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The Teachings of Jesus · KJV Study

Jesus: Fully God and Fully Man

The Bible never uses the phrase “fully God and fully man.” It teaches both truths anyway — plainly, in passage after passage. This study builds the doctrine out of Scripture itself, then asks why it had to be so, and what it means for the gospel.

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In This Study

Section 1

Introduction

Christians often describe Jesus Christ as “fully God and fully man.” It is worth being honest about where that sentence comes from: those exact words are not a quotation from the Bible. You will not find them in any verse. They are a summary — a short way of holding together two things the Bible does say, over and over, in language of its own.

The first is that Jesus is God. John opens his Gospel by saying that the Word was God and that all things were made by Him. Thomas looks at the risen Christ and says, “My Lord and my God.” Paul writes that in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. The Father Himself addresses the Son as “O God” in Hebrews 1:8.

The second is that Jesus became man. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. He grew, hungered, wearied, wept, was tempted, bled, and died. Paul calls the one mediator between God and men “the man Christ Jesus.” Hebrews says that in all things He was made like unto His brethren.

So the doctrine is not built by asserting a formula and hunting for verses to prop it up. It is built the other way round: read what Scripture says about Jesus, refuse to throw away either half of it, and the summary is what you are left holding. That is the work of this study.

A note on words

The Bible does use its own summaries of the same truth. 1 Timothy 3:16 says, “God was manifest in the flesh.” Matthew 1:23 gives the name Emmanuel, “which being interpreted is, God with us.” When we say “fully God and fully man,” we are reaching for what those verses already say.

Section 2

Jesus Is God

Four passages carry most of the weight. None of them says “Jesus is fully God” in those words. Each one says something that cannot be true of a creature.

John 1:1 (KJV)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

What this passage contributes

John reaches back before creation and says three things in one breath. The Word already was — He is not a creature with a beginning. The Word was with God — He is genuinely distinct from the Father, not another name for Him. And the Word was God — whatever it means to be God, that is what the Word is. Two verses later John adds that “all things were made by him” (John 1:3), which places Him on the Creator’s side of the line between God and everything else.

John 20:28 (KJV)

“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

What this passage contributes

This is a man speaking to the risen Jesus, face to face, and calling Him “my God.” Jesus does not correct him. In the next verse He commends the faith behind the confession. Scripture forbids giving to a creature what belongs to God alone, so a rebuke is exactly what we would expect here if Thomas had overspoken — and instead we get a blessing on those who will believe the same thing.

Colossians 2:9 (KJV)

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

What this passage contributes

Paul is not saying Jesus is godlike, or that God worked powerfully through Him. He says the fulness of the Godhead — all of it, not a portion — dwells in Him. The word “bodily” is the startling part: this fulness resides in the incarnate Christ, in a real body. Colossians 1:15-20 has already said the same thing from another angle: all things were created by Him, He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

Hebrews 1:8 (KJV)

“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.”

What this passage contributes

Here God the Father addresses the Son as “O God.” Hebrews 1 has been building to this: the Son is the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, the one by whom the worlds were made, seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, worshipped by angels. The chapter’s whole argument is that the Son is not the greatest of God’s messengers but God Himself, speaking to us.

Jesus made the claim Himself, in the plainest terms available to a Jewish audience. In John 8:58 He said, “Before Abraham was, I am” — reaching past the patriarch’s lifetime and taking up the divine name. His hearers understood exactly what He meant; the next verse says they took up stones. Elsewhere He said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), and He taught that all men should honour the Son “even as they honour the Father” (John 5:23).

Section 3

Jesus Became Man

The Bible is just as insistent here. Jesus did not resemble a man or borrow a human appearance for a while. He genuinely shared our nature and our experience — and never once sinned.

John 1:14 (KJV)

“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.”

What this passage contributes

The same Word who “was God” in verse 1 is the subject of verse 14. He was made flesh — not a phantom, not an appearance, but flesh. “Dwelt among us” is the language of pitching a tent in the camp: He lived in the neighbourhood, ate at tables, walked the roads. And John says “we beheld his glory,” so the flesh did not cancel the glory; it housed it.

1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV)

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

What this passage contributes

Paul deliberately calls the mediator “the man Christ Jesus.” A mediator has to belong to both sides. This one verse holds the whole study together: there is one God, and the mediator between God and men is a real man — and the rest of Scripture tells us that man is also God.

Hebrews 2:14-18 (KJV)

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same… Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.”

What this passage contributes

Hebrews presses the point as far as it will go: “in all things” like His brethren. He took hold of flesh and blood, not the nature of angels. He suffered. He was tempted. He died. And the passage says this was necessary — “it behoved him” — for the sake of the people He came to save.

Philippians 2:6-8 (KJV)

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

What this passage contributes

Read what this passage does not say. It does not say He stopped being in the form of God. It says the one who was equal with God took something on — the form of a servant, the likeness of men — and humbled Himself to death. The incarnation is addition and humility, not subtraction: He took up what He did not have without laying down what He was.

A real human life, on the record

The Gospels are not shy about His humanity. They record it in ordinary detail.

  • Luke 2:52

    He grew — “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

  • Matthew 4:2

    He was hungry — “he was afterward an hungred.”

  • John 4:6

    He was tired — “being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well.”

  • John 11:35

    He grieved — “Jesus wept.”

  • Luke 24:39

    Even risen, He was bodily — “a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”

Truly man, yet without sin

Sin is not part of what it means to be human. It is what has gone wrong with us. So when Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,” it is not describing a man with a piece missing. It is describing humanity as God made it, unspoiled.

This is why the temptation accounts matter and are not window dressing. He was hungry after forty days. The pressure was real. He did not sin — and Hebrews draws the conclusion that “he is able to succour them that are tempted,” precisely because He has been there.

John treats this as a test of true doctrine: “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” (1 John 4:2).

Section 4

God Manifest in the Flesh

The two truths are not two subjects. They are two things said about one person. This is what the word “incarnation” names: God the Son taking human nature into union with Himself, and living a genuine human life without ever ceasing to be what He eternally is.

John 1 shows the joint. Verse 1 says the Word was God. Verse 14 says that same Word was made flesh. John does not switch subjects between those verses, and he does not say the Word turned into flesh the way water turns into ice. The Word — still the Word, still God — was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Philippians 2 shows the same thing as a movement. The one “being in the form of God” took up “the form of a servant.” Every verb in the passage is something He did or took, not something He lost. And Colossians 2:9 gives the result in a single line: in Him the whole fulness of the Godhead dwells — bodily.

Hold both, and the New Testament reads straight through. Jesus can say He is thirsty and also say, “Before Abraham was, I am.” He can sleep in a boat and then command the storm. He can weep at a grave and then call the dead man out of it. Drop either half and half the Gospel accounts stop making sense.

He did not stop being God

Colossians 2:9 is written of the incarnate Christ, in the present tense: in Himdwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

He did not pretend to be man

Hebrews 2:14 says He “took part of the same” flesh and blood as the children — and after the resurrection He said, “handle me, and see” (Luke 24:39).

He is one person, not two

Scripture always says “he” of Jesus. One person, addressed as one, worshipped as one, trusted as one — “the man Christ Jesus” who is also our God and Saviour.

Section 5

Why Did Jesus Have to Become Man?

Hebrews does not leave us guessing. It gives reasons, and it uses the language of necessity: “it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.”

To represent us as one of us

A representative has to share the nature of those he represents. Hebrews says plainly that “he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham,” and that “in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.” The debt was owed by men, so it had to be answered by a man.

Hebrews 2:16-17

To be tempted, and not sin

Hebrews 4:15 says He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Both halves matter. The temptation was real, so His sympathy is real and not a pose. The sinlessness was complete, so He had no sin of His own to answer for and could stand in the place of those who did.

Hebrews 4:15

To suffer and to die

God, in Himself, cannot die. Yet death was the penalty, and it had to be paid. So the Son “took part of the same” flesh and blood as the children, “that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” The incarnation gave Him something He could lay down.

Hebrews 2:14

To be a merciful and faithful High Priest

Hebrews 2:17 names the purpose: “that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” Because He suffered temptation Himself, “he is able to succour them that are tempted.” That is why Hebrews 4:16 can invite us to “come boldly unto the throne of grace” — the throne is occupied by someone who knows what it costs to be human.

Hebrews 2:17-18, Hebrews 4:15-16

The passage behind all four

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”

Hebrews 2:14-18 (KJV)

And then the invitation that follows from it: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” — Hebrews 4:15-16.

Section 6

Why Did Jesus Have to Be God?

A merely good man, however sinless, could not do what Jesus did. Scripture ties the value of His work, the reach of His authority, and the certainty of our salvation to who He is.

Only God can forgive sin against God

When Jesus told a paralysed man “thy sins be forgiven thee,” the scribes drew the right conclusion from the wrong premise: “who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:5-7). They were correct that forgiving sin is God’s prerogative. What they missed is who was standing in front of them.

Only a sinless offering could be accepted

Hebrews 4:15 says He was without sin, and Hebrews 9:14 says He “offered himself without spot to God.” A sinner cannot pay another sinner’s debt; he already owes his own. The sinlessness of Christ is not incidental to the cross — it is what made the cross an offering instead of a death.

Only an infinite person could bear an infinite worth

Acts 20:28 speaks of the church of God “which he hath purchased with his own blood,” and Hebrews 10:10 says we are sanctified “through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Once for all — the work is finished and does not need repeating, because of the worth of the person who did it.

His authority and His saving reach are God’s own

He claims what belongs to God: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18), and Scripture calls Him “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Because He is God and lives for ever, “he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Both halves, or neither works

If Jesus were only man, He could die — but His death could not carry the worth required, and He could not forgive sin or save “to the uttermost.” If Jesus were only God, He could not die at all, could not be tempted as we are, and could not represent us as one of us. The gospel needs the mediator Scripture actually gives us: one person, God and man, able to lay a hand on both sides of the breach.

Section 7

Why This Matters for Salvation

This is not a puzzle for theologians to keep among themselves. The gospel is news about a person, and who that person is decides what the news is worth.

Salvation comes through a mediator — “one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). A mediator who was not truly man could not stand in our place. A mediator who was not truly God could not bring us to the Father. Because He is both, Jesus can say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6), and the apostles can say there is “none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

It also settles how you may come. Hebrews does not tell us to approach a distant figure cautiously. It tells us to come boldly — because the throne of grace is occupied by someone who has felt our infirmities and remained without sin. You are not explaining yourself to a stranger. You are trusting a High Priest who has been here.

And it makes the promise sure. His work is “once for all” and needs no supplement (Hebrews 10:10); He “ever liveth to make intercession” and so saves to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25). The confidence of the believer never rests on the strength of his own grip. It rests on the identity of the one he is holding.

The response Scripture asks for is the one Thomas gave — to look at Jesus Christ and call Him “my Lord and my God” — and then to receive Him: “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

What the Bible Says About SalvationBegin Following Jesus

Key Truth

“Jesus did not stop being God when He became man. The Word who was God became flesh and dwelt among us.”

John 1:1 (KJV)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 (KJV)

“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.”

Colossians 2:9 (KJV)

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

Read together, John 1:1 · John 1:14 · Colossians 2:9 say it in order: who He was, what He became, and what still dwells in Him.

Every Scripture in This Study (KJV)

Read them straight through, in order. Each reference opens the full passage on BibleGateway in the King James Version.

“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 1:1-3 →

“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 1:14 →

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

John 8:58 →

“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

John 20:28 →

“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. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

Colossians 1:15-20 →

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

Colossians 2:9 →

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:5-11 →

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

1 Timothy 2:5 →

“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; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 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 1:1-8 →

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”

Hebrews 2:14-18 →

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:14-16 →

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.

Section 9

Fellowship Questions

Work through these on your own, in a group, or in the study fellowship below.

  1. What does John 1:1 tell us about Jesus before His birth?

  2. What does “the Word was made flesh” mean?

  3. What does Colossians 2:9 mean by “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”?

  4. Why was it important that Jesus genuinely became human?

  5. How does Hebrews 4:15 affect the way you approach Jesus?

  6. Why does Jesus’ identity matter to the gospel?

  7. What question about Jesus do you still have?

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  • Questions About Jesus Being God

    Ask about the passages that speak of Christ as God — John 1:1, John 20:28, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:8 — and what they say about who He is.

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  • Questions About Jesus Becoming Man

    Ask about the incarnation: John 1:14, 1 Timothy 2:5, Philippians 2:6-8, and Hebrews 2:14-18.

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  • Scripture Fellowship

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  • What I Learned

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