The Person of Jesus Was the Son of God Before His Earthly Conception and Birth

 

In response to someone denying Jesus was the Son of God before His conception in Mary's womb, I the wrote the following contrary to his claim that Jesus only became the Son of God after His birth to Mary.

The Bible says God sent His SON INTO the world [John 3:17]. He was the Son of the Father BEFORE being conceived in Mary's womb. Isaiah says in 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a SON is given..." 

John 3:17 LSB

[17] For God did not SEND THE SON ***INTO*** THE WORLD to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 

1 John 4:9 LSB

[9] By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten SON INTO THE WORLD so that we might live through Him. 

Notice that He was the Son before being sent into the world. 

Jesus was the Father's firstborn before being sent into the world: 

Hebrews 1:6 LSB

[6] And when He again BRINGS THE FIRSTBORN INTO THE WORLD, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” 

Proverbs 30:4 LSB

[4] Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? WHAT IS HIS NAME? AND WHAT IS HIS SON ’s NAME? Surely you know! 

Proverbs 30:4 reveals God had a Son in the Old Testament. The verse asks what is God's name, and what is His Son's name. Meaning can you FULLY grasp God's nature, or the nature of His Son? The answer to the rhetorical question is that while you can APPREHEND God truly, no one can COMPREHEND God [and His nature] exhaustively. Nor that of His Son [cf. Matt. 11:17; Luke 10:22]. The word "name" can mean nature, as in Ps. 9:10, where to know God's name is to know His faithful and trustworthy nature. 

Psalms 9:10 LSB

[10] And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek You. 

Hebrews 10:5 LSB

[5] Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; 

Hebrews 10:5 shows Jesus' conscious personal preexistence. 

Galatians 4:4 LSB

[4] But when the fullness of the time came, God SENT FORTH HIS SON, born of a woman, born under the Law, 

Hebrews 1:2 LSB

[2] in these last days spoke to us in His SON, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, 

Hebrews 7:3 LSB

[3] Without father, without mother, without genealogy, HAVING NEITHER BEGINNING OF DAYS NOR END OF LIFE, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest continually.

Notice it doesn't say that Jesus was like Melchizedek. Rather, that Melchizedek was like the Son of God who has no beginning of days or end of life.

//And please get this clear...God who is OMNISCIENT, OMNIPOTENT AND OMNIPRESENT...why would he WALK// 

Read Gen. 3:8 AGAIN It EXPLICITLY says Adam and Eve heard the sound/voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden. Yahweh is portrayed as taking on human form many times in the Old Testament. See for example Gen. chapters 18-19. There I believe it was the pre-incarnate Jesus.

James White Explains Why John Chapter 1 Affirms the Eternal Preexistence of Christ

 

James White explains why John chapter 1 affirms the Eternal Preexistence of Christ in the following YouTube video starting at 33:10 minutes.

https://youtu.be/g88Bu9MO4DA?si=wyba1x9RODhbx-N3

Melchizedek Resembles the Son of God, Not the Other Way Around

 

Hebrews 7:3 presents Jesus as eternally preexistent in the past as well as eternal in the future.

Heb. 7:3 "He [i.e. Melchizedek] is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever."

The reason why Unitarians don't see the eternal preexistence of Christ in Heb. 7:3 is because they read it with their Unitarian colored glasses as teaching the Son of God was made to RESEMBLE MELCHIZEDEK. But that's the opposite of what it's saying. It DOESN'T say the Son of God was made to resemble Melchizedek. Rather it says Melchizedek was made to RESEMBLE CHRIST the Son of God. Yes, it's true that earlier in redemptive history Melchizedek was a type of Christ, while Christ was the later anti-type and fulfillment of the type of Melchizedek. Is this a contradiction to what I argued above? No, because even further back [i.e. earlier] than Melchizedek, the eternal Son of God was the archetype of Melchizedek. As the type [Melchizedek] had the appearance of having no beginning, so Jesus the anti-type who is the reality and fullness of the type ACTUALLY had "neither beginning of days nor end of life". This is why the author could say Jesus Christ is "the same YESTERDAY, today and forever" [Heb. 13:8]. And why Ps. 102 which was originally about Yehovah/Yahweh could be applied to Jesus in Heb. 1:10ff. Attributing to Him the divine prerogative and characteristics of creation, immutability, eternality, aseity. If the author of Hebrews only wanted to affirm the eternality of the Son of God moving forward in time, but not backward in time, he wouldn't have described Melchizedek [whom he says resembles the Son of God] as having the appearance of "having neither beginning of days nor end of life". Instead, the author of Hebrews would have only said Melchizedek had no apparent end of life [leaving out not having beginning of days].

The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary on Heb. 7:3 states:

//"...When Alford denies that Melchisedec was made like the Son of God in respect of his priesthood, on the ground that Melchisedec was prior in time to our Lord, he forgets that Christ's eternal priesthood was an archetypal reality in God's purpose from everlasting, to which Melchisedec's priesthood was "made like" in due time. The Son of God is the more ancient, and is the archetype: compare Heb 8:5, where the heavenly things are represented as the primary archetype of the Levitical ordinances. ..."//

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/hebrews/7-3.htm

Just to make it clear, I think Melchizedek was a normal human being who did have parents and possibly even descendants. But that doesn't undermine my point. Melchizedek is said to have been made to resemble the Son of God. So, when he's described as appearing to not have had beginning of days or end of life, the author is implying that the Son of God literally had no beginning of days or end of life. Because Melchizedek was made to appear like and resemble the Son of God.

When dealing with Unitarians, it's sometimes necessary to point out the following:

When the text says, Melchizedek was made to resemble the Son of God. How does the text say he resembles the Son of God? By having the appearance [though not the reality] of having no beginning of days or end of life. Meaning, the Son of God actually had no beginning of days or end of life. Again, when you recognize that difference between X resembling Y vs. Y resembling X, you'll see that the author is saying Jesus really has what Melchizedek only had the appearance, but not the reality of. Namely, beginninglessness and endlessness.

Christ's Personal Preexistence Taught in Col. 1:15-20 by Abner Chou

 

Abner Chou, one of the translators of the highly anticipated upcoming Legacy Standard Bible, gives a freehand visual of how Col. 1:17-18 is sandwiched IN BETWEEN verses 15-16 that has to do with Creation, and verses 19-20 that has to do with the NEW Creation. By him demonstrating this, he proves the personal preexistence of Christ. 

On Youtube: https://youtu.be/hf0oARrteXs

On Facebook: https://fb.watch/332JFdfjO4/