Jesus - in the Beginning
IN THE BEGINNING
John in his gospel does not present us with any details whatsoever regarding the natural birth of Jesus. That’s right, all of the information at our disposal is provided by the gospels of Matthew and Luke. John is unique in his introduction of Jesus because he begins his gospel with a Jesus who was present with God “in the beginning,” and that means in the very beginning…of anything…before the creation of the universe. Sometimes this is referred to as the “preincarnate Christ,” the Christ before He was born as a baby on earth a couple millenniums ago.
Merely the mention of this fact may initially sound slightly strange to us who have seldom if ever pondered the subject. Yet the Bible clearly reveals the existence of Christ before the creation of the world. This is where John begins his book about the life of Jesus. He calls Jesus “the Word.” There is absolutely no doubt he is referring to Jesus throughout this first chapter.
John 1:1-2 (NKJV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
Like John’s first three words of his introduction, the first three words of Genesis are “in the beginning.” So even if John is referring to the beginning of the world, he is still verifying that Jesus already existed before God spoke the cosmos into existence. “Jesus was with God…He was in the beginning with God.”
He was not only already existent WITH God at the point before creation, He WAS God. Now since we have probably heard that news previously it may not sound so astonishing. But for those outside of Christianity, it may be somewhat surprising. Most of the world (most, not all) have heard about Christmas, and most, more than likely, know it consists of a Christian Celebration of the birth of Jesus. However, I would venture to guess that few have ever contemplated the preexistent state of Jesus before His birth and before the creation of the world. In addition, only a handful would know that Jesus, the Word, IS God.
Yet that is exactly what this verse confirms along with several others throughout the Holy Scriptures. So you see how the doctrine of the Trinity was formed? The Scriptures clearly refer to Jesus as God, but we know Jesus is not the “Father” God.
IN THE BEGINNING
John in his gospel does not present us with any details whatsoever regarding the natural birth of Jesus. That’s right, all of the information at our disposal is provided by the gospels of Matthew and Luke. John is unique in his introduction of Jesus because he begins his gospel with a Jesus who was present with God “in the beginning,” and that means in the very beginning…of anything…before the creation of the universe. Sometimes this is referred to as the “preincarnate Christ,” the Christ before He was born as a baby on earth a couple millenniums ago.
Merely the mention of this fact may initially sound slightly strange to us who have seldom if ever pondered the subject. Yet the Bible clearly reveals the existence of Christ before the creation of the world. This is where John begins his book about the life of Jesus. He calls Jesus “the Word.” There is absolutely no doubt he is referring to Jesus throughout this first chapter.
John 1:1-2 (NKJV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
Like John’s first three words of his introduction, the first three words of Genesis are “in the beginning.” So even if John is referring to the beginning of the world, he is still verifying that Jesus already existed before God spoke the cosmos into existence. “Jesus was with God…He was in the beginning with God.”
He was not only already existent WITH God at the point before creation, He WAS God. Now since we have probably heard that news previously it may not sound so astonishing. But for those outside of Christianity, it may be somewhat surprising. Most of the world (most, not all) have heard about Christmas, and most, more than likely, know it consists of a Christian Celebration of the birth of Jesus. However, I would venture to guess that few have ever contemplated the preexistent state of Jesus before His birth and before the creation of the world. In addition, only a handful would know that Jesus, the Word, IS God.
Yet that is exactly what this verse confirms along with several others throughout the Holy Scriptures. So you see how the doctrine of the Trinity was formed? The Scriptures clearly refer to Jesus as God, but we know Jesus is not the “Father” God.
