In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.It is difficult for us to imagine that God was already present, even in the beginning, for each of us had an origin, yet Jesus was there from the very beginning, not as a created being, but as the Creator. The evidence from Scripture is that Jesus is indeed God.
Colossians 1:16
…because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Revelation 4:11
Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.
The preexistence of Jesus Christ was well before His birth in a manger and when He lived as a man on earth.
We need to start, first and foremost, with the validity of Scripture in our examination of who Jesus Christ is. We need to either agree or disagree with what the Scriptures say about Christ:
2 Peter 1:20-21
First of all, you should know this: no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God.
When we refer to Scripture, we need to understand its distinction from any other book of authors. The Bible is a book written to those who have a desire to understand who Christ is and have the desire to know more about Him. Those who don’t have a desire to believe in Jesus Christ will not get much out of it. In contrast, the desire to live in an upright manner and for Jesus Christ will be drawn to God’s Word and to His will for that person’s life.
God, alone, gives revelation as to who He is; otherwise, we would only be able to guess about who He is. Moreover, because God is eternal and without a creator, we also need to recognize the deity of Jesus Christ. He who is eternal has the power and ability to give eternal life to those He has created.
While Scripture reports the evidence of paradise, Jesus refers to where He came from.
John 3:13
No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven –the Son of Man.
Consider that no one has been to heaven and came down from heaven except Jesus Christ. The timing of Jesus Christ’s comment came before that of Paul’s comments in 2 Corinthians 12:1-7. Paul was speaking about himself ascending to the third heaven, and he reveals that he was given a thorn in the flesh in order that he would not think greatly of himself because of the privilege of seeing something that was beyond the understanding of those he was called to teach. Through all of this, Paul was consistently teaching about Jesus and did not diminish the deity of Christ–his teachings exalted Jesus Christ and affirmed him. In summary, Jesus Christ used Paul in a mighty way by revealing truths to him that he shared with others in such a way that showed Christ as the Son of the Living God–namely, God Himself.
When the question was asked by Jesus “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13) and “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose Son is He?” (Matthew 22:42)
Matthew 16:13-16
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”
Matthew 22:34-46
34 When the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they came together in the same place. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him: 36“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important commandment. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus questioned them, 42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose Son is He?”
“David’s,” they told Him.
43 He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls Him ‘Lord ‘:
44 The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at My right hand
until I put Your enemies under Your feet ‘ ?
45 “If David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how then can the Messiah be his Son” 46 No one was able to answer Him at all, and from that day no one dared to question Him any more.
It was in the answers provided that Jesus Christ reveals His deity. In the same way, his deity is also revealed in how He speaks of His preexistence.
John 6:38-42, 47-51, 58-62
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father:that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 Therefore the Jews started complaining about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
47 ” I assure you: Anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your fathers ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60 Therefore, when many of His disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard! Who can accept it?”
61 Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were complaining about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? 62Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
It is difficult to understand Christ’s eternal nature when our way of thinking is limited to how we see Him as a man on earth; and those who grew up with Jesus and saw Him as a carpenter’s son also had difficulty with Jesus’ comments that He came down from heaven. He was merely stating repeatedly that He was not like us, and that what He provided were words of eternal life for all of us.
Note that when we witness to others about Jesus Christ, it is a difficult teaching to understand. Our witness for Christ is merely a testimony of what Christ does for us. Ultimately, the person who receives the information has to decide whether Jesus Christ is the truth and has the authority to give one eternal life. “The Spirit is the One who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some among you who don’t believe” (John 6:63-64).
Akron Alliance Fellowship 