Bible students often wonder if Jesus existed before He
took human form, and if so, what His activities were
prior to His birth. Jesus did exist before He was born
as Mary’s child, but organizing the facts on this subject
takes some investigation. The Bible does teach that
Jesus has existed forever. Jesus existed along with the
Father and the Holy Spirit as a separate and distinct
God before anything was brought into existence.
Jesus Speaks about Himself
Jesus gave the apostle John a vision on the isle of
Patmos. Carefully consider what John heard Jesus say
about Himself: "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as
though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and
said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I
am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive
for ever and ever!’ " (Revelation 1:17,18, italics mine)
Later in the book of Revelation, Jesus said, "I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last , the
Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:13, italics
mine)
These two passages provide three titles that belong to
Jesus. The phrases "the First and Last," "the Alpha
and the Omega," and "the Beginning and the End" all
describe Jesus. He existed in the beginning before
there was anything. Notice that Jesus calls Himself
God in the book of Revelation: "He said to me [John]:
‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give
to drink without cost from the spring of the water of
life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will
be his God and he will be my son.’ " (Revelation 21:6,7,
insertion mine) We learn from this verse that Jesus,
"the Alpha and the Omega" and "the Beginning and the
End," declares Himself to be God!
Now that we have established that Jesus is God and
that Jesus is "the First and the Last," consider this
verse from Isaiah: "This is what the Lord says – Israel’s
King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first
and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. . ..
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." (Isaiah
44:6,8 italics mine) When these verses from Isaiah are
included with the previous verses from Revelation, a
very interesting fact is revealed. Most of the passages
in the Old Testament referring to God (about 95% of
the time) pertain to Jesus! In other words, titles such
as Jehovah, the Almighty, Lord God Almighty, etc.
usually refer to the God we call Jesus.
Jesus told Isaiah that there is no other Rock (or God)
besides Himself. Of course, Jesus was not talking
about the Father or the Holy Spirit (who are separate
and distinct Gods). When Jesus said there is no other
God, He affirmed there was no other God overseeing
Israel.
He was in charge. Paul supports this conclusion in this
verse: "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact,
brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud
and that they all passed through the sea. They were
all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the
same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual
rock that accompanied them, and that rock was
Christ. " (1 Corinthians 10:1-4, italics mine)
The Bible teaches that Jesus is called God, the Lord
Almighty, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Rock, the
First and Last, the Alpha and the Omega, and the
Beginning and the End. These passages should remove
any doubt that Jesus existed long before He was born
of Mary!
Did the Father Create Jesus?
The Bible teaches that Jesus is a separate and distinct
God who existed with the Father before anything was
created. The Father did not create Jesus; in fact, all
three Gods have existed from eternity. Carefully
examine the words of John: "That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands
have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word
of life.
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and
we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the
Father [in the beginning] and has appeared to us." (1
John 1:1, 2, insertion mine, italics mine) As eternal
beings, the Father and Jesus have no origin since
Jesus was with the Father before anything existed.
John amplifies Jesus’ eternal life with the following
verses:
"In the beginning was the Word [this title describes
Jesus] , and the Word [Jesus] was with God [the Father
and the Holy Spirit] , and the Word [Jesus] was God
[having the same substance as the Father and the Holy
Spirit] . He [Jesus] was with God [the Father and the
Holy Spirit] in the beginning [when eternity began] .
Through him [Jesus] all things were made [Jesus is
the Creator of all life and substance] ; without him
nothing was made that has been made. . . . The Word
[Jesus] became flesh and made his dwelling among
us. We [Peter, James and John] have seen his glory
[on the Mount of Transfiguration] , the glory of the One
and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and
truth." (John 1:1-3, 14)
There is no evidence in the Bible that the Father
created Jesus or that Jesus is "a lesser God" than the
Father. The Bible does reveal that from eternity, Jesus
has the same substance, powers, glory, and authority
as the Father and Holy Spirit! All three Gods are equals
in every way.
The differences between them is found in their service.
Now, please consider two passages. The first passage
shows that the Jews would not accept the idea that
Jesus was an equal to the Father and this made them
very angry. "For this reason the Jews tried all the
harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the
Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father,
making himself equal with God." (John 5:18) The
second passage affirms that Jesus considered Himself
equal with the Father.
Paul wrote: "Your attitude should be the same as that
of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness." (Philippians
2:5-7) Equality with the Father was not something that
Jesus sought because He was "in very nature" God.
Jesus Is the Creator of Everything in Heaven and on
Earth
Jesus created the universe, including the angels in
Heaven. He also created Earth and mankind in six
days. (Exodus 20:8-11) "For by him [Jesus] all things
were created: Things in Heaven and on Earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities; all things were created by Him and for
Him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together." (Colossians 1:16,17) This passage affirms
again that Jesus existed before anything was created.
This is why He is called "the First" and "the Alpha" and
"the Beginning."
Our Father Is Invisible
Jesus is a visible representative of the Father. "He is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation." (Colossians 1:15) This verse summarizes
three elements about Jesus that many people have not
considered. First, Jesus is the image of the invisible
Father because the Father is always invisible. He lives in
"unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:16) and no one but
Jesus (and the Holy Spirit) has actually seen Him!
(John 6:46)
The angels cannot see the Father and the saints will
not see the Father at or after the Second Coming. The
angels have seen His glorious form, and the saints and
those who killed Jesus will see the Father’s glorious
form at the Second Coming (Matthew 26:64;
Revelation 6:16,17), but no one can actually see the
Father because His infinite glory and boundless powers
keep Him in unapproachable light. Twice in the Bible
Paul affirms that the Father is invisible (1 Timothy
6:16; 1:17), and Jesus plainly said (John 6:46) that "no
one has seen the Father" except Himself. This fact
brings us to another interesting point.
Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me, has seen the
Father. . . ." (John 14:9) This does not mean that
Jesus is the Father, but what Jesus means is that His
character is a perfect mirror of the character of the
Father. (Colossians 1:19) This invisible Father/visible
Jesus arrangement may sound confusing at first, but
consider this: I understand the Bible to teach there are
three co-eternal, separate, and distinct equals – the
Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19,20)
This makes Jesus’ resurrection very simple to
understand. The Father (a living God) resurrected a
dead God (Jesus). (See Acts 2:32 and Revelation
1:18.) Also, the presence of three distinct Gods
explains why the unpardonable sin is uniquely defined
as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and not the other
two Gods. (Matthew 12:31,32) If the Holy Spirit cannot
live in our heart and communicate with us because of
rebellion, fellowship with Jesus and the Father
becomes impossible and therefore unforgivable!
Long ago, three divine equals decided to create a
family and expand the universe so in love, they willingly
surrendered many powers and prerogatives to each
other. They became one in purpose, plan, and action.
For example, consider this possibility: I believe the
Godhead decided one God would sit on the throne of
the universe and He would display the awesome
powers and infinite glory that belonged to each of the
three Gods.
This required the other two Gods to surrender their
display of power and infinite glory so that the universe
might have one supreme ruler above all. This God was
called "the Father." In return, the Father agreed to live
in unapproachable light and infinite glory so that all
creation might realize the infinite powers of deity.
The God who came to be called Jesus agreed to
become the "voice" of God, or "the Word of God,"
because He would speak verbally for the other two
Gods. In other words, three Gods would speak through
one mouth. This explains why John saw a double-
edged sword coming from Jesus’ mouth. He is the
Word of God. When He speaks, things appear or
disappear. (Psalm 33:9)
The relationship between the Father, Jesus, and the
Holy Spirit defines what love is. For example, when
Jesus came to Earth, He came to do the will of the
Father who sent Him (John 6:38), but do not overlook
the larger point. Jesus surrendered Himself to the will
of the Father long before He came to Earth. Why would
coeternal members of deity surrender their wills to one
another?
The simple answer is that their love for each other
produces a universe without conflict or competition.
The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit determined their
created beings needed three Gods, but the Godhead
decided the creation would need one God (the Father)
to be the highest focus of adoration and worship.
They also knew that God’s family would need one God
(Jesus) to live among created beings as a created
being showing everyone what the Father would do if
He walked in their shoes. Finally, the three Gods knew
that creation would need one God (the Holy Spirit) to
live within each heart so that all creation could have
instant and simultaneous communication with the
Father.
This arrangement puts God above, beside, and within
every living being within the universe! Their desire was
that God would be present in every place or heart in
the universe (this explains why the Holy Spirit is
omnipresent, but the Father and Jesus are not).
To accomplish their goals, three equal Gods
surrendered prerogatives to each other and this
amazing union is called love. This is why the Bible
says that God is love. This declaration means that the
Godhead dynamically demonstrates and defines every
aspect of love "in real time."
It is amazing that three infinitely powerful and glorious
Gods are constrained by nothing but love and humility
to live and work together for the happiness and welfare
of their family. The only thing holding the government of
the universe together in righteousness is love and
humility!
Jesus is a perfect reflection of the Father. The Father
is also a perfect reflection of Jesus. In other words,
the Father would have died for us if that had been
necessary. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is a perfect
reflection of Jesus and the Father, and He is willing to
remain invisible for eternity so that the glorious Father
might be glorified as the supreme Ruler of the
Universe.
The mutual surrender between equals is mentioned by
Jesus several times: "Don’t you believe that I am in
the Father, and that the Father is in me? . . . Believe
me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father
is in me; or at least believe [my testimony] on the
evidence of the miracles themselves." (John 14:10,11,
insertions mine)
Finally, remember that Colossians 1:15 calls Jesus "the
firstborn over all creation." People misapply this title to
teach that Jesus is a "created" being or that Jesus
was born before Cain. The title, "the firstborn over all
creation," means that Jesus is preeminent among
created beings. Ponder this verse for a moment: "For
by him [Jesus] all things were created: things in
Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
were created by him and for him. He is before all
things, and in him all things hold
together." (Colossians 1:16,17)