spoke the world into being took on a body and moved into our neighborhood.

Jesus Said It Himself

Some people say, "Jesus never claimed to be God." Let's let Jesus answer that.

One day the religious leaders were arguing with Him about Abraham, who had lived nearly two thousand years before. Listen to what Jesus said:

"Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." — John 8:58 (KJV)

He didn't say, "Before Abraham was, I was." He said, "I am." That was the very name God gave Himself at the burning bush:

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." — Exodus 3:14 (KJV)

The crowd knew exactly what He meant. The very next verse says "then took they up stones to cast at him." They tried to stone Him because they understood He was calling Himself God.

It happened again in John 10:

"I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." — John 10:30-33 (KJV)

His enemies said it out loud: "Thou, being a man, makest thyself God." They were right about what He claimed. They were wrong to call it blasphemy, because it was the truth.

He Did What Only God Can Do

Jesus didn't just say He was God. He did things only God can do.

When a paralyzed man was let down through a roof, the first thing Jesus said wasn't "be healed." It was "thy sins be forgiven thee." Here's how the scribes reacted:

"Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?" — Mark 2:7 (KJV)

They asked a good question. Who can forgive sins but God only? The answer is nobody. And Jesus forgave sins, and then He healed the man to prove He had the power to do it.

Jesus also accepted worship. Angels and good men in the Bible always refuse worship. When John fell down before an angel, the angel said, "See thou do it not... worship God" (Revelation 22:9). But when Thomas saw the risen Lord, here's what happened:

"And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." — John 20:28 (KJV)

Jesus didn't correct him. He didn't say, "Don't call Me that." He told Thomas that those who believe without seeing are blessed. Jesus accepted being called God, because He is God.

The Father Calls Him God

Here's maybe the strongest witness of all. In Hebrews 1, God the Father speaks to the Son, and listen to what He calls Him:

"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." — Hebrews 1:8 (KJV)

The Father Himself says to the Son, "Thy throne, O God." If the Father calls Jesus God, that settles it.

Why He Had to Be Both

Why does this matter so much? Because only someone who is both God and man could save us.

He had to be a man, because man sinned, and a man had to pay. He had to be God, because no ordinary man could pay for the sins of the whole world, and no sinner could pay for anyone but himself. Jesus is the one person who could stand in the gap. Paul put it this way:

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." — 2 Corinthians 5:19 (KJV)

God was in Christ. When you look at the cross, you are not looking at God punishing some innocent third party. You are looking at God Himself, in the flesh, paying for your sin.

When You See Jesus, You See the Father

One of the disciples, Philip, once asked Jesus to show them the Father. Here's how Jesus answered:

"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" — John 14:9 (KJV)

If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. Look at how He treated sinners, how He touched lepers, how He wept at a grave, how He forgave the men who nailed Him to the cross. That is what God is like.

A Simple Step for This Week

Here's our challenge for this week. Memorize Colossians 2:9: "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Then the next time someone tells you Jesus was just a good teacher, kindly show them John 8:58, John 20:28, and Hebrews 1:8. Let the Bible speak for itself.

A Prayer

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You that You did not stay far away from us. Thank You that in Jesus Christ You came in the flesh, that all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Him. Lord Jesus, like Thomas we bow and say, "My Lord and my God."

Help us to worship You as You deserve, to trust You fully, and to tell others the truth about who You are.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Thank you for spending this time with us.

This is Authorized Sword Ministries. God bless you.

Study Questions

1. Read Colossians 2:9. How much of the Godhead dwells in Jesus, and how does it dwell in Him?
2. What does the word "manifest" mean in 1 Timothy 3:16?
3. How does the King James wording of 1 Timothy 3:16 differ from many modern versions?
4. In John 8:58, why did Jesus say "I am" instead of "I was"? What verse in Exodus does it point back to?
5. Why did the crowd try to stone Jesus in John 10:30-33?
6. What question did the scribes ask in Mark 2:7, and how did Jesus answer it?
7. What did Thomas call Jesus in John 20:28, and how did Jesus respond?
8. What does the Father call the Son in Hebrews 1:8?
9. Why did our Saviour need to be both God and man?
10. According to John 14:9, how can we know what the Father is like?

Verified Scripture References (KJV)

All quotations were checked word for word against the King James Version (bible-api.com, translation=kjv) on October 26, 2026.

1. Colossians 2:9 — "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
2. 1 Timothy 3:16 — "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
3. John 8:58 — "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."
4. Exodus 3:14 — "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
5. John 10:30-33 — "I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God."
6. Mark 2:7 — "Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?"
7. John 20:28 — "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God."
8. Hebrews 1:8 — "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
9. 2 Corinthians 5:19 — "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
10. John 14:9 — "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"
11. Colossians 2:8 (phrase quoted inline) — "philosophy and vain deceit." Full verse: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
12. John 8:59 (phrase quoted inline) — "Then took they up stones to cast at him." Full verse: "Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."
13. Mark 2:5 (phrase quoted inline) — "thy sins be forgiven thee." Full verse: "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."
14. Revelation 22:9 (phrases quoted inline) — "See thou do it not... worship God." Full verse: "Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."

Sources

All sources were opened and checked on October 26, 2026.

1. Modern-version wording of 1 Timothy 3:16 ("He was manifested in the flesh," ESV; "He appeared in the flesh," NIV; "He who was revealed in the flesh," NASB) compared with the KJV ("God was manifest in the flesh"): Bible Gateway, 1 Timothy 3:16 in all English translations. https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20Timothy%203:16