BSN: The Preexistence of Messiah

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Jesus showed the disciples that Messiah existed from the beginning of time – that is, that before coming to earth, he was a preexistent heavenly being. This is seen in Scriptures like Mic 5:2 and John 1:1-2. Though the Synoptic Gospels don’t speak much to this, John’s Gospel does – such as in Jn 6:38 and 8:58. You can search for #RPJ (“References to the Preexistence of Jesus (Messiah)”) in this BSN to find verses that speak of Jesus’ preexistence.

  • #RPJ – “References to the Preexistence of Jesus” – that is, before He became a human being – such as
    • Any reference to Jesus being the person through whom God created the universe is an implicit declaration that He preexisted His earthly life – that is, preexisted His incarnation. These include Jn 1:1-3, 10; 2 Cor 8:5-6; Col 1:16; Heb 1:1-2, 10-12; Ps 102:24-27; Prov 8:22-31. Of course, some of these passages are explicitly referring to both His preexistence and His actions as Creator. See also The 40-Day Bible Study of Jesus the Messiah which mentions the source of the apostles’ knowledge on these two subjects.
    • Lk 1:26, 31 – Luke’s account of John’s birth makes clear that John was six months older than Jesus. Yet John the Baptist testified that Jesus existed before him (Jn 1:15, 30). For more, see John the Baptist.
    • Jn 1:1-3, 10, 14.
    • Jn 1:15, 30 – See note on Lk 1:26, 31 above.
    • Jn 3:11-13
    • Jn 3:31-36
    • Jn 8:14, 23, 49-58
    • Jn 13:3
    • Jn 17:5, 24
    • 2 Cor 8:9 which refers to Jesus having been rich before becoming poor.
    • Phil 2:5-11
    • Col 1:15-20
    • Heb 13:8 especially as connected to Heb 1:10-12 and Ps 102:24-27.
    • 1 Peter 1:20
    • Jude 1:5 – see NASB 1995 footnote.
    • Mic 5:2

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