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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The biblical argument for the pre-existence of Jesus is certainly multi-faceted. Pre-existence is defined as "existence in a former state or previous to something else." In the case of Jesus Christ...
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JD Abshire
After Christ's resurrection when he appeared to the disciples, Luke 24:44-45 "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures," First, we need to consider that the Lord was referring to the WHOLE of the Old Testament. 1. The law of Moses. 2. The prophets. 3. The Psalms. Much scripture does in fact represent a fore-shaddowing but the Lord Jesus was also very active prior to His incarnation. In Genesis 3:8 "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden" I believe the reference to "voice" and "walking" goes beyond methaphor and is a actually the pre-incarnate appearance of the "Word of God" (John 1:1). The title "Angel of the LORD" appears 64 times in the KJV and is especially conspicuous. Genesis 16 records the account of Hagar running away from Sari's harsh treatment where the Angel of the LORD found her in the wilderness. (V. 6-7). After a verbal exchange and instruction in V. 7-9, we read: "And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." (V. 10-12). "And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly,....." the Angel didn't say God will but "I will". Pretty powerful angel, don't you agree? In Genesis 22 we have the account of Abraham at the threshold of taking Isaac's life. In V. 11-12 "And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." "I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son FROM ME." (caps mine). Genesis 22:15-18 "And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." "By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD," "I will bless thee"; "I will multiply thy seed"; "because thou hast obeyed my voice." After crossing the Jordan and near Jericho, Joshua 5 13:15 records: "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." Notice: 1. He identified himself as "captain of the host of the LORD". (more on this later). 2. Joshua worshipped him. (Compare to Acts 10:25-26; Revelation 22:9) 3. "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy." (Compare to Exodus 3:5) Captian of the host of the LORD/LORD of hosts. Exact reference to "LORD of hosts" is found 235 times in the KJV. Time or space certainly does not allow reference to all but I feel these few are sufficient to establish His identity. "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last (Revelation 1:8,17) and beside me there is no God." Redeemer? First, last? No God beside me? "For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name. I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass." (Isaiah 48:2-3) David declared: "Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray." (Psalms 5:2) And....... "Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God." (Psalms 84:3) In light of the previous scripture, there should be no doubt as to the pre-existence of the LORD Jesus Christ. What a wonderful Lord and savior we have! The creator, life giver, the sustainer, the most wonderful person I have ever met. "We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)
Tony Flores
Yes, the Bible supports the pre-existence of Jesus. John 1 1-5. 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. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. God in the form of Jesus Christ created all that has ever been created. He was with God in the beginning as He is the second person of the Trinity. He also is life and is the light of men, the light is to know Almighty God and only through Him can we know the Father. Jesus came so we can have life (Eternal life) and His light (through the Holy Spirit) teaches all spiritual things. Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life for all men kind is the only way to Eternal Life. If you do not know Him, what are you waiting for? He invites you to His table.
Lynda Hickman
Does the Bible support the "pre-existence" of Jesus? Gertrude Stein once wrote "a rose is a rose is a rose" & Shakespeare wrote "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" which when properly interpreted means that it doesn't matter what something (or Someone) is called, it matters what it (He) is. So whether Jesus was named Jesus as directed by the angel of the LORD in Matthew 1:21, or was known as Jesus to all of heaven before His incarnation matters not. He is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Most Holy One of Israel (Ps. 71:22), the Alpha & the Omega (Rev. 22:13) or my LORD & Savior, & always will be. In the book of Daniel if you read the first 6 chapters, you will find an amazing picture of Daniel's life. But in Daniel 7, the depths of which have yet to be discerned, we find the description of the vision that was given to Daniel of four beasts, the "Ancient of Days" as GOD the Father & as Christ on His throne. Personally, I have always appreciated the fact that Daniel, in spite of his grieving spirit, tells us at the very beginning, that it is indeed a vision that came in a dream, that he wrote it all down, telling the "sum of the matters" & that the interpretation was not his own, but was given to him by "one of those who stood by" (referencing vs. 10). Of the four beasts, as each one fell the next would arise. The last to arise is generally believed to be the Roman empire that will remain until the return of the Kingdom of GOD. And we know that Rome is certainly a power today. In vs's. 19-25 we can see a very clear picture of the fourth & final beast, even to see it's agenda. The first half of vs. 25 tells us who the beast is. It is the Antichrist. And it seems that it is the fourth beast that Daniel saw as being quite different from the first three. And he wanted to know more about the beast that was "exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, & his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, & stamped the residue with his feet." Daniel sees this fourth beast prevailing against the saints, but only until the arrival of the "Ancient of Days" (vs. 9, 13 & 22) It is important to note that the words "Ancient of Days" are found only three times in Scripture, all three in Daniel 7. And in these three references we are given a most wonderful picture of GOD the Father & GOD the Son. In Isaiah 43:13, GOD speaks of Himself saying, "yea, before the day was I am He; & there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, & who shall let it?" The first description of the Ancient of Days is in Daniel 7:9 & is supported by the verses in Rev. 1:13-15 that describe the "Son of Man," that is Christ, as One Whose hair was "white like wool, as white as snow" & His eyes were as "the flame of fire." So Daniel 7:9 is a wonderful picture of the "Son of Man" that is Jesus Christ on His throne. Verse 13 tells us of Christ as He comes in the clouds & comes before the "Ancient of Days" Who is GOD the Father. And reading vs. 14 defines for us His dominion, an everlasting dominion, His glory & His reign over all people of all nations. With great sorrow we can know that the "little horn" will prevail in it's war against the saints (vs. 21). We as believers & followers of Christ must expect great oppression at the hands of unbelievers. And the reality of that is most evident each day as we see the persecution that is coming against the "saints." Then we read Daniel 7:22. Yes, there will be persecution, but then our "Ancient of Days" will come & His judgement will take from that "little horn" his dominion & the "kingdom & dominion, & the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, Whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, & all dominions shall serve and obey Him." He is the Christ, our precious Jesus, our Savior and our LORD.
Jay Saunders
John chater 1:1-14 explains it all in very simple form. It refers to Jesus as the word which is another of His many names. Of coarse the word of God also says the Holy Spirit leads us and guides us in all understanding of the truth. John chapter 16 verse 13 says with the Holy Spirit you may understand so pray for Him to come along side you or invite Him into you but the invitation to Jesus must come first after true repentance of all sins. John. Chapter 1 1- 14 says: In the beggining was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. That all things that were made were made by Him. The word became flesh and dwelled among men. Jesus called Himself the son of man because he came into that exsistance from the womb of Mary as Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was the word of God before he was Jesus but that word took on the form of a baby through manhood called Jesus. That is the name that is above every name on earth and in heaven. Jesus is the only way to God the Father. He is the door or bridge to a relasionship with the Father. You must except His son before the Father will recognize or except you as an adopted son or a daughter. Only Jesus can give us the power to become a son or daughter of God the Father. This is also said in first chapter of John verses 1-14 He was and is and always will be in exsistance. He must become your Lord and savior to inherit eternal life. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Mohamed is not the way to God. Budda is not the way to God. Karisna is not the way to God. Jesus is the only way to God. He is the door to eternal life.
Grant Abbott
My answer will attempt to focus on the "pre-existence" of Jesus. That is, did Jesus exist with God before anything else was created. There are at least 2 passages that provide good evidence that this is true. Colossians 1:15-20 What do these verses mean? V15 - Jesus is the physical image of the invisible [spiritual] God V15 - Jesus was born before all creation came into existence V16 - all things [creation] have been created through him and for him - that includes all creation in "heaven and earth", all creation "visible and invisible", all creation of "thrones, powers, rulers, authorities" V17 - Jesus existed before all creation, he holds all creation together V18 - Jesus is the head of the church, the first-born and beginning of the resurrection, he has supremacy over everything V19 God was pleased to have "all his fullness: dwell in Jesus V20 God used Jesus to reconcile all of creation to himself - creation on earth and in heaven If Jesus did not pre-exist all creation, he would not have been able to accomplish the feats that are declared in these verses. Hebrews 1:1-13 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,“Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? What can we learn from these verses? V2 - God spoke to us [revealed his will] through Jesus, his Son, God appointed Jesus as the heir of all creation, God used Jesus to make the universe V3 - Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, Jesus sustains all creation by his powerful word, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in heaven V4 - Jesus is much superior to the angels V5 - God declares that Jesus is his Son V6 - God commands all his angels to worship Jesus V8,9 - Jesus's throne will last forever, his kingdom is founded on justice and righteousness, God has made Jesus king over all creation V10 - Jesus laid the foundations of the earth, the heavens are the work of Jesus's hands V11 - The heavens and earth [all creation] will perish but Jesus will remain V12 - Jesus will roll up the heavens and earth like a worn out garment, Jesus will change the heavens and earth to make them like new V12 - Jesus years will never end [his is eternal] V13 - God is making Jesus enemies a footstool for his feet God would not have made Jesus the everlasting king over all creation unless he pre-existed everything that was created.
David Buyna
Jesus said in John 8:58: Jesus said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am."
Shirley H
All of the answers are wonderful. I would like to add that in Genesis 1:26,"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;..." Who is the "Us" referring to? I believe it refers to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All there when the creation came to be. The Elohim, the Very God.
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