140-109 Consider Jesus: The Preexistence of Christ
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We’re going to return to our study of Genesis at the beginning of the new year as we spend some time setting our hearts upon the realities of the Christmas message. As we think about Christmas our minds generally go to the Nativity. And with that we are mindful of the presence of angels, shepherds, a manger, the star, wise men, Mary & Joseph. These are all generally part of the “Christmas story” and while they all appear in the Bible’s account—they are all peripheral matters. The highest, loftiest, most noble preoccupation/activity that any Xn could every participate in is to set our minds upon, to reflect on, to consider the person and character of the LJC. Too often, our celebrations of Christmas actually miss the main character.
1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;
“consider” is a very strong word in the Gk meaning “to immerse yourself in a critical examination” and the writer of Hebrews is call us…Xns...“holy brethren, partakers of heavenly calling—consider Jesus” to give careful, deliberate contemplation to the character, nature and person of Jesus. There seems to be no better time to do that than during this Christmas season. For the next few weeks, we’re going to spend our time considering Jesus—specifically 3 different periods in His existence. This morning—The Preexistence of Christ. Jesus is unique in that He is the only one to have existed before He was born.
2 Cor 8:9 seems odd place to begin a Christmas series (summary of the Xmas message).
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
Paul is encouraging generosity among saints and having them pattern their giving according to the grace of JC.
There are certain vv in God’s word that are difficult to understand, there are those which are quite simple, but then there some that are so vast and profound that it will take all eternity to mine the riches from it. This is one of those vv, very simple (only 21 Gk words), not difficult to understand, not confusing but so significant as a gem of God’s truth that Jesus Christ moves from riches to poverty in order to move believers from poverty to riches.
It’s simplicity is beautifully captured by that Christmas hymn:
“Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown When Thou camest to earth for me; But in Bethlehem’s home Was there found no room for Thy holy nativity.”
This vs teaches us about the riches of Christ. Of course we know God is the owner of all things in heaven and on earth.
14 “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.
But this vs is not primarily about material wealth but the riches of eternal glory. It describes what Jesus had before Bethlehem.
Bethlehem was not the beginning of the 2nd person of Trinity, It was not the beginning of the Son of God, not the beginning of the LJC.
Phil 2:5-8
“existed” is a word that means “to be identical with” and in present tense it stresses the continuation of a condition/state—on-going. Paul says Jesus was in a continuing state in the form of God—speaking of the essential, unchanging character of God. This speaks to the existence of JC before His human birth.
This comes from the Gk morphe (vs 6,7) (metamorphosis). Morphe refers to the outward manifestation of the inner character. When we read the translation “form” we should not be thinking of physical shape (God is spirit).
In vs 7—2nd word “likeness” schema. William Barclay has a helpful discussion of the 2 words:
Morphe is the essential form which never alters; schema is the outward form which changes from time to time and from circumstance to circumstance. For instance, the morphe of any human being is humanity and this never changes; but schema is continually changing. A baby, a child, a boy, a youth, a man of middle age, an old man always have the morphe of humanity, the outward schema changes all the time.
Paul is saying the unchangeable essence of Christ is divine. This describes not only the preexistence of Christ but His eternal preexistence as God b/c only God is eternal.
God’s Word instructs us as to the existence and activity of Christ before His incarnation (human birth). That will form our outline this morning as we study the preexistence of LJC.
1) The Pre-Incarnate Existence
1) The Pre-Incarnate Existence
You might be asking why is the pre-existence of Christ important? Understanding the true nature of JC is the foundation for all Xnty. If Christ is not eternal, He cannot possibly be God, and if He’s not God then He can’t be creator and redeemer. If He’s not God then He lied and Scripture lies and thus cannot be trusted. This issue is of vital importance since the pre-existence of Christ is a step toward defending His deity. The foundation of your salvation is true only when you get the person of Jesus Christ right.
24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
The Proof
The Proof
John 8:58;
Abraham live about 2000 yrs before Jesus was born. Yet Jesus can say, even before Abraham was born, I “am.” The tense of that vb is crucial. Jesus didn’t say “before Abraham was, I was.” But I AM. He is expressing unchanging timelessness.
Did the Jews know the import of what He was claiming about Himself? Notice their response in vs 59.
God said the same thing to Moses from the burning bush:
Ex 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
Is 41:4 'I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.'"
Isaiah 43:13 "Even from eternity I am He;
The NT speaks many times of Jesus coming down from Heaven. This implies an existence prior to His coming down.
John 3:13 "And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man.
John 3:31 ¶ "He who comes from above is above all,
John 6:33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world."
John 6:62 "What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was before?
Eternality
Eternality
Now existence before his birth in Bethlehem doesn’t automatically mean that Jesus is eternal. The heresy going around in Colossae thought that Christ existed before His human birth but that He was still created at some point in time. As a creature He could not be God.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Jesus is speaking here and uses 2 expressions to show that He is not only pre-existent but also eternal. “alpha…” 1st and last letter of Gk. (Rev 21:6; 22:13)—“stands for totality” and shows that Christ is infinitely eternal. Without beginning, end. Not bound by time and space.
The OT Prophets understood the eternality of Messiah.
2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
Micah says that the one who comes from Bethlehem will be “from long ago.” That term is used elsewhere “from everlasting.” In other words, Messiah has no beginning—His existence is eternal.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
This passage describes Messiah, calling Him “everlasting father” or better “Father of eternity” which carries the meaning of possessor or initiator of eternity. The only way Messiah could be the possessor and initiator of eternity is if He Himself is eternal.
NT refers to Jesus as “Christ” more than 500x which was simply an acknowledgment that the Messiah prophesied in the OT was fulfilled in the man Jesus Christ—“Anointed One”
Sonship
Sonship
But that raises a question: What is the relationship between the Messiah and God the Father. They are clearly separate persons so how do they relate to one another?
Nicene creed (AD 325) mentions Jesus “Eternally begotten of the Father.” Has Jesus always been the Son of God or is that a title He took on at the incarnation?
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…
Some have misunderstood passages that speak of Jesus’ sonship (and begotten) and claim He was created at some point in time. That heresy was dealt with emphatically by the early church in the 4th C—speaking of the eternal existence of Christ.
Others claim that Jesus began His sonship at the incarnation. They don’t reject the deity of Jesus but they put emphasis that He didn’t exist as “son” prior to incarnation.
Too often, we see a son as inferior to his father. But in the OT, the title son indicates an exact likeness and equality of being. We see that in the NT
17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
We believe that God exists eternally in 3 persons Father, Son, and HS. And the term “only begotten” does not refer to creation but lit “only unique-one of kind” son.
In Heb 1:2 the world was made by the Son—eternal relationship with the Father.
2) The Pre-Incarnate Activity
2) The Pre-Incarnate Activity
Before His incarnation, Christ was not idle, He was not inactive. His first activity is that of:
Creator
Creator
Scripture is unequivocal as to the origin of all things.
Heb 3:4 “The builder of all things is God”
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens…
Isaiah 37:16 "O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who art enthroned above the cherubim, Thou art the God, Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. Thou hast made heaven and earth.
Is 44:24 "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things,
Jeremiah 10:11-12 Thus you shall say to them, "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens." It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.
Creation is entirely the work of God. The NT confirms this and heightens our understanding by revealing that the agent of creation is the LJC. It is one of the strong affirmations that He is God.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
Angel of the Lord
Angel of the Lord
The first appearance of the Lord on earth was not Bethlehem in the manger. His first appearance on earth was in fact many thousand years before that in what theologians call a “Theophany” or appearance of God in a visible bodily form.
Daniel Finestone (Article 1938) Is the Angel of Jehovah in the Old Testament the Lord Jesus Christ?
“The Angel of Lord is recorded to have appeared twice to Hagar (Gen 16, 21), once to Abraham (Gen 22), also to Balaam (Num 22), to Gideon (Judg 6), to Manoah and his wife (Judg 13). He was present at the judgment upon Israel, after David’s numbering of the people (2 Sam 24); and is the agent of destruction to Sennacherib’s army (1 Chron 21). In vision Zechariah sees Him as judging between Joshua, the High Priest of Israel and Satan their accuser (Zech 3); and as the One who intervenes in behalf of Israel’s restoration after their seventy years of captivity (Zech 1). The Psalmist refers to Him as the deliverer of His people and the antagonist of their enemies (Psalms 34, 35). This close relationship to the Covenant People of God, is perhaps the reason He is sometimes called “The Angel of the Covenant.”
Other designations of the Angel of Jehovah are found in the names “The Angel of His Presence,” “Mine Angel,” “The Angel of God.” all doubtless referring to the same Divine Being.
Several reasons he concludes that Jesus is the Angel of the Lord in the OT:
1) Angel of Lord claimed to be God—when revealing Himself to Moses at the Burning Bush He said, “I am the God of Abraham, The God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Later He proclaimed Himself to Moses as “I Am that I Am,”
2) Angel of Lord is addressed as God
When Angel appeared to Hagar she called to Him saying “you God, see me” (Gen 16:13)
3) Angel of Lord was called God
In His appearance to Moses in the Burning Bush, Moses uses the terms God and Angel of the Lord interchangeably.
Samson’s father, Manoah, was curious about the identity of the Angel of the Lord and when He departed, “We have seen God” (Jud 13:17-22).
4) Angel of Lord promised to do what only God can do.
He promised to make Ishmael’s descendants a great nation, He told Abraham that He would greatly bless him and multiply his seed. When speaking to Moses He said “I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians.”
The Angel of the Lord is the appearance of God in the OT and I believe it is the 2nd person of the Trinity who appears as such in the OT. He never appears after the incarnation (which maybe an argument from silence but effective). Jesus is the only member of the Triune God who appears in bodily form. It is clear from Scripture that both Angel and Jesus were sent by the Father (to reveal truth, to lead Israel, judge and defend them and to be the Savior.)
Before He was the baby in the manger, LJC was active in His eternal existence by creating both the heavens and the earth and time itself, and He made numerous appearances to Israel in the OT as the Angel of the Lord.
In this Pre-Incarnate state, He is certainly God, eternal, not created, and having the exact nature and equality with Father, the Son was the recipient of worship by OT saints.
These are some of the eternal “riches” of the Lord (2 Cor 8:9) give us a greater depth of appreciation for Christ’s gracious and conscious decision to lay aside these riches to become poor by taking upon Himself the nature of man in the form of a bondservant (Phil 2:5-7), that we thru His poverty might be made rich by receiving the blessings of salvation, joy, peace & eternal life.
We’ll look at this in His humiliation next time. Our redemption is secured by the fact that He:
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
CS Lewis wrote:
In the Christian story God descends to reascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time, and space, down into humanity...down to the very roots and seabed of the Nature He has created. But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him.
As we prepare our heart for communion this morning…the connection b/t the birth and death of Jesus comes into plain view (bookends of His earthly ministry). What takes place between actually accomplishes the eternal purposes of God, dealing forever with sin, bringing everlasting righteousness to all who trust in Him.
He left the Father’s throne—an exalted position, to die on a cross securing salvation for everyone who would trust Him.
He is a Wonderful Savior—worthy of worship!