You are on page 1of 7

Did Jesus Christ Pre-Exist?

New Testament Teaching

Let us begin by stating the obvious. Only in the New Testament do we read
of Jesus as someone who is alive and taking part in the affairs of human
beings living on the earth. And, equally importantly, it is only in the New
Testament that we read about the God of heaven being described over and
over again as "Father", a term which is extremely rare in the Old Testament
Scriptures.

That does not mean that there is no mention of Jesus in the Old Testament.
As the coming Jewish Messiah, much is made of the fact that God would send
a Saviour and Deliverer. But the Jewish Scriptures only speak of Jesus in the
sense of looking forward to his Coming.

He is not spoken of as already existing, but as someone who would exist one
day, when the time was right. Let us look at this more closely.

From the time when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden through to the
end of the Old Testament there are repeated prophecies about the future
coming of Jesus. Here are some of them.

Old Testament Prophecies

In the Garden of Eden a 'Seed' - a descendant of Eve - was promised, who


would overcome sin and reverse the problem introduced into the world by
Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God.

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and
her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel"
(Genesis 3:15).

In Psalm 22, David wrote about Jesus, using many phrases that pointed
forward quite explicitly to the crucifixion. For example "they pierced my hands
and my feet" and "They parted my garments among them".

Once the prophet Isaiah met wicked King Ahaz and made one of the most
famous prophecies of the Old Testament. He said that a virgin would one day
bear a son:

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name
Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).
The prophet Micah predicted that a ruler would come from the town of
Bethlehem to reign over the people of Israel, adding something of much
interest to our theme.

"You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of
Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the One to be ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). This
ruler, he says, has been planned from the beginning of time. We will
come back to this point later.

Zechariah predicts the entry into Jerusalem by Jesus, an event that occurred
just before Jesus was crucified just outside that very city. He too speaks of
Jesus as a king but we know from the events themselves that this prophecy is
fulfilled when Jesus is about to suffer his greatest trial
(see Zechariah 9:9 and Matthew 21:4-5).

None of the men who wrote these things met Jesus. They did not hear
his voice; they did not see him crucified; they do not claim that he
existed in their time. They all expected him to appear in the future, at a
time to be decided by God himself.

Mortality of Jesus

There is an even more important reason for limiting the existence of Jesus to
New Testament times. It has to do with the fact that Jesus came into this world
to bring salvation to all people. They had become a mortal race because
Adam and Eve disobeyed God and the removal of the curse could only be
done if another human being could obey Him perfectly. Jesus came to do
this.

For that to really happen it had to be possible for Jesus to be tempted as


other humans were, and it had to be possible for him to disobey. That is
exactly what happened. His temptations were absolutely genuine and so were
his accomplishments.

"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin"
(Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus perfectly obeyed his Father and salvation for mankind was
accomplished. Jesus rose from the dead and became immortal - the first
to rise from the dead never to go back into the grave again.
Exalted by God

The notion that Jesus had lived as a spirit before he was born takes
away the power of his triumph over sin and death and the Bible knows
nothing of such an idea. Indeed it carefully explains that Jesus was
rewarded for his faithful obedience by his Father, who exalted him to sit at His
right hand in heaven because he had been faithful. He was not returning to
somewhere he had been before, but was being elevated to a new status
and position by and with his Father:

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the
form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made
himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the
likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the
cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those 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).

Although he was the Son of God, because God was his Father, Jesus was
born a man, lived a life serving others, and was willing to go to the cross - all
in obedience to his Father. Then, and only then, did God exalt him and give
him a name above every name. It is only at this stage in the plan of salvation
that Jesus is given the greatest honour. Again the idea that he had existed
before his birth does not fit in with these Bible truths.

Key Principles

• The Birth of Jesus and important details about his life on earth are
often mentioned in the Old Testament, but he is always spoken of
there as someone who was to come, when the time was right, not
as someone who was already in existence;
• It was vital that Jesus should be born a mortal man if the purpose of
God was to be accomplished - he had to be made like Adam,
tempted like him, but obedient - unlike him! As we all know, we
inherit characteristics from our father and mother when we are born;
Jesus inherited his mortality from Mary, and all that came with
that. It was an important part of his make-up; so he could not
have lived in heaven beforehand as the same person who then
lived on earth - otherwise Mary would have contributed nothing -
except a mortal body;
• God rewarded Jesus for his faithful obedience by exalting him to a
place at His right hand in heaven. He did not return there because it
was his original abode. Scripture says that God his Father, who
raised him from the dead, also exalted Jesus to glory.
Perfect Plan

God's purpose was known to him from the foundation of the world, as the
Bible makes clear: "Known to God from eternity are all his works"
(Acts 15:18).
Now and again that Divine foreknowledge is specifically referred to. Jeremiah,
for example, said that he was known by God even before he had been born:
"The word of YAHWEH came to me, saying: 'Before I formed you in the womb
I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a
prophet to the nations'" (Jeremiah 1:4,5).
One New Testament passage says that the names of all God's people were
both known and recorded from the beginning, and the same passage tells us
something very important about the person and origins of the Lord Jesus. ...
"Authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. And all who
dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the
Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world"
(Revelation 13:7,8).
It is the description of the Lamb that we particularly need to notice. He is
described as having been "slain from the foundation of the world". What does
this mean? It cannot mean that he was slain at the foundation of the
world. We know when the crucifixion took place.
We also know that God was able to predict to Adam, Eve and many others
that Jesus would come to bring salvation. The only way we can understand
this verse in Revelation is to recognise that God knew from the beginning that
His Son would overcome and give his life in a most painful way.

The Right Time

The great truth that arises from these things is that God loved the world from
the beginning and put His plan in place at the very start of the creation of the
world. This plan centred on Jesus - but Jesus would not appear immediately.
He would only appear in the fullness of time. Then he would be born of Mary:
"When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a
woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we
might receive the adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:4,5).
Let us not interfere with the wisdom of God. Clearly Jesus came into
existence when the time was right for God's only-begotten son to be born. He
had been in God's plan and purpose from the beginning; now that plan came
into effect.
Jesus before Abraham?

There is a passage in John's gospel which is perfectly consistent with what we


have already considered. Here it is:
"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad."
Then the Jews said to (Jesus), "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you
seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before
Abraham was, I am" (John 8:56-58).
This passage has often been used to support the idea that Jesus existed
before he was born. When reading the Bible we must remember that it always
gives us the same message. It is consistent throughout and verses that seem
to conflict require closer consideration. If we have questions about a verse we
should always look at its setting. In this case one thing is quickly seen.

Heated Debate

There are many other references to Abraham in the discussion Jesus is


having with the Pharisees. In v33 they boast of their descent from Abraham.
In v39 Jesus tells them that they ought to follow in the ways of Abraham if
they were truly his descendants.
Because of what Jesus says they ask an important question in verse 53: "Are
you greater than our Father Abraham, who is dead?"
Remember that we have a big advantage when answering this question
because we know what happened to Jesus after this and those events
established him as much greater than Abraham. But, when the question was
asked, the Pharisees did not know and Jesus still had to try to convince all
Jews that he really was their Messiah. You sense the hostility from v53: "Who
do you make yourself?"
Now look at the answer Jesus gives in v56 - "Your father Abraham rejoiced to
see my day, and he saw it and was glad". How could this be? The Pharisees
were dismissive: "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen
Abraham?" Note the way in which they have changed round the words of
Jesus. He did not claim to have seen Abraham, but that Abraham saw his
day. What could that mean?

Gospel to Abraham

In Paul's letter to the Galatians we are told that God could see in advance the
way things would work out for the Gentile nations:
The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith,
preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the
nations shall be blessed" (Galatians 3:8).
God knew that Jesus would come into the world and that, through faith in him,
all nations would then have the opportunity to be saved. This plan was given
to Abraham through one of the major promises of God: "In you shall all
nations be blessed" (Genesis 12:3) and, Paul says, this was the gospel
preached to Abraham.
Note carefully the fact that this development was foreseen by God and was
told to Abraham as something yet in the future, something we know was due
to happen "in the fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4).
In John chapter 8 therefore - the passage we were looking at - we are told
that Abraham saw Jesus' day - he looked forward to it as something that
would happen in the future and, because that day contained so much
promise, he rejoiced in the knowledge that he would be there to see the
purpose of God come to its fulfilment, when he [is in the Resurrection] ...
raised from the dead.
This the Pharisees did not understand, so Jesus had to spell it out for them.
When he said "Before Abraham was I am" he was gently explaining to them
that he is more important than Abraham in the purpose of God, because
God has built His whole plan of salvation around the Lord Jesus. It was a
matter of who has the pre-eminence; not of who preexisted. We do well to
recognise the truth of God's plan ourselves, so that we can take our place
alongside Abraham and many others who are looking forward to the day when
Jesus will be revealed as the Saviour of the world.

Creation Account

Step by step God brought our world into existence. As the Psalmist would
later say:

"By the word of YAHWEH the heavens were made, and all the host of them
by the breath of his mouth ... For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded,
and it stood fast" (Psalm 33:6,9).

That "word" of command and control was with God from the very beginning. In
the Old Testament it is spoken of as God's wisdom - His wise purpose by
which all things came to be and, as befits the Hebrew language which often
describes abstract things in poetic form, wisdom is pictured as though it were
a woman who was present with God at creation:

"YAHWEH possessed me at the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there
was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when
there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were
settled, before the hills, I was brought forth; while as yet he had not made the
earth or the fields, or the primeval dust of the world. When he prepared the
heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep ... Then I
was beside him, as a master craftsman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing
always before him, rejoicing in his inhabited world, and my delight was with
the sons of men" (Proverbs 8:22-31).

Read that carelessly and you might think that there was indeed
somebody there with God from the beginning - another God perhaps, or
the Lord Jesus Christ. But read it in its context, and it is quite clear that this is
a poetic, and very beautiful, way of explaining to us that everything God
did was governed by and executed with wisdom. He did everything in the
right way and for the best possible reasons.
Word Made Flesh

The New Testament says the same thing, in language that is very similar to
that of the Book of Proverbs. Talking about the wisdom or purpose of God, it
tells us that:

"in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through
him, and without him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:1-3).

God had a plan and purpose - which is what the Greek word 'logos'
really means - from the beginning. That plan, that 'logos', was His
'Word'. It was spoken at Creation, when God brought everything into
existence by a Word of Command. It found expression in a very special way
"in the fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4) when the Lord Jesus was born. Then
God 'spoke' to us in a Son (Hebrews 1:2) or, as John expresses it:

"The Word became 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 ... No one
has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the
Father, he has declared him" (John 1.14,18).

When Jesus lived on earth he showed us as never before what the Father is
like - he 'declared' Him to us, and to this day that revelation helps us to
understand what a kind, compassionate and gracious God we have, who so
loved us that He sent His Son into the world to save us (John 3:16).

John Shemeld

You might also like