INTRODUCTION & PREEXISTENCE
1. Introduction
AW Tozer – “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” What we believe about Jesus is the single most important thing about us.
The studying of Christ is the preeminent task of the Christian and is the bedrock of the Christian faith.
There is nothing that is more important than what you believe about the person of Christ Jesus.
We must study the person of Christ. He is the
- We must also study the person of Christ because He is the
- We must also study the person of Christ because He is the
“It has been estimated that some 40 billion individuals have lived upon this earth since Adam. But every single human being shares one vital thing. His purpose of life down here and his eternal destiny afterward depend completely upon his personal relationship with the subject of this study, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is, therefore, absolutely impossible to overemphasize the importance of His life.” (Willmington’s Guide To The Bible, p. 609)
The key question of the universe continues to be: “What think ye of Christ?” (Mt 22:42)
1) To the artist He is the One altogether lovely (Song of Solomon 5:16)
2) To the architect He is the Chief Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6)
3) To the astronomer He is the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2)
4) To the baker (and to the hungry) He is the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35)
5) To the banker He is the hidden Treasure (Mt 13:44)
6) To the builder He is the sure
7) To the carpenter He is the Door (Jn 10:7)
8) To the sick He is the Great Physician (Jer 8:22)
9) To the educator He is the new and living Way (Heb 10:20)
10) To the farmer He is the Sower and the Lord of the Harvest (Lk 10:2)
11) To the thirsty He is the Living Water (Jn 4:10)
12) To the lonely He is the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother (Pr 18:24)
13) To the forsaken he is the one who will never leave you or forsake you (Heb 13:5)
14) To the traveler He is the
15) To the philosopher He is the Truth (John 14:6)
16) To the dying He is the Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11:25; 14:6)
17) To the blind He is the
18) To the sinner He is the wonderful SAVIOR (Lk 2:11; Jn 4:42; 1 Jn 4:14; Isa 43:11)
19) To the lost who ultimately reject Christ He is the
20) In the end, the only question that matters to you personally is, “Who is Jesus Christ to
2. The Preexistence Of Jesus Christ
- It is possible to accept the preexistence of Jesus without believing in His deity.
- As an example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses actually claim that Jesus preexisted as
- However, it is impossible to accept Christ’s deity and not believe in His preexistence. The Scriptures dogmatically declares both the preexistence and the deity of Christ.
1) The fact of His preexistence
1] As taught by Micah. (Micah 5:2)
- Micah clearly declares that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem but that He did not come into existence at His
- The Messiah was to be the One Who was not only preexistent before His birth (as could theoretically be true of an incarnate angel like Michael), but also One Who was eternally preexistent (as can only be true of
2] As taught by John the Baptist
- “…For He (Jesus) was before me (John).” (Jn 1:15; cf. Jn 1:27, 30)
- John makes this statement even though John’s birth was
3] As taught by John the Apostle (Jn 1:1, 14; 1 Jn 1:2)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
Who is referred to in this passage? Verse 14 clearly indentifies the Word as Jesus Christ: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us….the only begotten of the Father…” (Jn 1:14)
4] As taught by Peter (1 Pet 1:20)
- “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you…”
5] As taught by CHRIST Himself (Jn 6:38, 51, 62; 8:58; 17:5)
- John 6:38 – “I came down from heaven…”
- John 6:51 – “I am the living bread which came down from heaven…”
- John 6:62 – What and if ye shall see the son of man ascend up where he was before?”
- John 8:58 – “…before Abraham was, I AM.”
- Jesus makes this statement even though Abraham lived and died some
- Jesus is here claiming for Himself the name of Jehovah God, the Eternal Self-Existent One.
John 17:5 – “And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” (cf. Isa 42:8)
In Isaiah 42:8, God declared: “I am the LORD: that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another…”
- In John 17:5 we see that Jesus asks the Father to share His divine glory (which He once possessed) with Him again.
- We are forced to conclude that either Jesus was an arrogant imposter, claiming to have once possessed the glory of God, or that he is indeed
Jesus is not only preexistent. He is also deity.
2) The activities of the divine preexistent Christ
- What was Jesus doing before His Bethlehem birth?
1] He
2] He was
3] He was