The Eternal Pre-existence and Underived Life of Christ

No, Christ does not have a beginning in the way created beings do, as His existence reaches back through dateless ages into eternity7ABC 440.4+1. While he is the begotten of the Father, He possesses life that is original, unborrowed, and underived5BC 1130.3+2.

The Eternal Pre-existence of Christ

The Savior's existence is not measured by time, for He has been in close fellowship with the Father from the beginning9MR 126.1+1.

• Dateless Ages: In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries our minds back through dateless ages, assuring us there was never a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God7ABC 440.4.

• From Everlasting: The scriptures declare that His goings forth have been "from of old, from everlasting" Micah 5:21SM 248.2.

• One with the Father: He was one with the Father before the foundation of the world, and by Him all things were created John 1:1-3+1ST May 28, 1894, par. 1.

Original, Underived Life

A crucial distinction exists between the life of Christ and the life of humanity; Christ is the fountain of life, while we are merely a streamlet from that fountainMM 7.3+1.

• Self-Existent Life: In Christ is life—original, unborrowed, and underivedHLv 354.6+2.

• Life in Himself: Although the Father has given to the Son to have life in Himself, this life is the property of God, which the Word—who was God—possessed from the beginning John 5:265BC 1130.3+1.

• Independent of Time: Any doctrine that claims Christ had no existence before His advent to this world is a dangerous error that contradicts the plainest statements of the Savior concerning His relationship with the FatherDD 10.1+2.

Understanding the Godhead

While early pioneers sometimes struggled to define the mystery of the Godhead, further light has clarified that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are co-eternal and co-equalBDOC 66.6+1.

• The Plurality of the Godhead: At the creation of the world, the Father spoke to the Son, saying, "Let us make man," showing Christ was already in being as a joint Creator Genesis 1:26TTA 20.3+1.

• The "I AM": Jesus accepted the title of the self-existent God when He declared, "Before Abraham was, I am," identifying Himself as the one who talked with Moses at the burning bush John 8:58SOTW 14.2.

• A Sacred Mystery: The nature of the divine personality and the timing of the "beginning" mentioned in Scripture are mysteries where human speculation should give way to golden silenceULe 20.5+1.

We can rest in the absolute assurance that our Redeemer is the "King eternal, immortal, invisible," the "only wise God," who possesses the "life which is exclusively the property of God" 1 Timothy 1:175BC 1130.3+1. 🛡️✨