1God Series © FOREKNOWLEDGE:
In what form Christ "pre-existed" Bethlehem.
-by rory moore
The Scriptures state Christ had glory before the the foundation of the world so that leads us to ask...
Was Christ a person, a Spirit being pre-existing with His heavenly Father before coming into the world as "God incarnate"?
The Trinitarian thinks so, but a Onenness-Modalist believes GOD the Father "incarnated" Himself into a man leaving the throne vacant while He was on earth.
Was he an angel? A Spirit-being?
-since those in scripture who saw heaven did not tell us of a multiplicity of God-persons, (see their words here), how can we reconcile passages such as:
John 17:5
And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.
Let's look at how Christ could be "with" the Father before Bethlehem.
Along this thought, compare that GOD did "know" Jeremiah before he was born.
Jeremiah 1: 4 Now the word of the LORD (GOD) came to me saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
-and that my friend is foreknowledge. Foreknowledge was "with" GOD from eternity.
The prophets who saw the throne and saw God, YHVH, the God and Father of Jesus Christ, who would be born at Bethlehem.
They are Macaiah, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel. Moses and the elders also saw into heaven in Exodus 24:12, and John in Revelation 4-5.
Ezekiel 1:26 is most detailed vision. Since
only One God with a "form" and "likeness of a man" was seen
and because Christ is "the Son of man", how could Christ have glory
"before the world was"?
The
answer that resolves this beautifully is that Jesus was glorified before he was
born, in God's foreknowledge. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you”.
Foreknowledge:
22 “Men of
Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God
with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your
midst, just as you yourselves know
23 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒏, 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, you nailed to a cross by the hands
of godless men and put Him to death.
Foreknowledge:
John 17:24: that they may behold my glory, which You have given me: for You loved me before the foundation of the world.
Foreknowledge:
1 Peter 1:20
For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has
appeared in these last times for the sake of you
Foreknowledge:
Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Foreknowledge:
Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world,
Foreknowledge.
Revelation
13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Foreknowledge.
Acts 15:18 Known
to God are all his works from the beginning of the world
Foreknowledge.
Isaiah 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I
will do all my pleasure:
How then was Christ sharing glory with God before the world existed? If he was not seen as a literal person, an angel, or a collateral second God-person, how might we reconcile?
I believe it was evidenced by the Father's eternal "foreknowledge" and that answers the many verses that seem to put the man, Christ Jesus as a pre-existing person.
If there is a shred of doubt, look again at the resurrection gospel preached by Peter at the beginning of the Spirit-filled church in Acts 2:
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know
23 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒏, 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
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