Pre-Fleshly State Of Christ Series

Pre-fleshly State of Christ

Scriptures: (Hebrews 1:1-14) John 1:1-1

John 1:1-18 (NKJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”

16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Introduction

John begins his gospel with a series of statements affirming the deity of Christ. In contrast to the other gospels, he opens his gospel in eternity past. Matthew, who portrays Christ as the King, begins with a genealogy to prove His Davidic lineage. Mark, who presents Christ as the Servant, begins his gospel with the public activity of Christ as a Servant. Luke, who emphasizes the humanity of Christ, begins his gospel with a lengthy description of the events that led to the birth of Christ. John, who presents Christ as the Son of God, begins his gospel in eternity. He starts out by speaking about the Word—but he does not explain at first who or what the Word is. A word is a unit of speech by which we express ourselves to others. But John is not writing about speech but rather about a Person. That Person is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God has fully expressed Himself to humanity in the Person of the Lord Jesus. By coming into the world, Christ has perfectly revealed to us what God is like. By dying for us on the cross, He has told us how much God loves us. Thus, Christ is God’s living Word to man, the expression of God’s thoughts.

Who was Jesus, and where was He before He came to earth? Who was He before He took on our flesh? The Bible has the answers.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Alternate Translation (TLB): Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God.

Jesus Christ did not have a beginning Himself, but existed from all eternity He is the living Word. He never was created. He had no beginning. (A genealogy would be out of place in this Gospel of the Son of God.) Jesus and God the Father, along with the Holy Spirit, have always had an intimate relationship as the triune God. Jesus is God who took on a human body and nature in order to redeem humanity.

In the beginning was the [1]Word. This opening statement is a repetition of the opening statement of the Bible [2] (Gen 1:1). The phrase Was the Word implies that when time began, the Word was already in existence. This unique [3]name for Christ (Gr logos) occurs only four times in the New Testament as a name and is utilized only by John the apostle. Since words reveal the thoughts of one person to another, Christ as the Eternal Word is a revelation of God to man.

In the beginning was the Word speaks to his existence, not only before his incarnation, but before all time. The beginning of time, in which all creatures were produced and brought into being, was set in motion by this eternal Word. The world was from the beginning, but the Word was in the beginning. Eternity is usually expressed by being before the foundation of the world. The eternity of God is described in that way in [4]Psalms 90:2 and [5]Proverbs 8:23. The Word had a being before the world had a beginning. He that was in the beginning never began.