By George Mitrakos| “One thing we know from scripture is that God cannot be born. God did not come into existence but rather he has always existed. He did not come into existence from non-existence. He was not born and he was not created. He has always been even before there was a thing called time.” – Joshua Evans.
The above mentioned argument is something I have been desiring to address for quite some time now. And that is the issue concerning the birth of our saviour. Now many, like our friend Joshua Evans, hold to the notion that the birth of Jesus of Nazareth is synonymous with the commencement of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore, these same individuals are quick in denying the divinity doctrine established by both ecclesiastical and apostolic order which concerns our Lord.
The reason being is that God is the eternal, beginingless and self-existing deity who fashioned our universe. In view of this, many come to conclude that Jesus could not have been divine due to the fact that Christ began to exist (was born) at a certain moment in history.
But was the birth of our Lord really the beginning of his existence? As it turns out, Jesus himself claimed to have existed long before he was born in the flesh.
1. Jesus existed before John the Baptist
In the opening part of the gospel of John, specifically John 1:30, our eyes soon come to stumble upon something that is quite puzzling, yet all the more amazing. And that is that John the Baptist during his verbal description of the Messiah states that “he is preferred before me, for he was before me”. Now many new comers who read the contents of this story while being deprived of any scriptural knowledge concerning the narrative of John the Baptist may be quick in establishing a negligent eye towards the point that John was really trying to bring forth.
When we analyze Luke 1:24-27 it states that “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee”. Gabriel then provided Mary with the tidings that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ.
Now in light of the above mentioned passages, we are provided with a more authentic scriptural lens which will guide us to truly comprehend what John was trying to say. Now ask yourselves this question:
How can Jesus be born or have existed prior to the birth of John if he departed from Mary’s womb six months after John? What the Baptist was actually claiming was that the Messiah had existed prior to his own physical birth. According to Benson’s commentary of the Holy Scriptures, he writes:
Christ’s having existed before John, though he was born after him, was a most convincing proof that he was a very extraordinary person, and was the strongest reason that could well have been assigned, to show that he was worthy of their superior regard.
This clearly demonstrates to us that Jesus had an existence prior to his earthly birth, hence the nativity story was not and could not be the beginning of his existence.
2. Jesus existed before Abraham
In John 8:58 we stumble upon an interesting dialogue between Christ and the religious rulers. The primary subject which was being spoken about in this discussion was Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. Jesus told the religious leaders “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
Now in response to such a claim, the Jews then go on to tell him that it was impossible for him to have seen Abraham because he hadn’t even reached the age of 50. As a matter of fact, according to biblical scholars who have taken upon themselves the task of reckoning the numbers contained in the biblical genealogies, they have concluded that the time span between Abraham and Jesus was, give or take, 2018 years. So logically, anyone would come to the conclusion that there is no possible way that Jesus could have seen Abraham due to the significant time that has passed between both individuals. Yet Jesus tells them:
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am.”
In other words, what Jesus was claiming was that he possessed an existence prior to the father of the Jewish nation. He claimed to have been in full existence 2018 years ago! The religious leaders were fully cognizant of the fact that Christ was painting himself with the dye of an eternal attribute and hence took upon themselves the task of attempting to stone him.
This clearly demonstrates to us that Jesus had an existence prior to his earthly birth, hence the nativity story was not and could not be the beginning of his existence.
3. Jesus existed before the fall of Adam and Eve
In Luke 10:18, upon the arrival of his disciples from preaching the gospel and healing the sick who inhabited the land of Israel, Jesus tells them that he “ saw Satan fall down from heaven like lightning”. Now even to the nonbiblical folks, this story is well known throughout the world: The fall of Satan. Now the time span between Adam and Jesus has been calculated to be around 4000 years when we employ the genealogies that are displayed within the biblical narrative.
- Adam to Abraham = 1948 yrs
- Abraham to Egypt = 290 yrs
- From Egypt to Moses = 63 yrs
- Moses to the Exodus = 80 yrs
- Exodus to death Joshua = 70 yrs
- Judges to Samuel = 450 yrs (Acts 13:20)
- Kings of Judah = 513 yrs
- Babylonian Captivity = 586 B.C.E.
When we go on and add all these numbers together, we get a sum of of roughly 4000 years between Adam and the Christ.
Now in view of the fact that the fall of Satan happened prior to the fall of Adam and eve, we can conclude that within the minds of the Israeli inhabitants during the time of Jesus, the event happened over 4000 years ago. Since Christ claimed to have seen the fall of Lucifer, he also claimed to have had an existence over 4000 years ago.
This clearly demonstrates to us that Jesus had an existence prior to his earthly birth, hence the nativity story was not and could not be the beginning of his existence.
4. Jesus existed before the world was created
John 17:5 is employed by many, including me, within theological dialogues and debates which concern the humanity and divinity of our Lord. It demonstrates to us that Christ was saturated with complete Glory prior to him sacrificing it for the purpose of embarking on the task of incarnating into a human being to serve as our unblemished sacrifice.
There is an interesting section within the relevant passage where Jesus says:
“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” John 17:5 (ESV)
What Jesus is actually claiming is that not only did he possess full glory, but that he laid within the realm of existence prior to the formation of the heavens and the earth: Ellicot’s commentary of the Holy Scriptures emphasizes Christ’s existence prior to the generation of the world:
With the glory which I had with thee before the world was.—This clause admits of but one meaning—viz., that Jesus claimed for Himself the possession of the divine glory in His pre-existent state before the world was.
This clearly demonstrates to us that Jesus had an existence prior to his earthly birth, hence the nativity story was not and could not be beginning of his existence.
Conclusion
When we examine the scriptures, what we clearly see that Jesus:
- Had an existence before the world began.
- Existed prior to the fall of Adam and eve.
- Was alive before Abraham was born.
- Existed before John the Baptist, even though John was born 6 months before him.
So the answer is, Jesus was an eternally existed deity who born in the flesh 2000 years ago. His physical existence had a beginning, but his existence as a person in the Godhead has no beginning. I hope you enjoyed this article and that it serves as being a blessing to your life!
