~~ Did Jesus pre-exist? ~~

Ro 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

Ro 7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

Ro 7:10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

Ro 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

Ro 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Ro 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Men have so misused the above verses to say that the man, Paul, after his conversion, was still in sin. It is a lie.

I want to show you a SCRIPTURAL principal, or method of speaking, found many times in the Word of God. This is one of the reasons men cannot understand the truth. They do not understand the method of speaking used in the Word. So in their own carnal minds, they bring up many false teachings. Then they must twist all Scripture to try to prove themselves right.

Paul was speaking of all mankind in the above verses, not himself, personally. He was showing that before the law was given, men were alive without the law and sin was dead. Where there is no law, there is no sin for sin is the transgression of the law. So if there is no law, there is no sin.

But when the law was given, then God concluded them all in unbelief and sins. Therefore by the law, men died in trespasses and sins.

So we see here that Paul was not speaking of himself. He was only showing the condition of mankind before the law, and then after the law was given.

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

Joh 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

How did Abraham see Jesus�?day? By prophecy. By the Word of God. The gospel was preached to Abraham, so by the Word of God, Abraham saw the day of Jesus Christ. In this sense, Jesus could say, Before Abraham was, I am.

It does NOT mean what everyone is saying. It does not mean that Jesus lived before Abraham. It is the same kind of speech which Paul used in Romans 7. Here Jesus was speaking of mankind. Jesus was in prophecy. That is how he was before Abraham. Mankind was before Abraham.

Jesus spoke this same kind of speech here: John 15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

See, he was saying that before his own lifetime, in their law, it was already written that they hated him without a cause. This does not mean that it had actually already happened. It was in prophecy. When a thing is mentioned in prophecy, it can certainly be said that it has already been, because the Word of God is as sure as if it has already been done. It exists in the Word of God, therefore, IT IS.

Here is another place that makes it look as if Jesus is saying that he himself, actually existed before his birth. But see, he is not meaning that. He is speaking here, as Paul did in Romans 7, about mankind itself, not his own personal self. John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Here Jesus is speaking as mankind, not as an individual. This has to be understood as it cannot cross other Scripture. Here Jesus was referring to the glorified state of Adam and Eve, before they fell into sin. He is asking to be given back that same glorification, which mankind had before the fall.

This is just as misunderstood as Romans 7 is. Paul was not saying of himself, that he was alive once without the law, but when the law came, sin revived and Paul died. No. That is NOT what Paul means. He is speaking of mankind, just as Jesus is doing in John 17:5.

So there is absolutely no basis in Scripture for saying that Jesus existed before his birth. There is no such thing as ‘pre-incarnate�?or incarnate god, taught in any Scripture.

By:  Jo Smith... Feb. 28, 2008