Did Jesus pre-exist before his birth on Earth?

John 6:38-40
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

The first verse suggests that Jesus came down from Heaven. This seems to contradict the belief that he first existed as a man when he was born into this world. For if Jesus was first conceived through Mary and had no pre-existence, how could he come down from Heaven. We (Man) come into existence when we are born into this world, but would it be correct to say that we came down from Heaven? If a verse said that we came down from Heaven, would you think that we pre-existed in Heaven?

John 1:15
15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ “

John the Baptist was 6 months older than Jesus Christ. So it is physically impossible for Christ to be before him. Surely this verse shows preexistence, at least before John the Baptist.

Jude 1:25
to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

&

Colossians 1:17
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

These 2 verses you just read blatantly say that he is before all things.

John 1:3
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

So there is nothing that was made that didn’t involve Jesus/The Word being there. This verse alone answers your question because the universe, angels and men were made and Jesus was present when they were created.

John 8:58
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Jesus claimed to exist before Abraham. The words I am mean I exist. So Jesus existed before Abraham.

Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

Here we see that Jesus is the offspring of David, yet he is also the root of David, which at appears to show existence before King David.

Luke 10:18
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Compare Luke 10:18 with Revelation 12:1-10 and it appears that Satan and his angels fell to the earth before the birth of Christ as a man. Now we know that Jesus was the Word and was with God in the beginning.

What is Prayer?

INTIMACY WITH GOD

What is Prayer?

Prayer is communication with God; a desire to enter into conscious and intimate relationship with the God who is our life. One example in the Psalms:

Psalm 73:25, 26 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

It is speaking to God and listening for His answer; an intimacy that we share with Him. God actually hungers for our fellowship.

Rev. 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

Prayer is adoration; the praise of God because of His greatness and goodness.

Psalm 145:3 “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable”.

Prayer is thanksgiving; the outpouring of gratitude to God because of His grace, mercy, and lovingkindness. You will see this exemplified in the Psalms.

Psalm 103:1,2,8,10-12 “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases….the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy….He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us…..For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”

THE TRINITY: THE FATHER

This text on the Trinity is by no means exhaustive, but is meant to give you a good foundation regarding the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

In eternity, before time began, the Godhead included the Father, the Word (Jesus, Son), and the Holy Spirit. Three persons, all equal in power and authority, having one will.

Every act accomplished is done in complete unity. Scripture shows the three Persons act in harmonious unity in all the mighty works set forth throughout the universe.

With our finite minds, we cannot comprehend three Persons in One. But, there are a few examples that can help us to understand:

1) H2O, is the chemical symbol for water. In its liquid form it is water; in its gaseous form it is steam; in its solid form, it is ice. All three have the same substance but different functions.

2) A prism looks like just a piece of glass until sunlight shines through it. When light shines through a prism it reveals the three primary colors plus all the resultant colors in the spectrum.

3) An egg. Before an egg can be called an egg, it has to have all three components: the shell, the yolk and the albumen or white of the egg.

Creation – Many, mistakenly believe, that creation is attributed to the Father, but in actuality, it was accomplished by all three Persons of the Trinity.

1) Father:

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

2) Jesus (Son):

Colossians 1:16 “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." John 1:2,3

3) Holy Spirit:

Job 26:13; ”By His Spirit He adorned the heavens…”;

Psalm 104:30 “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth.”

Incarnation – Although only the Son was manifest in the flesh, all three Persons partook in the experience. In the gospel of Luke, we see the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary:

Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

In the gospel of John we see Jesus is also called “the Word”.

John 1:14 “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. ”

THE FATHER

The Father is the first Person of the Trinity; not because of importance or power (as Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit are equal), but because of willing submission and subordination on the part of Jesus. In every area of Jesus' earthly life He was in complete obedience to the Father.

SPIRIT, SOUL & BODY

Most of mankind knows that man is made up of body and soul while assuming the soul and spirit are the same, but the soul and spirit are two separate parts of our being. Our primary substance is spirit because God is Spirit.

John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Our spirit is more real than our soul or our body. Let’s look at Hebrews and 1 Thes. 5:23.

Heb. 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

1 Thes. 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We are a spirit that has a soul that lives in a body. Our body is the outer shell, the tent that Paul and Peter speak of in 2 Corinthians and 2 Peter:

2 Cor. 5:1 “For we know that if our earthly house (physical body) this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”

2 Pet. 1:13,14 "Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me“.

So then, our body is the house for our spirit and soul. Upon our bodily death, we just shed the figurative house or tent, and our soul and spirit live forever.

Brief explanation of Spirit, Soul and Body

Mark 12:30‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'


Brief explanation of Spirit, Soul and Body:
1) Spirit - relates to God – our God consciousness or our awareness of God. We relate to God through our Intuition (insight, our instantaneous comprehension); our conscience (inner moral self, knowledge or feeling of right and wrong); and by communion (sharing together, fellowship, interchange of thoughts or interests; a state of giving and receiving; agreement; a personal relationship).
2) Soul - relates to others – our personality or self-awareness; our relationship with others; our mind, emotions and will.
3) Body - How we relate to the things around us through our senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
The body is predominant; that’s what we see first. Our tendency is to judge by appearance. Our judgment might completely change when we get to know a person.
Our human nature is to judge people by their looks, but true knowledge only comes through relationship; spirit to spirit.

1) From the definition of soul, would you say a dog has a soul?

2) Does he have a spirit?

3) When you were saved, where did salvation take place Spirit, Soul or Body?
The answers to these questions are:

#1 - Yes, a dog has a soul because he has a personality. Some are mean and vicious and others are sweet and meek.

Answer #2 - No, a dog doesn't have a spirit because only man is made in God’s image. 

Answer #3 – Your salvation took place in your spirit for that is how God communicates with you.