Pre-existence of Christ

God resting after creation – Christ depicted as the creator of the world, Byzantine mosaic in Monreale, Sicily. Depictions of God the Father became prevalent only by the 15th century, and Jesus was often shown as a substitute before then.[1]
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The pre-existence of Christ asserts the existence of Christ prior to his incarnation as Jesus. One of the relevant Bible passages is John 1 (John 1:1–18) where, in the Trinitarian interpretation, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasis (substantive reality) called the Logos (Koine Greek for "word"). There are nontrinitarian views that question the aspect of personal pre-existence, the aspect of divinity, or both.

More particularly, John 1:15, 18 says:

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

— John 1:15, 18

This doctrine is supported in John 17:5 when Jesus refers to the glory that he had with the Father "before the world existed" during the Farewell Discourse.[2] John 17:24 also refers to the Father loving Jesus "before the foundation of the world".[2] Ephesians 1:4–5,[3] 2 Corinthians 8:9, Galatians 4:4 and Colossians 1:15–17 show that Paul knew the preexistence of Christ.[4]

The pre-existence of Christ is affirmed at the Beginning of the Nicene Creed.[5]

  1. ^ George Ferguson, 1996 Signs & symbols in Christian art ISBN 0-19-501432-4 page 92
  2. ^ a b Creation and Christology: A Study on the Johannine Prologue in the Light of Early Jewish Creation Accounts by Masanobu Endo 2002 ISBN 3-16-147789-8 page 233
  3. ^ Richard B. Hays (2008). The Word Leaps the Gap. Essays on Scripture and Theology in Honor of Richard B. Hays. Eerdman Publishing Company. p. 463. ISBN 9780802863560. OCLC 1203876941. If we are chosen and predestinated "from the beginning", then we must resemble Christ in existing "from the beginning" prior the coming into being of the cosmos
  4. ^ Vincent M. Smiles (2005). First Thessalonians, Philippians, Second Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians. Liturgical Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780814628676. OCLC 1203878112.
  5. ^ At the following words: "I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages." The expression "Before of all ages" means Before the time and creation of Genesis 1. Cf. Charles Lee Irons (29 September 2020). "The Only Begotten God. Eternal Generation in the Nicene Creed". Credo Magazine. 19 (3).