Back وجود المسيح السابق Arabic Preexistence Krista Czech Präexistenz Christi German Antaŭekzisto de Kristo Esperanto Preexistencia de Jesucristo Spanish Préexistence du Christ French Prawujud Yesus ID Preesistenza di Cristo Italian キリストの先在 Japanese 그리스도의 선재 Korean
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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.
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] Philippians 2:6–11, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Galatians 4:4 and 1 Corinthians 8:6 are passages that are seen as evidence that Paul believed in the pre-existence of Christ.[3] However, the interpretation that these passages refer to the pre-existence of Christ has been disputed by a minority of scholars such as James Dunn[4]
The pre-existence of Christ is affirmed at the Beginning of the Nicene Creed.[5]
- ^ George Ferguson, 1996 Signs & symbols in Christian art ISBN 0-19-501432-4 page 92
- ^ 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
- ^ Vincent M. Smiles (2005). First Thessalonians, Philippians, Second Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians. Liturgical Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780814628676. OCLC 1203878112.
- ^ Dunn, James D. G. (1996). Christology in the Making: a New Testament inquiry into the origins of the doctrine of the Incarnation (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-8028-4257-2.
- ^ 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).