The God
OF
Chapter Nineteen
Did Jesus Pre-exist?
We have examined dozens of Scriptures and Scriptural passages that show there is one God whose name is YHWH and who is identified as Father throughout Scripture. We have seen that Jesus, as the Son of this God, is not coequal with this God but was begotten by this God at a specific time in history for a specific purpose which He effectively fulfilled. Upon such fulfillment, Jesus was elevated by this God to the highest place in the universe, next to God Himself.
Trinitarian theology teaches the Son has always existed as a distinction of a Trinitarian God of Father, Son and Spirit. Trinitarians will point to a number of Scriptures that it is felt give evidence to the pre-existence of the Son. Let us consider these Scriptures.
John 13:3: Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.
John 17:4-5: I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world (Greek kosmos) began.
John 17:24: Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
John 3:13: No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of
John 6:62: What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!
John 20:17: Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, `I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
These statements by Jesus appear to say He had glory with the Father and was loved by the Father before the world began. While these statements don’t say anything about the Son being God, they appear to indicate He pre-existed. I believe I have established through our discussion to this point that the Son is not God as God is God. The Son is not co-equal, co-eternal and of the same substance as the God identified as YHWH and Father throughout Scripture. Did the Son pre-exist as a Being created by God at some point in eternity past? This was the teaching of the theologian Arius in the fourth century. This teaching led to much controversy and resulted in formulation of the Nicene Creed and the eventual formulation of the Doctrine of the Trinity.
To this very day there are religious groups who believe the Son pre-existed, not as an eternal god, but as a created Being. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the archangel Michael became Jesus. They conclude this based on associations between Jesus and Michael found in scripture. Let’s look at these associations presented by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
1 Thessalonians 4:16: For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Since Michael is identified in Scripture as an archangel and Jesus is seen as coming down from Heaven with the voice of the archangel, it is believed Jesus is Michael. Michael, however, is not mentioned in this passage. Paul doesn’t identify any particular archangel. Paul speaks of the voice of the archangel. No definition is provided as to what that means. The main Scriptural passage used to establish Michael as Christ is found in Daniel.
Daniel 12:1: At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered.
This passage is seen to parallel statements made in the Olivet Discourse as to conditions extant at the return of Christ (Mathew 24). Michael, however, is not mentioned in the Olivet Discourse and is only mentioned twice in the entire NT with neither reference related to Christ. Sound evidence for Michael being Christ is completely lacking in Scripture which makes the validity of this perspective extremely unlikely.
In what respect is the human Jesus to be seen ascending and descending heaven? Scripture speaks of Jesus coming down from heaven. Jesus did come down from heaven in so much as the heavenly Father personally begat Jesus in the womb of Mary. He ascended to the Father after completing His Father’s mission and received the honor and glory that had been ordained for him since before creation.
As discussed in Chapter Eleven, the scriptures speak of Jesus being crucified from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Paul speaks of the grace that was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time (2 Timothy 1:9). Jesus speaks of the Kingdom having been prepared for us since the creation of the world (Matthew 25:34). Paul told the Ephesian Christians that God chose us in him (Jesus) before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
As previously discussed, there is found in Scripture a good deal of proleptic language. This is language that treats things that have not as yet happened as though they already did happen. Please review my discussion of this linguistic technique in Chapter Eleven. Let’s now look more closely at some of the Scriptural passages cited from the Gospel of John.
John 13:3: Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.
The NIV translation of John 13:3 gives the impression that Jesus was returning to the Father. The word “returning” is translated from the Greek hupago which means to withdraw oneself, depart or simply to go somewhere. There is nothing in the definition of hupago that means to return to somewhere you were before. The KJV translates it as “went.” The NKJV and RSV translate it as “going." The Greek for “had come” is exerkomai, which means to come forth or proceed. Jesus had proceeded from the Father in so much that God directly facilitated His human birth. Now Jesus was about to depart from the world and go to be with His God and Father.
John 20:17: Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, `I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
The NIV translation incorrectly uses the word “return” in place of “ascend” in their rendering of John 20:17. Most translations use the word “ascend” which is the correct translation of the Greek anaaino which means to go upward. There is nothing in the meaning of this Greek word that suggests returning to where you were before. The word simply means to go up and is used in this manner some eighty-one times in the NT narrative.
Do Scriptures that speak of Jesus being sent by God and coming down from heaven prove the Son pre-existed? John 1:6 records that John the Baptist was sent from God. This doesn’t mean John the Baptist pre-existed because God sent him. In a prophecy about John, the prophet Malachi quotes God as saying: "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes" (Malachi 4:5). Does this mean John, as represented by Elijah, was sent from heaven to earth?
In Acts 7:37, Stephen speaks of God sending a prophet like Moses which is an allusion to the sending of Jesus. In Exodus 3:12 it is recorded God sent Moses and yet Moses did not pre-exist. OT Scripture speaks of God sending his servants the prophets (Jeremiah 7:25). Where these servants in heaven with God before being sent to earth?
While it is true there are dozens of Scriptural passages in the NT that say Jesus was sent by God, it is also true that it was a common Hebrew and Aramaic idiom to say that something came down from God or down from heaven when God was the cause. This doesn’t mean there was a literal coming down but an identification of God as the cause or source of that which came down. Even though the NT was written in Greek, the thoughts and idioms are often Hebrew or Aramaic as this was the language spoken by the people.
In John, chapter six, Jesus used a great deal of figurative language. He said He was living bread that came down from heaven. He said His followers had to eat His flesh and drink His blood. After hearing these things, it is recorded that many of His disciples no longer followed Him. It is apparent they concluded Jesus was not creditable. Jesus then asked the twelve if they too were going to leave. Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69).
It is instructive that the twelve saw Jesus as the Holy One of God. Never do we read of anyone relating to Jesus as coming down from heaven as God. Never do we see Jesus called God the Son. Even if one were to conclude that statements saying Jesus was sent by God and came down from heaven meant Jesus was a pre-existent Being, such statements would not be evidence that Jesus, as the Son of God, is God. Jesus said, "Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me" (John 6:57). This statement, as do so many others found in the NT, clearly shows Jesus received His life from the Father which, as pointed out in Chapter Eleven, precludes Jesus being ontologically one with the Father.
The few Scriptural passages that appear to indicate pre-existence for the Son must be considered within the broader context of the many Scriptural passages that show the Son had His beginning as the human Jesus nearly 2000 years ago in a small town called
Daniel 7:13-14: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
It is after His ascension to His God and Father that Jesus is given the glory that was ordained for him from the beginning of God’s plan and purpose to facilitate salvation for the human creation. Jesus was God's human agent who is seen as a descendant of Abraham and David with a human genealogy (Matthew chapter one and Luke chapter three) and born of a human mother. While it is certainly evident Jesus’ birth came about as the result of supernatural intervention, it is also evident Jesus experienced a begettal which by definition shows He experienced a beginning.
Jesus was able to be tempted and Jesus was able to die and did die. All this is witness to Jesus’ complete humanity and not to He being a mixture of humanity and Divinity. Jesus is not alive because He always was alive or because He was created to be forever alive at some point before the creation of the universe. The begotten Son of God is alive because God, His Father, made him alive through resurrection from the dead. Jesus is the first human to be born from the dead to eternal life. He is the first fruits of all those who had died. Because of this great event, humanity is assured of resurrection to life.