Jesus Before His Advent

I recently read an article in Christianity Today describing research in which 80% of Americans said “...they agree that Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father,...” but only 41% believe that the Son of God existed before Mary had her baby in Bethlehem. As expected, this number is being pulled down by the percentage of unaffiliated people who do not believe this fact (only 15% of them believe). What really surprised me was the fact that only 63% of “Active Christians” (defined as going to church at least 4 times per month) believe that the Son of God existed before Jesus was born. That means 37% either don’t believe this or are unsure.

What Does the Bible Say About the Matter?

In John 8, after John’s description of what happened with the woman caught in adultery, we see a long discussion between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day about His testimony. During that discussion Jesus states that Abraham, “rejoiced,” to see Jesus’ day (John 8:56). When asked how He could have seen Abraham, the Bible quotes Jesus as saying:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

John 8:58 (NKJV)

I checked a couple of different sources and the time in between Abraham’s life and Jesus' birth is…well…a long time. Yet Jesus’ statement implies that He was before Abraham. He believed that He existed before He is seen in the flesh, coming down from Heaven (John 3:13). Jesus also spoke of the glory He had with the Father, “before the world was.” (John 17:5) And so we see from Jesus’ own testimony, as recorded in the Bible, that He existed in Heaven before He was born here on earth.

John refers to this in the first chapter of His Gospel, speaking of the Word that became flesh (John 1:14). John tells us that this Word that became flesh is the only begotten of the Father. He also tells us that the Word was, “In the beginning…” The Word was with God and the Word was God. (John 1:1).

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 1:2-3 (NKJV)

According to the Bible, the Son was there at creation. He was sent to earth by the Father, born of a virgin, and we call Him Jesus. He testifies to this fact as did the Apostle John. I suspect that a deeper Bible search would likely find other indications that the Son existed before His Advent. This is one aspect of His eternal nature, one that is critical to our understanding of who He is, as well as our understanding of His gospel.

To see the Christianity Today article mentioned in this post go to: Most Americans, and Many Christians, Don’t Believe the Son of God Existed Before the Manger