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Preparing a Study Plan before starting this Study Guide will assist you in completing it within a designated timeframe. It also helps in developing the discipline required for studying God’s Word effectively.

Proverbs 16:3:

Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

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Keep a record as you progress through your Study Guide, including the Personal Responses for each section, for future reference and goal setting.

Content

• Preface

• INTRODUCTION: HOW DID THE ONE INVISIBLE GOD MAKE HIMSELF KNOWN?

• GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH

• THE WORD WAS GOD – AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH

• EMMANUEL: GOD WITH US

• THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD

• THE EXPRESS IMAGE OF HIS PERSON

• THE FATHER THAT DWELLETH IN ME

• I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE

• HE THAT HATH SEEN ME HATH SEEN THE FATHER

• THE MIGHTY GOD AND THE EVERLASTING FATHER

• GOD WAS IN CHRIST

• ALL THE FULNESS OF DEITY DWELLS BODILY IN JESUS CHRIST

• THE CREATOR REVEALED IN JESUS CHRIST

• CONCLUSION: THE ONE INVISIBLE GOD MADE KNOWN

Important Points

• COGMA does not claim to be infallible or the authority.
• Infallibility and authority belong only to God and His Word.

COGMA therefore strongly advises that you prayerfully study the content of each Study Guide with the heart of a Berean (Acts 17:10–12).

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PREFACE

The first Study Guide established the foundation that there is one true God. Scripture declares that the LORD is one, that there is none beside Him, and that He alone created all things. We also saw that this one God is Spirit, invisible, eternal and omnipresent. Those truths must remain fixed as we now consider how the invisible God made Himself known to humanity.

This Study Guide takes the next step in that revelation. The question is no longer simply, How many Gods are there? Scripture has already answered that. The question now is: Who was revealed in Jesus Christ?

The New Testament gives a clear and consistent testimony. John declares that the Word was God and that the Word was made flesh. Matthew identifies Jesus as Emmanuel, “God with us.” Paul says that “God was in Christ” and that “God was manifest in the flesh.”

Jesus Himself said that the Father dwelt in Him and that whoever had seen Him had seen the Father. Paul then declares that all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Jesus Christ.

These statements must be allowed to speak together. They do not present Jesus Christ as another God beside the one true God, nor as one divine person standing alongside other divine persons. They reveal the one invisible God making Himself known through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ.

This does not deny the genuine humanity of the Son. Jesus was truly born, truly lived as a man, and truly experienced human life. The humanity through which God revealed Himself was real. The fuller examination of that genuine humanity belongs to a later Study Guide.

Our purpose here is to establish the identity of the God who was revealed through Him. We will therefore examine the great Scriptural declarations that God was manifest in the flesh, that the Word was made flesh, that Jesus is Emmanuel, the image of the invisible God and the express image of His person, that the Father dwelt in Him, and that all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him.

Each of these passages adds another part to the same testimony. Together they show that the revelation of God in Jesus Christ was not partial, distant or incomplete. The invisible God made Himself known personally and fully in the Son.

The purpose is not to begin with a theological system and make these Scriptures fit within it. We will allow the Scriptures themselves to build the case.

The foundation established in the first Study Guide remains unchanged: there is one God. This Study Guide now asks how that one God was manifested and made known. The answer of Scripture leads us directly to Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION: HOW DID THE ONE INVISIBLE GOD MAKE HIMSELF KNOWN?

The first Study Guide established that there is one true God and that this one God is Spirit, invisible, eternal and omnipresent. Scripture also declares that there is none beside Him and that He alone created all things. We now come to the next question in the progression of this module: How did this one invisible God make Himself known to humanity?

The answer is found in Jesus Christ. Scripture does not leave us to construct a philosophical explanation of how God could be revealed. It gives us direct statements concerning what happened and who was made known.

Paul wrote in 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.”

The statement is direct: ‘God was manifest in the flesh.’ Paul centres the revelation in God Himself. The invisible God made Himself known in a genuine human life.

This declaration must be understood together with the wider testimony of Scripture. John says that “the Word was God” and that “the Word was made flesh.” Matthew identifies Jesus as Emmanuel, “God with us.”

Paul says that “God was in Christ.” Jesus says, “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” When Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus answered, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

These are not separate explanations that compete with one another. They form one consistent revelation. The God who is invisible as Spirit made Himself known through the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ.

This Study Guide will therefore examine the identity of the God revealed in Jesus Christ. We will consider what Scripture means when it says that God was manifest in the flesh, that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, that He is the express image of His person, and that all the fulness of Deity dwells bodily in Him. We will also examine why Scripture calls the Son “The mighty God” and “The everlasting Father,” and why the New Testament attributes creation to Jesus Christ even though the LORD declared that He created all things alone and by Himself.

The purpose is not to deny the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ. His humanity was real. Neither is our purpose here to develop every question concerning His human experience, His soul, His obedience or His suffering. Those subjects belong to a later Study Guide devoted specifically to His genuine humanity.

Our purpose here is more focused: to establish from Scripture who was revealed in Jesus Christ. The foundation remains unchanged: there is one God. The question before us now is: How was that one invisible God manifested and made known?

GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH

We have established that there is one true God and that this one God is Spirit, invisible, eternal and omnipresent. Scripture now gives us one of its clearest statements concerning how that invisible God made Himself known to humanity.

Paul wrote in 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.”

The central declaration is unmistakable: “God was manifest in the flesh.” Paul’s statement is direct: ‘God was manifest in the flesh.’ He does not define God here as three divine persons; he identifies God Himself as the One manifested in the flesh.That statement must be allowed to speak with its full force.

The Invisible God Was Made Known

To manifest something is to bring it into view, make it known or reveal what was previously unseen. This agrees perfectly with what Scripture has already taught concerning the nature of God.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:17:

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

God is invisible in His eternal Spirit nature. Natural human eyes cannot see Spirit as they see physical matter. Therefore, if the invisible God was to make Himself known through a visible human life, He had to be manifested. That is exactly what Paul says occurred.

The One who is eternal, immortal and invisible was made known in flesh. God did not cease to be Spirit when He was manifested, nor did His revelation in human life change His eternal nature. The invisible God remained the eternal Spirit who fills heaven and earth while making Himself known through Jesus Christ. John gives the same testimony from another direction.

John wrote in John 1:18:

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

John begins with the invisibility of God: “No man hath seen God at any time.” He then says that the Son “hath declared him.” The God who cannot be seen in His eternal Spirit nature was declared and made known through the Son.

The Son therefore does not introduce another God beside the invisible God. The Son is the genuine human revelation in whom the invisible God is declared and made known.

The Flesh Was Genuine Humanity

The words “manifest in the flesh” also require us to recognise the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ. The flesh was not an illusion, an appearance or a temporary disguise. Jesus truly entered human life.

John wrote in John 1:14:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

John does not say that the Word appeared to be flesh. He says, “the Word was made flesh.” The humanity of Jesus Christ was real.

Jesus was genuinely born. He grew, hungered, became weary, experienced sorrow, suffered and died. These experiences belonged to genuine human life. We must never affirm His Deity in a way that weakens His humanity.

At the same time, we must not allow His genuine humanity to obscure the identity of the One being revealed through that humanity. Paul does not say that an ordinary man gradually became God or that God later associated Himself with a man who already existed independently. He says:

“God was manifest in the flesh.”

The humanity was genuinely human, and the God revealed through that humanity was genuinely God. The detailed examination of Jesus Christ's humanity belongs to a later Study Guide. Here our purpose is to preserve the two truths necessary for this subject: the human life was real, and the One manifested through that human life was the one true God.

God Himself Was in Christ

Paul gives another statement that helps us understand what “God was manifest in the flesh” means. Paul wrote in 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.”

Notice carefully who Paul says was in Christ: “God was in Christ.” He does not describe God as standing apart from Jesus while another divine person carried out the work of redemption. The God doing the reconciling was in Christ, reconciling the world “unto himself.”

This gives us a powerful connection between the two passages. Paul says “God was manifest in the flesh” and “God was in Christ.” These are not competing explanations.

They belong together. The one invisible God was in Christ and was manifest through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself identified the One dwelling within Him.

Jesus said in John 14:10:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

Jesus said, “the Father that dwelleth in me.” The Father was not absent from Jesus Christ, nor was He standing beside Him as another God. The invisible Father dwelt within and revealed Himself through the genuine humanity of the Son.

This is why Jesus could say to Philip that the person who had seen Him had seen the Father. The invisible God was being made known in a visible human life.

God Fully Revealed in Jesus Christ

The language of Scripture therefore brings us to an important conclusion. Jesus Christ is not a partial revelation of God. The one invisible God made Himself known fully in Him.

Paul says “God was manifest in the flesh” and “God was in Christ.” Jesus says “the Father that dwelleth in me,” while John says that the Son “hath declared him.” These statements all direct us towards the same revelation: the one invisible God made Himself known in Jesus Christ.

This does not mean that the eternal Spirit became confined within the physical dimensions of a human body. God remained omnipresent. Neither does it mean that the humanity of Jesus was unreal. Jesus possessed genuine human life.

It means that the invisible God revealed Himself through that genuine humanity without ceasing to be the eternal Spirit. The mystery of godliness is therefore not a mystery concerning how three divine persons can somehow be one God. In the words of Paul, the mystery before us is:

“God was manifest in the flesh.”

What had been invisible was made known. The eternal God entered human history through genuine human life. The God whom no man could see in His eternal Spirit nature was revealed in Jesus Christ.

This brings us naturally to the next question. If God was manifested in the flesh, how completely was God revealed in Jesus Christ?

Paul gives the answer: “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

THE WORD WAS GOD – AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH

The declaration that “God was manifest in the flesh” leads us directly to the opening words of John's Gospel. John does not begin with Bethlehem. He begins “in the beginning” and speaks of the Word before describing the Word made flesh. His purpose is to show that the God revealed in Jesus Christ did not begin to exist when Jesus was born.

John wrote in John 1:1-3:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

John gives us three statements that must be held together. The Word was in the beginning. The Word was with God.

The Word was God. We must not emphasise one statement in a way that contradicts another. Whatever “with God” means, John immediately tells us that “the Word was God.”

In the Beginning Was the Word

The Greek word translated Word is LOGOS. It carries the thought of word, expression, communication and reason. John is not introducing another God beside the one true God. He is speaking of the Word that belonged to God and expressed God.

The Word did not begin at Bethlehem. John says that the Word was already “in the beginning.” This agrees with the truth already established concerning the one eternal God. Before creation, before human history and before the birth of Jesus Christ, God already was.

The Word therefore belongs to God's own eternal existence. God did not first exist without His Word and later produce another divine being called the Word. His Word is His own expression and revelation.

John then makes the decisive statement:

“The Word was God.”

He does not say that the Word was another God, a lesser God or one God beside the God already revealed in Scripture. The Word was God. The same Scripture that declares there is one God now tells us that the Word was God.

John 1 must therefore be read within the one-God foundation already established. The Word cannot be made into a second divine being without contradicting both John's own statement and the wider testimony of Scripture.

The Word Was With God

John also says, “the Word was with God.” This statement must not be ignored, but neither should it be separated from the words that follow: “the Word was God.”

The phrase does not require us to imagine two Gods standing beside one another. John has not said, “the Word was with another God.” He says the Word was with God and then identifies the Word as God.

Scripture often speaks of what belongs to God without turning what belongs to Him into another divine person. It speaks of the Word of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, the glory of God and the Spirit of God. These expressions tell us something about God Himself: His expression, His wisdom, His power, His glory and His Spirit.

In the same way, the Word of God must be understood within the identity of the one God. The Word expresses God because the Word is God's own self-expression. John's language prepares us to understand how the invisible God would make Himself known.

We must also resist reading later theological categories back into John's opening words before allowing John to explain himself. John does not use the expression “second divine person,” nor does he define the Word as one person within a triune divine being. His own controlling statement is simpler and stronger: “the Word was God.”

The interpretation of “with God” must therefore preserve, not weaken, that declaration. The language distinguishes God and His Word without dividing the one God into separate divine beings. The later revelation of the Son must arise from this Scriptural foundation rather than from a definition imposed upon the passage beforehand.

The Word was not created. The Word was not another God. The Word was God.

John also says that all things were made by Him. We will return later to the significance of creation being attributed to Jesus Christ. At this stage, the important point is that the Word belongs on the Creator side of the distinction, not among created things. John begins with God, and the Word he describes is God.

The Word Was Made Flesh

John later tells us what happened when the eternal Word entered human history. John wrote in John 1:14:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

This is one of the most important movements in the entire passage: “The Word was God.” Then: “The Word was made flesh.”

John does not say that the Word changed from being God into being nothing more than flesh. Neither does he say that the eternal God ceased to be Spirit. The one eternal God remained what He eternally is, while His Word was manifested through genuine human life.

The flesh was real. Jesus Christ was not an appearance, an illusion or a temporary outward form. The Son entered genuine human life. The detailed nature of that humanity will be examined later in this module, but John's statement must be allowed to stand plainly: “the Word was made flesh.”

At the same time, the flesh does not introduce another God. The One revealed through that genuine human life was the God whom John had already identified at the beginning of the chapter.

The movement is therefore not from God to another divine person. It is from the invisible God to His manifestation in genuine humanity.

The Eternal Life Was Manifested

John later described what he and the other disciples personally experienced. John wrote in 1 John 1:1-2:

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)”

John says that “the life was manifested.” What was eternal and unseen was made known in a form that could be heard, seen, looked upon and handled. The disciples encountered genuine human life, yet through that human life the eternal life of God was manifested.

This does not mean that the eternal Spirit became material or ceased to fill heaven and earth. God remained Spirit. What became visible and touchable was the genuine humanity through which His eternal life was revealed.

John's two writings therefore agree closely. In his Gospel, he says, “the Word was God” and “the Word was made flesh.” In his first epistle, he says that “the life was manifested.” Both passages describe the invisible and eternal God making Himself known in genuine human life.

The Word made flesh is therefore central to understanding Jesus Christ. Jesus is not a man who later became associated with God. Neither is He a second God sent by the first God. In Jesus Christ, the eternal Word who was God was manifested in genuine humanity.

This is why the language of John must remain joined together. The Word was in the beginning. The Word was with God.

The Word was God. The Word was made flesh. The eternal life was manifested.

These statements lead us towards the next great declaration. If the Word who was God was made flesh, how should we understand the identity of the One who came among us?

Matthew gives the answer in one remarkable name: “Emmanuel … God with us.”

EMMANUEL: GOD WITH US

John declares that “the Word was God” and that “the Word was made flesh.” Matthew gives us another powerful statement concerning the identity of the One who came among us. He records the name Emmanuel and then explains exactly what that name means.

Matthew wrote in Matthew 1:22-23:

“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Matthew does not leave the meaning of the name uncertain. Emmanuel means “God with us.” The child who was born was genuinely human, yet the One revealed through that human life was the one true God.

The Name Identifies Who Was With Us

Matthew is drawing upon the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 7:14:

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Isaiah foretold the birth of a son, and Matthew explains the significance of the name given in that prophecy: “God with us.” This is important because Scripture does not describe Jesus simply as a messenger who came to speak about God. Neither does Matthew say that someone less than God came among humanity. His explanation is direct: “God with us.”

The one God whom Scripture has already declared to be invisible, eternal and Spirit made Himself known in genuine human life. The name Emmanuel therefore points beyond the visible humanity to the identity of the God being revealed through that humanity.

This does not mean that the humanity was unreal. A real child was born. A real son was given. Matthew reveals that God Himself was with us in that genuine human life.

Not Another God Beside the Father

The name Emmanuel must be understood within the foundation already established by Scripture. There is one God, and there is no God beside Him. Therefore, “God with us” cannot mean that a second God came to stand beside the first God.

Neither should we read into Matthew's words the idea that one divine person came while other divine persons remained separate from Him. Matthew does not say, “one person of God with us.” He says, “God with us.”

This agrees with Paul's later statement, “God was in Christ.” It also agrees with the declaration, “God was manifest in the flesh.” The language is consistent. The God who had declared that there is none beside Him was not contradicted when Jesus Christ came.

The one true God made Himself known in Jesus Christ. Emmanuel therefore does not create another divine identity beside God. It reveals the presence of the same God who had spoken through Moses and the prophets.

God With Us in Genuine Humanity

The words “God with us” must also be held together with the reality of the Son's genuine humanity. Matthew does not say that God simply appeared as though He were human. He records an actual conception and birth.

The Son was born into human history. He could be seen, heard and touched. He lived a genuine human life. Yet the name attached to that birth tells us who was being revealed: Emmanuel: God with us.

This helps us avoid two opposite errors. We must not reduce Jesus Christ to an ordinary man who represented God while God remained separate from Him. Neither must we deny His genuine humanity by treating the Son as though human life were only an outward appearance.

Scripture holds both truths together. The humanity was real, and the God revealed through that humanity was real. The detailed examination of the humanity of Jesus Christ belongs to a later Study Guide. Here the point is more specific: the birth of the Son brought the invisible God into visible human revelation.

Emmanuel Agrees With the Whole Testimony

The name Emmanuel does not stand alone. It fits naturally with the other declarations we are examining.

John says “the Word was God” and “the Word was made flesh.” Paul says “God was manifest in the flesh” and “God was in Christ.” Matthew says “Emmanuel … God with us.”

These are not unrelated expressions. Together they establish the identity of the One revealed in Jesus Christ.

The one invisible God did not send another God to make Him known. He made Himself known. The God who could not be seen in His eternal Spirit nature was revealed through genuine human life.

This is why Jesus Christ cannot be understood simply as someone standing between humanity and a God who remained unknown. In Jesus Christ, God Himself was made known. The revelation was personal, visible and centred completely in Him.

The question now moves one step further. If Emmanuel means “God with us,” how did the invisible God become visible and knowable to humanity?

Paul gives us another important description of Jesus Christ: He is “the image of the invisible God.”

THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD

We have seen that Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, “God with us.” Paul now gives another important description that helps us understand how the invisible God was made known through Jesus Christ. He calls Him “the image of the invisible God.”

Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15:

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”

The statement brings two truths together. God is invisible, yet Jesus Christ is His image. What cannot be seen in God's eternal Spirit nature is made known through the Son.

The word image must therefore be understood carefully. Paul is not introducing another God who resembles the first God. The same apostle repeatedly declares that there is one God. The image of the invisible God must therefore reveal that one God rather than introduce another divine being beside Him.

The God Who Cannot Be Seen Was Made Known

John had already established the invisibility of God. John wrote in John 1:18:

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

The statement “No man hath seen God at any time” agrees with the truth that God is Spirit. In His eternal nature, God cannot be seen with natural human eyes. Yet John immediately tells us that the Son “hath declared him.”

The invisible God therefore did not remain unknown. He made Himself known through Jesus Christ. Paul's description of Jesus as “the image of the invisible God” expresses the same truth.

Humanity could see Jesus Christ, hear His words and observe His works. Through that visible human life, the invisible God was being made known. This is why the word image cannot mean that Jesus is simply a religious teacher who resembles God's character. The statement is much stronger: Jesus Christ is the human revelation through whom the invisible God Himself is made known.

The Image Does Not Introduce a Second God

We must keep this passage within the foundation already established throughout Scripture. God has declared that there is none beside Him. He alone is God. Paul himself says that “there is none other God but one.”

Therefore, when Paul calls Jesus “the image of the invisible God,” he cannot be teaching that one invisible God exists beside another visible God. The passage does not present one invisible God and another visible God who resembles Him.

Instead, Scripture directs us to the one God in His eternal invisible Spirit nature and to His revelation through Jesus Christ. This agrees with everything we have already examined. John says “the Word was God” and then says “the Word was made flesh.”

Matthew says Emmanuel means “God with us.” Paul says “God was manifest in the flesh” and “God was in Christ.”

Calling Jesus “the image of the invisible God” continues that same Scriptural testimony. The image makes the invisible God known. This is also why we must not understand Jesus as one divine person displaying another divine person from a distance. Scripture directs our attention to the one God making Himself known through the genuine humanity of the Son.

The Invisible God Revealed Through Genuine Humanity

The word image also helps us maintain the distinction between God's eternal nature and the genuine humanity through which He was revealed. God remained invisible Spirit. He did not cease to be omnipresent when Jesus Christ was born. The eternal God was not reduced to the physical dimensions of a human body.

At the same time, Jesus Christ possessed genuine human life. The Son could be seen because His humanity was real. The visible human life did not make God another kind of being. It provided the genuine human revelation through which the invisible God was made known.

This allows both truths to remain intact. God remains the invisible eternal Spirit, and Jesus Christ is the visible human revelation of that invisible God.

The image does not divide God. It reveals Him.

This becomes especially important when we later examine the words of Jesus to Philip. Philip asked to see the Father, but Jesus answered, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” That statement becomes understandable when we recognise that Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God.”

The invisible Father was not physically visible as Spirit. He was being revealed through the Son.

The Image Reveals Who God Is

Paul's wording also tells us something about the purpose of the revelation. God did not reveal Himself in Jesus Christ so that humanity would continue looking elsewhere to discover what God is like.

Jesus Christ makes the invisible God known. This does not mean that every aspect of the infinite God can be reduced to what human eyes saw physically. God remained eternal and omnipresent Spirit. Rather, the God who is invisible chose to reveal His identity, character and divine life through Jesus Christ.

The revelation is therefore centred in Him. When Scripture directs us to Jesus Christ, it is not directing us away from God. It is directing us to the One through whom God has made Himself known.

Paul's declaration must therefore be allowed to retain its full force: Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God.” The invisible God has not remained distant or unknown. He has made Himself known through the genuine human revelation of Jesus Christ.

This prepares us for an even stronger description in the book of Hebrews. Jesus Christ is not only called “the image of the invisible God.” He is also described as: “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.”

THE EXPRESS IMAGE OF HIS PERSON

Paul has described Jesus Christ as “the image of the invisible God.” The writer of Hebrews gives us another closely related description. He speaks of the Son as “the brightness of his glory” and “the express image of his person.” These words deepen our understanding of how the invisible God made Himself known.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 1:1-3:

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

The passage begins with God speaking. In former times He spoke through the prophets. Now He has spoken through the Son.

The Son is therefore not introduced as another God bringing a message from a separate divine source. He is the human revelation through whom the one God has spoken and made Himself known.

The Brightness of His Glory

The writer first describes the Son as “the brightness of his glory.” God’s glory belongs to God Himself, yet that glory is made known in the Son.

John gives the same testimony concerning the Word made flesh. John wrote in John 1:14:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

John says, “we beheld his glory.” The invisible God, whose glory could not be seen as a physical object in His eternal Spirit nature, made that glory known through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ.

The expression “brightness of his glory” therefore directs us to revelation. The glory is God’s glory, and the Son is the brightness through whom that glory is made known.

We should not turn this language into two separate Gods, one possessing glory and another independently possessing a different glory. Scripture has already established that there is one God. The Son reveals the glory of that one God.

This is why Jesus Christ is central to knowing God. God did not leave humanity with only an abstract description of His glory. He made His glory known in a life that could be seen and heard.

The Express Image of His Person

The writer then calls the Son “the express image of his person.” The phrase is strong. It speaks of a precise and definite expression, not a vague resemblance.

Jesus Christ does not simply remind us of God or resemble God in the way a faithful servant may resemble the character of his master. The Son is the human revelation in whom the invisible God is made known.

This agrees with Paul’s words: “Who is the image of the invisible God.” It also agrees with Jesus’ own words: “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

The testimony is cumulative. The invisible God is revealed. His glory is made known. His identity is expressed through the Son.

The word “person” in the King James wording of Hebrews 1:3 must also be handled carefully. We should not automatically read the later theological expression “divine person” back into the verse and conclude that the passage is describing one divine person as the exact representation of another divine person.

The verse itself is showing how God is made known through the Son. The controlling truth remains that there is one God. Hebrews 1:3 does not overturn that foundation. It shows how the God who is invisible has given humanity a true and definite revelation of Himself.

God Has Spoken to Us in the Son

The opening movement of Hebrews is therefore important. God spoke through the prophets, but He has now spoken “by his Son.” The revelation has moved from prophetic testimony to personal manifestation.

The prophets spoke the Word of God. In Jesus Christ, the Word was made flesh. The prophets declared the glory of God. In Jesus Christ, that glory was revealed in genuine human life.

The prophets spoke about God. In the Son, God made Himself known personally.

This does not mean that the humanity of Jesus ceased to be genuine. The Son truly lived as a man. His human life was real. Yet through that genuine humanity, the one invisible God was being declared and made known.

Hebrews therefore adds another powerful witness to the testimony we have already established. God was manifest in the flesh. The Word was God and was made flesh.

Emmanuel means “God with us.” Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God. He is also “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.”

These declarations all point in the same direction. God did not reveal only information about Himself. He made Himself known in Jesus Christ.

The next question now becomes even more direct. If Jesus Christ is the express image through whom the invisible God is made known, who did Jesus say was dwelling within Him? His own answer is unmistakable: “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

THE FATHER THAT DWELLETH IN ME

We have seen that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God and the express image through whom God made Himself known. Jesus now gives us His own explanation of this revelation. When Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus did not direct him towards another divine person standing apart from Himself. He explained that the Father was dwelling in Him.

John recorded in John 14:8-10:

“Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 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? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

The words are direct. Jesus identifies the divine One dwelling within Him as “the Father.” This gives us an essential key for understanding the relationship between the Father and the Son.

The Father Was Not Distant From the Son

Philip’s request was simple: “Lord, shew us the Father.” His question assumed that the Father was someone still to be shown. Jesus answered by directing Philip back to the One already standing before him.

Jesus said, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?” He then declared, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

Jesus did not say that He Himself was the Father in His humanity. The Son was genuine human life. What He explained was that the Father was present and revealed in Him. This is why seeing Jesus was seeing the Father made known.

The Father was therefore not distant from the Son. He was not another God standing beside Jesus or a separate divine being observing His earthly life from elsewhere. Jesus said plainly, “the Father in me.”

The words “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” must also be allowed to stand together. Jesus was not describing two divine beings occupying the same place. He was explaining the relationship between the genuine human Son and the invisible God who dwelt within and was revealed through Him.

The Son lived and spoke in complete dependence upon the Father, while the Father was present in Him as the divine source of the words and works. This is why Jesus could speak from genuine humanity and yet reveal God without deficiency. The Father who dwelt in Him was making Himself known through that human life.

The statement also prevents us from treating the Father as absent whenever Scripture speaks of Jesus Christ. If the Father dwelt in Him, then the works of Jesus were not evidence that another God had appeared. They were evidence that the one invisible God was present and active in the Son.

This agrees with everything already established. God is invisible Spirit, and Jesus Christ is the visible human revelation through whom that invisible God is made known. The Father was not seen as invisible Spirit with natural eyes, but He was revealed through the Son.

The distinction is therefore not between two Gods. It is between the invisible Father and the genuine human Son through whom the Father was revealed.

“The Father That Dwelleth in Me”

Jesus then makes the relationship even clearer: “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” The word dwelleth is important. Jesus does not describe the Father as temporarily assisting Him from a distance. He describes the Father as dwelling in Him.

This agrees directly with Paul’s statement in 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.”

Jesus says “the Father that dwelleth in me.” Paul says “God was in Christ.” These are not separate explanations. The Father dwelling in Jesus Christ was God Himself.

The one God who had declared that there is none beside Him was not absent from Jesus Christ. He was in Christ, acting and revealing Himself through the genuine humanity of the Son.

This is also why the works of Jesus carried divine authority. Jesus did not claim that the works originated independently from His humanity. He said, “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” The divine works revealed the presence and activity of the Father within Him.

The Son therefore did not compete with the Father for divine identity. The Son revealed the Father because the Father dwelt in Him.

The Father Is the Invisible Spirit

To understand this correctly, we must remember what Scripture has already established concerning the nature of God. Jesus said in John 4:24:

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

God is Spirit. The Father is therefore not to be imagined as another physical divine being standing beside the Son. The Father is the invisible eternal Spirit who was dwelling in and revealing Himself through Jesus Christ.

This does not reduce the Son to a body. Jesus possessed complete and genuine humanity, including a real body, soul, mind, emotions, will and human experience. The detailed examination of that humanity belongs to a later Study Guide.

Here the point is specific: the divine Spirit dwelling in the man Christ Jesus was not a created human spirit of human origin. God Himself, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him. Jesus identified that divine indwelling as “the Father that dwelleth in me.”

This preserves both truths. The humanity of the Son remains genuine, while the Deity revealed through that humanity remains the one eternal God.

God was not divided when He dwelt in Christ. The Father did not cease to fill heaven and earth. The omnipresent Spirit could dwell fully in Jesus Christ while remaining the eternal God who is everywhere present.

His indwelling did not confine Him to the physical dimensions of the Son’s body. The one invisible Spirit was fully present and revealed in Jesus Christ without being divided, diminished or confined.

The Father Was Revealed Through the Son

Jesus’ statement therefore gives us the biblical explanation of how the Father was made known. The Father was invisible, while the Son was visible. The Father dwelt in the Son and did the works through Him.

To see the Son was therefore to see the Father revealed. This is not the language of one divine person showing another divine person from a distance. It is the language of indwelling revelation. The invisible Father was making Himself known through the genuine human life of the Son.

This explains why the passages we have studied fit together so naturally. John says “the Word was God” and “the Word was made flesh.” Matthew says “Emmanuel …

God with us.” Paul says “God was manifest in the flesh” and “God was in Christ.” Jesus says “the Father that dwelleth in me.”

These statements form one consistent testimony: The one invisible God made Himself known in Jesus Christ. The question now becomes even more personal and direct. If the Father truly dwelt in Jesus Christ, what did Jesus mean when He said: “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father”? That statement deserves to be examined in its own right because it shows just how completely the invisible Father was revealed through the Son.

I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE

We have seen that Jesus identified the divine One dwelling within Him as “the Father.” He did not describe the Father as another God standing beside Him. He said plainly, “the Father that dwelleth in me.”

This gives us the foundation for understanding another important statement Jesus made concerning His relationship with the Father. Jesus said in John 10:30:

“I and my Father are one.”

These words must be understood within the wider testimony of Scripture. The Father is the eternal invisible Spirit, the Father dwelt in Jesus Christ, and Paul says that “God was in Christ.” Jesus’ statement of oneness therefore belongs within that same revelation.

More Than Agreement

The words “I and my Father are one” should not be reduced simply to agreement of purpose. Two people may agree completely while still remaining entirely separate beings. Jesus goes further than saying that He and the Father shared the same purpose or worked towards the same goal.

The surrounding passage helps explain what He meant. Jesus said in John 10:37-38:

“If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.”

Jesus connects His oneness with the Father to the reality of the Father being in Him. He says, “the Father is in me, and I in him.” This agrees directly with His later words, “the Father that dwelleth in me.”

The oneness is therefore not simply agreement between two divine beings. Jesus points to the indwelling Father. The invisible God was present and revealing Himself through the genuine human life of the Son.

The One God Revealed Through the Son

We must keep Jesus’ words within the foundation already established in Scripture. There is one God, God is Spirit, and the Father is the eternal invisible Spirit. Jesus Christ is the genuine human revelation through whom that invisible God was made known.

Therefore, when Jesus says “I and my Father are one,” He is not introducing two Gods who have become united. Neither is He describing two separate divine beings who agree perfectly with one another. The Father was dwelling in the Son, God was in Christ, and the one invisible God was revealing Himself through genuine humanity.

This preserves the real distinction between the Father and the Son without dividing God. The Father is the eternal Spirit, while the Son is the genuine human life through whom that Spirit was revealed.

The Son is not simply the physical body of Jesus. Jesus Christ possessed complete and genuine humanity, including a real body, soul, mind, emotions, will and human experience. Yet the divine Spirit dwelling within the man Christ Jesus was not a created human spirit of human origin. The Spirit within Him was God Himself, the eternal Father.

This is why Jesus could speak and act from genuine humanity while at the same time revealing the Father perfectly.

The Works Revealed the Oneness

Jesus told those who struggled to believe His words to consider His works. He said, “believe the works,” and then explained why: “that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.”

The works were evidence of the indwelling Father. Jesus had already explained, “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” The works of Jesus were therefore not evidence of a second God operating independently beside the Father. They revealed the presence and activity of the Father within the Son.

This is the Scriptural explanation of their oneness. The Father was not distant or absent. The Father was in Him, and the one God was being revealed through Jesus Christ.

This also prevents us from weakening Jesus’ statement by saying that He was only claiming unity of purpose. Their purpose was certainly one, but Jesus Himself directs us deeper than agreement. He directs us to indwelling when He says, “the Father is in me, and I in him.”

The testimony is therefore consistent. Jesus says, “I and my Father are one.” He explains, “the Father is in me,” and also says, “the Father that dwelleth in me.” Paul then declares, “God was in Christ.”

These are not separate explanations. They form one Scriptural testimony concerning the one invisible God revealed through the Son.

This prepares us to understand what Jesus said when Philip asked Him to show them the Father. Jesus answered, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” If the Father truly dwelt in the Son, and Jesus could say “I and my Father are one,” then His answer to Philip follows naturally. The Father whom Philip wanted to see was already being revealed through Jesus Christ.

HE THAT HATH SEEN ME HATH SEEN THE FATHER

Jesus had already explained that the Father dwelt within Him. His conversation with Philip now brings the revelation to an even more direct statement. Philip wanted Jesus to show him the Father, but Jesus answered that the Father had already been made known through the Son.

John recorded in John 14:8-11:

“Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 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? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.”

Philip's request gives us one of the clearest opportunities in Scripture to understand how Jesus Himself explained the relationship between the Father and the Son.

Philip Wanted to See the Father

Philip said, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” He wanted a revelation of the Father that he believed had not yet been given.

Jesus' response is striking: “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?” Philip asked to see the Father, yet Jesus immediately spoke about Philip knowing Him. The answer shows that Philip had not yet fully understood what was being revealed through the life of Jesus Christ.

Jesus did not tell Philip that the Father would appear separately so that he could see another divine person. Neither did He direct Philip's attention away from Himself. Instead, Jesus said:

“he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

This statement must be understood within everything Scripture has already established. God is Spirit and invisible. No man has seen God in His eternal Spirit nature. Therefore, Jesus could not mean that Philip had physically seen the invisible Spirit with his natural eyes.

Philip had seen the Son, and through the Son he had seen the Father revealed. The distinction is important. The Father remained invisible Spirit, while the Son was genuine human life that could be seen. Yet the Father was so fully present and revealed in the Son that Jesus could say, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

Jesus Did Not Point Philip to Another Divine Person

If the Father were another divine person standing separately beside Jesus Christ, Philip's request would have provided a natural opportunity for Jesus to explain that distinction clearly. Instead, Jesus responded: “how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

Philip's request showed that he had not yet understood the revelation already before him. Jesus then explained why seeing Him was seeing the Father: “I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” And: “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

The answer is not that Jesus and the Father are two Gods who resemble one another. Neither is the explanation that Jesus is a second divine person displaying the character of a first divine person. Jesus points to the Father dwelling in Him.

The invisible Father was not separated from the Son. He was present within and revealing Himself through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ. This agrees directly with Paul's words: “God was in Christ.”

The God who could not be seen as invisible Spirit was being made known through the Son. The Father was not absent or distant. The Father was dwelling in Him.

To See Jesus Was to See God Revealed

We must also understand what Jesus means by “seen.” Philip had physically looked upon Jesus many times, yet Jesus' words go beyond recognising His outward human appearance.

To see Jesus correctly was to understand whom that human life revealed. This agrees with Paul's statement in Colossians 1:15:

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”

Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God.” The God who cannot be physically seen in His eternal Spirit nature is made known through the visible Son.

The writer of Hebrews gives the same testimony when he describes the Son as “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” These passages help us understand Jesus' words to Philip. To see Jesus was not to see another God beside the Father. It was to see the Father's revelation in genuine human life.

The words Jesus spoke revealed the Father. The works Jesus performed revealed the Father. The character displayed through His life revealed the Father. The divine authority operating through Him revealed the Father.

Jesus Himself explains the source: “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” The revelation therefore came from within. The Father who was invisible as Spirit was dwelling in the Son and making Himself known through Him.

The Revelation of the Father Was Not Partial

Jesus' words also show how completely the Father was revealed in Him. He said, ‘he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.’ This prepares us for Paul's later declaration that ‘all the fulness of the Godhead’ dwells bodily in Jesus Christ. The revelation in Jesus was full and complete. The Father dwelling in Jesus Christ was the one eternal God.

This does not mean that God's entire omnipresent existence became physically confined within a human body. God remained the eternal Spirit who fills heaven and earth. Yet everything necessary for God to make Himself truly and fully known was revealed through Jesus Christ.

This is why no additional divine person needs to be seen in order to know the Father more fully. Jesus told Philip that the Father was already being revealed before him.

We no longer need to ask, Where is the Father whom Jesus came to reveal? Jesus has answered: “the Father that dwelleth in me.”

We no longer need to ask, How can the invisible Father be known? Jesus has answered: “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

The Son Makes the Father Known

The testimony of Scripture now fits together with increasing clarity. John says “No man hath seen God at any time,” yet the Son “hath declared him.” Paul says Jesus is “the image of the invisible God,” and Hebrews calls Him “the express image of his person.”

Jesus says “the Father that dwelleth in me” and then “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” These statements are not describing two Gods who happen to resemble one another. They describe the revelation of the one invisible God through the genuine human life of the Son.

The Father is the eternal invisible Spirit. The Son is the genuine human revelation through whom that Father was made known. This is why Jesus Christ stands at the centre of our knowledge of God. We do not look beyond Him in search of another divine person who will reveal something more complete about God.

The Father was revealed in Him. The next section will strengthen this identification even further. Long before the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaiah prophesied concerning the Son who would be given and declared that His name would be called: “The mighty God, The everlasting Father.”

THE MIGHTY GOD AND THE EVERLASTING FATHER

Jesus told Philip, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Long before Jesus spoke those words, Isaiah had already given a remarkable prophecy concerning the identity of the Son who would be born. Isaiah did not simply announce the coming of a child. He also declared the names by which that Son would be known.

Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 9:6:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

The prophecy must be allowed to speak with its full force. The child who is born and the Son who is given is called “The mighty God” and “The everlasting Father.” These names are not placed beside the Son as names belonging to someone else. They identify the One revealed through the Son.

A Child Is Born, a Son Is Given

Isaiah carefully joins two truths together. He says, “a child is born” and “a son is given.” The prophecy therefore brings genuine human birth together with divine revelation.

The child was truly born. Jesus Christ entered human history through genuine human life. His humanity did not exist from eternity. The man Christ Jesus was born in time.

Yet Isaiah does not stop with the humanity of the child. He immediately gives names that reveal the identity of the God made known through that human life.

This distinction is essential. We must not make the Son into an eternal second divine person beside God in order to preserve His Deity. Neither should we reduce Jesus Christ to an ordinary man who later became associated with God. The Son is the genuine human revelation through whom the one eternal God was made known.

The detailed examination of the humanity of Jesus Christ belongs to a later Study Guide. Here Isaiah’s prophecy serves another purpose. It tells us who was being revealed through the child who was born.

The Son Is Called “The Mighty God”

Isaiah calls the Son “The mighty God.” This statement is especially important because Scripture has already established that there is only one God.

Isaiah himself records the words of the LORD:

“beside me there is no God.”

Therefore, when Isaiah later calls the Son “The mighty God,” he cannot be introducing another mighty God beside the LORD. The prophecy must remain in harmony with the one-God revelation already established.

The Son is not a lesser divine being, nor is He another God beside the God of Israel. The One revealed through the Son is “The mighty God.”

This agrees with Matthew’s declaration concerning Emmanuel: “God with us.” It agrees with Paul’s statement that “God was manifest in the flesh.” It also agrees with the declaration that “God was in Christ.”

Isaiah’s words therefore strengthen the same testimony. The child was truly human, but the God revealed through that genuine human life was the mighty God Himself.

We should not weaken the title by treating it as an honorary description that leaves Jesus below the true God. Isaiah does not call Him a mighty servant of God or a mighty representative of God. He calls Him “The mighty God.”

The Son Is Called “The Everlasting Father”

Isaiah then gives an even more striking title: “The everlasting Father.” Traditional Trinitarian teaching distinguishes the Father and the Son as two distinct divine persons and teaches that the Son is not the Father. Isaiah’s language therefore deserves careful attention. The Son who is given is called “The everlasting Father.”

This does not mean that Jesus Christ is His own human father. Neither does it erase the genuine distinction between the Father as eternal Spirit and the Son as genuine human life.

The meaning is revealed by Jesus Himself. He said: “the Father that dwelleth in me.” And: “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

The Father was not another God beside Jesus Christ. The Father was the invisible eternal Spirit dwelling in and revealing Himself through the Son.

Isaiah’s title therefore agrees naturally with John 14. The Son is called “The everlasting Father” because the everlasting Father is revealed in Him.

This preserves both truths. The Son remains genuine humanity, while the Father remains the eternal invisible Spirit. Yet the Father is not separated from the Son as another God or another divine being. He is the God made known through the Son.

The prophecy also directs us away from the idea that the Father must be sought beyond Jesus Christ. Isaiah places the title ‘The everlasting Father’ upon the Son who is given. The Father is revealed in Him.

The Names Identify the God Revealed in the Son

Isaiah’s prophecy gives several names:

• Wonderful;
• Counsellor;
• The mighty God;
• The everlasting Father;
• The Prince of Peace.

These names belong together. They reveal the identity and character of the One made known through the Son.

The prophecy therefore fits naturally within the cumulative testimony of Scripture. John says “the Word was God.” Matthew says “Emmanuel …

God with us.” Paul says “God was manifest in the flesh.” Jesus says “the Father that dwelleth in me” and “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

Isaiah says that the Son is called: “The mighty God, The everlasting Father.” These statements do not point us towards several divine beings sharing divine titles. They point us towards one God making Himself known in Jesus Christ.

The prophecy also protects us from thinking that Jesus Christ reveals only one part of God while another divine person must be sought elsewhere to reveal the Father. Isaiah places the title “The everlasting Father” upon the Son who is given. The Father is revealed in Him.

This is why Isaiah 9:6 belongs at the centre of the Scriptural case concerning the identity of Jesus Christ. The verse does not ask us to choose between His genuine humanity and the Deity revealed through Him. It places both before us in one prophecy.

A child is born. A Son is given. The One made known through that Son bears names that belong to God Himself. The prophecy therefore prepares us to understand the New Testament declarations without creating another God beside the LORD.

This prepares us for another direct statement from Paul. Isaiah identifies the Son as “The mighty God” and “The everlasting Father.” Paul then explains the relationship in equally simple language: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.”

That statement brings us directly to the next section.

GOD WAS IN CHRIST

Isaiah called the Son “The mighty God” and “The everlasting Father.” Paul gives us another direct statement that helps explain how the one true God was present and revealed in Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote in 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.”

The statement is simple but profound: “God was in Christ.” Paul does not describe God as standing apart from Christ while someone else carried out the work of reconciliation. God Himself was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.

God Was Not Standing Apart From Christ

The wording of this verse is important because it tells us where God was in the work of redemption. Paul does not say that God watched from a distance while Christ reconciled the world to Him. He says:

“God was in Christ.”

The God who had declared that there is none beside Him was present in Christ. The work taking place through Jesus Christ was therefore not the work of a second God acting independently from the first. The one God was present and active in the Son.

This agrees directly with the words of Jesus: “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” Jesus identifies the divine One dwelling within Him as the Father. Paul identifies the One in Christ as God.

These statements belong together. The Father who dwelt in Jesus Christ was God Himself.

This is why Scripture can speak of the works of Jesus while at the same time Jesus says that the Father dwelling in Him was doing the works. The genuine human Son was not another divine source acting separately from God. God was revealing and working through Him.

God Was Reconciling the World Unto Himself

Paul does not simply say that God was in Christ. He tells us what God was doing:

“reconciling the world unto himself.”

The direction of reconciliation is important. God was not in Christ reconciling the world to another God. He was reconciling the world “unto himself.”

The One acting in Christ and the One to whom humanity was being reconciled is the same God. This strengthens the one-God testimony.

Redemption does not require us to imagine one divine person standing on one side, another divine person standing between God and humanity, and a third divine person later applying the work. Paul's statement is much more direct: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” The one God was accomplishing His work of reconciliation through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ.

This does not remove the real mediating role of the man Christ Jesus. Scripture calls Him “the one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” His genuine humanity is essential to that mediating work. Yet the Deity acting through Him was not another God or another divine person beside the Father.

God was in Christ. The humanity was genuine. The indwelling Deity was the one eternal God.

The Reconciling God Was Revealed in Jesus Christ

This passage also fits naturally with the other statements we have already examined. Paul says “God was manifest in the flesh” and “God was in Christ.” Jesus says “the Father that dwelleth in me.”

John says “the Word was God” and then “the Word was made flesh.” Matthew says “Emmanuel … God with us.”

These are not separate explanations of different divine persons. They form one consistent revelation.

The one God who is invisible as Spirit was manifest in flesh. The one God was in Christ. The Father dwelt in the Son.

The Word who was God was made flesh. God was with us.

The cumulative testimony is therefore strong. Jesus Christ cannot be understood simply as someone standing alongside God while carrying out God's work. The one true God was present in Him and was making Himself known through Him.

This is why the work of Christ reveals God so completely. His words and works were not disconnected from the Father. Jesus Himself said that the Father dwelling in Him was doing the works. The revelation was internal, not distant.

God Did Not Become Divided

When Paul says “God was in Christ,” we must not imagine that part of God moved into Christ while another part remained elsewhere. God is Spirit and omnipresent. He fills heaven and earth. His presence in Jesus Christ did not divide Him, diminish Him or confine Him to a physical body.

The genuine human life of Jesus had physical location and limitation, but the God revealed through that life remained the eternal Spirit. God could therefore be fully present and revealed in Christ without ceasing to be omnipresent.

This distinction is important because it protects the Scriptural teaching from two errors. We must not separate God from Jesus Christ as though Jesus were another divine being standing beside Him. Neither should we imagine that the infinite God ceased to be Spirit and became confined within human flesh.

Scripture gives us the proper relationship: God was in Christ. The invisible God remained what He eternally is while revealing Himself through genuine humanity.

This brings the argument another step forward. If God was in Christ, if the Father dwelt in Him, if the Word was God and was made flesh, and if the Son is called “The mighty God” and “The everlasting Father,” then we must ask how completely Deity was present and revealed in Jesus Christ.

Paul gives the answer in one of the strongest declarations in Scripture: “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” The next section will therefore examine what it means that all the fulness of Deity dwells bodily in Jesus Christ.

ALL THE FULNESS OF DEITY DWELLS BODILY IN JESUS CHRIST

We have seen that God was in Christ, that the Father dwelt in Him, and that the one invisible God was manifested through genuine human life. Paul now gives one of the strongest statements in Scripture concerning how completely Deity was present and revealed in Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote in Colossians 2:9:

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

Every part of this statement matters. Paul does not say that some of the fulness dwells in Christ. He says “all the fulness.”

He does not describe the presence of Deity as distant or symbolic. He says that the fulness dwells “bodily.”

The verse therefore brings us directly to the completeness of the divine revelation in Jesus Christ.

What Does “Godhead” Mean?

The word Godhead in the King James Version can easily be misunderstood by modern readers. Today, many Christians use the expression the Godhead as though it were a biblical name for three divine persons. That is not what the word means in Colossians 2:9.

The Greek word translated Godhead in this verse is THEOTĒS. It refers to Deity, divine nature or the state of being God. A direct way of expressing Paul’s meaning is therefore:

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of Deity bodily.”

The Greek word does not mean “three persons,” nor does Paul say that three divine persons dwell in Jesus Christ. His statement concerns the fulness of Deity itself.

This becomes clearer when we consider the three places where the English word Godhead appears in the King James Version. Paul wrote in Acts 17:29:

“Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.”

Here the underlying Greek word is THEIOS, which carries the thought of that which is divine or pertaining to God. Paul is contrasting the divine nature with idols made from physical materials.

Paul also wrote in Romans 1:20:

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

Here Godhead translates THEIOTĒS, which refers to divinity or divine quality. Then, in Colossians 2:9, Paul uses THEOTĒS, speaking directly of Deity itself. The three passages do not use the English word Godhead as a collective title for the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The emphasis is upon what belongs to God: His divine nature, divinity and Deity.

The fact that the King James Version uses the same English word for these related Greek terms should not lead us to assume that Godhead is a technical biblical title for a three-person divine structure. The translators were using an English word that spoke broadly of Deity or divine nature. The doctrine must therefore be drawn from what the verses themselves teach, not from a later meaning attached to the English term.

This explains why the wording of Colossians 2:9 is so important. Paul is not asking us to identify separate members within Deity. He is directing our attention to Jesus Christ and declaring that the complete fulness of Deity dwells in Him.

Colossians 2:9 therefore directs our attention fully to Jesus Christ: all the fulness of Deity dwells in Him bodily.

All the Fulness

The word fulness is equally important. Paul says ‘all the fulness.’ Nothing belonging to Deity is absent from Him.

This agrees with Paul’s earlier statement in the same letter. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:19:

“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;”

Again, the emphasis is all fulness. Scripture does not present Jesus Christ as a partial revelation of God. The one true God was fully revealed in Him. Paul directs the fulness itself to Christ.

This agrees with everything we have already established. John says “the Word was God.” Matthew says “Emmanuel …

God with us.” Paul says “God was manifest in the flesh” and “God was in Christ.” Jesus says “the Father that dwelleth in me.” Isaiah calls the Son “The mighty God, The everlasting Father.”

Colossians 2:9 gathers these truths together. All the fulness of what God is dwells in Jesus Christ. Nothing belonging to Deity is absent from Jesus Christ. The divine revelation in Him is complete, and Scripture directs us to Him to know the Father. The divine revelation in Jesus Christ is complete.

The Fulness Dwells Bodily

Paul also says that this fulness dwells “bodily.” That word connects the fulness of Deity with the genuine human revelation of Jesus Christ. God was not simply associated with Jesus from a distance.

His presence was not symbolic, temporary or external. The fulness of Deity dwelt bodily in Him.

This agrees directly with the earlier statements “The Word was made flesh,” “God was manifest in the flesh,” and “God was in Christ.” The invisible God was revealed through genuine human life.

At the same time, we must not misunderstand the word bodily as though the eternal God became physically confined within the dimensions of Jesus’ body. God remained Spirit. He remained omnipresent and continued to fill heaven and earth.

The body of Jesus had physical location and limitation, but the eternal Spirit dwelling in and revealing Himself through that humanity remained unlimited. God was therefore fully revealed in Christ without being divided or reduced.

The presence of all the fulness in Jesus Christ did not mean that one part of God was in Him while another part remained elsewhere. The one omnipresent God was fully revealed through the Son while remaining the eternal Spirit who fills all things.

This distinction preserves both the genuine humanity of Jesus and the completeness of His Deity. The humanity was real, and the Deity was complete.

The Revelation in Jesus Christ Is Complete

Colossians 2:9 therefore declares the completeness of the revelation in Jesus Christ. All the fulness of Deity dwells in Him. Paul’s wording must retain its full force: all the fulness dwells in Christ.

Paul’s wording does not allow us to divide the fulness. All the fulness dwells in Christ.

This is why Jesus could say “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The Father was not absent from Him. It is why Isaiah could call the Son “The everlasting Father,” why Matthew could say “God with us,” and why Paul could write “God was in Christ.”

The Scriptural testimony is cumulative. Jesus Christ is not a partial revelation of God. The one invisible God has made Himself fully known in Him.

Paul immediately connects this truth with the believer’s position in Christ. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:9-10:

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”

The connection is deliberate. All the fulness is in Christ, and the believer is complete in Him.

The detailed teaching concerning the indwelling Christ and the believer’s spiritual completeness belongs to the Study Guide that follows. Here the point is simpler: nothing is lacking in Jesus Christ because all the fulness of Deity dwells bodily in Him.

We therefore do not need to look beyond Jesus Christ to find another part of God. God was manifest in the flesh. God was in Christ. The Father dwelt in Him.

And Paul declares: “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

This brings us naturally to another powerful line of evidence. The LORD declared that He created all things “alone” and “by myself.” Yet the New Testament says that all things were created by Jesus Christ. What does that reveal concerning His identity?

That question leads us directly to the next section:

THE CREATOR REVEALED IN JESUS CHRIST

We have established that all the fulness of Deity dwells bodily in Jesus Christ. Scripture now gives us another powerful witness concerning His identity. The Old Testament declares that the LORD created all things alone and by Himself, while the New Testament attributes creation directly to Jesus Christ.

These statements cannot describe two different Creators. There is one Creator because there is one God. The question is therefore not whether Jesus Christ is connected with creation, but what that connection reveals concerning the identity of the God made known in Him.

All Things Were Created by Him

Paul wrote in Colossians 1:13-17:

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Paul is speaking about the Son. He identifies Him as “the image of the invisible God” and then declares, “by him were all things created.” He strengthens that statement by adding that all things were created “by him, and for him.” Then Paul says, “he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

The One revealed in Jesus Christ is therefore not placed among created things as another creature. Scripture connects Him directly with the creation and continuing existence of all things.

This does not mean that the genuine humanity of Jesus existed before His birth. The man Christ Jesus entered human history in time. The eternal identity revealed through that genuine human life, however, is the God who existed before creation.

The Creator did not begin at Bethlehem. The humanity through which He was revealed did. This distinction allows us to preserve both the genuine humanity of the Son and the eternal identity of the God made known through Him.

The LORD Created Alone and by Himself

The importance of Paul’s statement becomes even clearer when we compare it with the words of the LORD through Isaiah. Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 44:24, where the LORD makes three unmistakable declarations:

“Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;”

• He “maketh all things”;
• He stretched forth the heavens “alone”;
• He spread abroad the earth “by myself.”

There is therefore no room for one Creator called the LORD and another separate divine Creator called Jesus Christ. If the LORD created alone and by Himself, and the New Testament says that all things were created by Jesus Christ, the Scriptures must be understood together.

The conclusion is not that two divine persons jointly performed what the LORD described as being done “alone” and “by myself.” The conclusion is that the Creator revealed in Jesus Christ is the one LORD who created all things.

This agrees with John’s testimony. John wrote in John 1:3:

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

John has already told us, “the Word was God.” He now declares that all things were made through that Word. The Word through whom creation came into being was not another Creator beside God. The Word was God Himself in His eternal expression and purpose.

When that Word was made flesh, the Creator was being made known in genuine human life.

The Creator Was Made Known in Jesus Christ

The testimony now becomes remarkably consistent. The LORD says, “I am the LORD that maketh all things.” He says He created “alone” and “by myself.” John says, “All things were made by him,” while Paul says concerning the Son, “by him were all things created.”

These statements cannot be reconciled by introducing more than one Creator. Scripture has already established that there is one God and one Creator. They are reconciled by recognising who was revealed in Jesus Christ. The one LORD who created the heavens and the earth made Himself known through the Son.

This is another reason Scripture directs us to recognise the identity of the Creator revealed in Jesus Christ. The one LORD who created all things made Himself known through the Son.

Paul goes even further. He says, “by him all things consist.” Creation not only came into existence through the power of God; it continues by His sustaining power. The One revealed in Jesus Christ is therefore connected not only with the beginning of creation but with its continuing existence.

The Creator and Sustainer are not two Gods. The God who created all things and the God revealed in Jesus Christ are the same one God. This brings together the testimony we have established throughout this Study Guide:

• The Word was God;
• The Word was made flesh;
• Emmanuel means God with us;
• Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God;
• The Father dwelt in Him;
• God was in Christ;
• All the fulness of Deity dwells bodily in Him;
• The God revealed in Him is the Creator of all things.

The evidence therefore continues to point in one direction. The one invisible God has made Himself fully known in Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION: THE ONE INVISIBLE GOD MADE KNOWN

This Study Guide began with the question: How did the one invisible God make Himself known to humanity? Scripture has answered that question repeatedly and consistently. The one God who is Spirit, invisible, eternal and omnipresent revealed Himself through Jesus Christ.

Paul declared that “God was manifest in the flesh.” John wrote that “the Word was God,” and then that “the Word was made flesh.” Matthew identified Jesus as Emmanuel, “God with us.”

Paul called Jesus Christ “the image of the invisible God,” while the writer of Hebrews described the Son as “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” Jesus Himself explained the revelation when He said, “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” When Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus answered, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

These statements do not direct us towards several Gods or several separate divine beings. They reveal the one invisible God making Himself known through the genuine human life of the Son.

Isaiah strengthens this testimony by calling the Son “The mighty God” and “The everlasting Father.” Paul then states the relationship directly: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” The God revealed in Jesus Christ was not another God beside the Father. The one eternal God was present in and revealed through the Son.

The revelation was therefore not partial. Paul declares that ‘all the fulness of the Godhead bodily’ dwells in Jesus Christ. Nothing belonging to Deity is absent from Him, and the one true God was fully revealed through Him.

The testimony of creation leads to the same conclusion. The LORD declared that He created all things “alone” and “by myself,” while the New Testament says that all things were created by Jesus Christ. Scripture does not give us two Creators. The one Creator made Himself known in Jesus Christ.

The foundation established in the first Study Guide therefore remains unchanged: there is one God. This Study Guide has now shown how that one God was made known. The Word was made flesh, God was with us, the Father dwelt in the Son, God was in Christ, and all the fulness of Deity dwells bodily in Him.

The testimony of Scripture is therefore consistent from beginning to end. The invisible God did not remain distant or unknown. He made Himself known fully and personally in Jesus Christ.

The next Study Guide will take the revelation one step further. The same Jesus Christ who revealed the one true God does not remain distant from His people. Scripture declares the New Covenant mystery:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

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