by Larry Neff
Two thousand years ago Jesus was born as a human being.
But what about before this major event? Did He exist eternally? Or was Jesus created by God the Father? If so, when? Before the creation of the earth and universe? Or just before the Flood? Or at the time of the incarnation (when He was born as a human)? Does the Bible answer these questions? This all relates to the question of whether Jesus is divine.
As we will see, the Bible shows that Jesus was not created—that He has been God for eternity.
Many Old Testament and New Testament passages address this subject. We will consider many of these, carefully examining the facts to be sure we are understanding what these passages say.
The Logos
)John 1:1-3( stands out as one of the more important passages on the background of Jesus Christ. These verses establish the existence of Jesus Christ prior to creation and from the beginning with God the Father.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” To make it absolutely clear who “the Word” was, it states in verse 14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
The word “with,” used twice in these three short verses, conveys two concepts according to Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary: “That He had a conscious personal existence distinct from God as one is distinct from the person He is with; and that He was associated with Him in mutual fellowship.”
A most important point needs to be made about verse 3. It says nothing was made without Him. So was Jesus created? No, because had Jesus been made, He would have had to create Himself! Nothing means just that: nothing. Both the Father and the Word—who came to earth as Jesus Christ—have existed for eternity.
In )John 1:1-2( “Word” is translated from the Greek logos. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, revised and edited by Frederick William Danker, defines logos as “a communication whereby the mind finds expression, word.”
Logos is the Greek word for “word.” Readers in John’s day would have been very familiar with the term. It was also well-known as a specialized term in ancient philosophy and theology. Philo, a Hellenistic Jew from Alexandria who lived about the time of Christ, wrote extensively about it. However, John used it in a different way—to refer to a second Being at God’s level of existence!
Another source defines logos as “word, thought, reason, speech, declaration, logic, revelation, reckoning, expression of thought” (Zondervan’s Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible). Since these definitions do not directly indicate personhood, some have concluded God’s thoughts or utterance constituted the Word, and His thoughts became the incarnate Christ. However, the Word is referred to as being with God in the beginning.
In )John 1:4( we read, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” This shows the Word was not just a “thought” or “utterance”; the Word also had life. So, in these early verses of John’s Gospel, we find John applying a familiar term, logos, to a living Being who existed with the Father from the beginning, before the world was created.
Although we do not find “Spokesman” as a definition of logos, Jesus Christ is described as One who speaks on behalf of the Father. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He spoke the mind and thoughts of His Father (John 3:34; Hebrews 1:1-2). The Bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the living, personified Word of God—a separate Being who was sent to speak the words of God.
We find three elements applied to Jesus Christ in these first few verses of John 1: existence, relationship and identification. He existed in the beginning with the Father and experienced a close relationship with Him. He is identified as the Word, yet another name for this great Being whom we call Lord and Savior.
The I AM
Another important passage showing Jesus was not created comes from )John 8:58(: “Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’” (Another significant use of this term in the Gospels is found in Mark 14:61-62.)
Here we find a clear reference to the “I AM” of )Exodus 3:14( who revealed Himself to Moses. This name means “to exist or to be” (Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Old Testament). It refers to the Eternal or Self-Existent One.
This name and meaning are closely associated with YHWH, usually translated LORD in the Old Testament. It conveys a message similar to )Hebrews 13:8(: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
In )Exodus 3( the great “I AM” is assuring Moses, and by extension the Israelites, that He will continue to be what He has been eternally in the past and will eternally be in the future. He has not changed, and they can trust Him. Jesus identifies Himself with this same great Being!
In John’s account, Jesus is not saying He came into existence before Abraham. He is saying He existed before Abraham came into existence.
