The pre-existence of Jesus Christ is a foundational doctrine of Christianity that affirms Jesus existed before his incarnation as a human being. This belief is rooted in several key biblical passages that reveal Jesus as the eternal Son of God, active and present with the Father before the creation of the world. Though the terminology “pre-existence” does not appear in Scripture, the concept is clearly taught throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
There are several lines of biblical evidence for the pre-existence of Jesus:
1. Jesus is identified as the eternal Word of God who was with God in the beginning
The opening verses of John’s gospel provide a powerful statement about Jesus’ divine pre-existence: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3). Here Jesus is equated with the divine Word or Logos, God’s eternal self-expression, who was actively present at creation. This introduces Jesus as the eternal Son who shared glory with the Father before the world was made (John 17:5).
2. Jesus claimed He came down from heaven and existed before Abraham
On various occasions Jesus explicitly taught His pre-existence. He claimed to have glory with the Father “before the world existed” (John 17:5). When confronting the Jews, Jesus declared, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” They questioned how this could be possible since Jesus was not yet 50 years old. Jesus responded, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:56-58). The statement “I am” echoes the name of God in Exodus 3:14, implying Jesus’ eternal self-existence.
Jesus also spoke about descending from heaven: “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” (John 3:13). He claimed to have come down from above, in contrast to human beings who come from the earth below (John 8:23). These startling statements reveal Jesus taught His own pre-existence with the Father in heaven before becoming a man.
3. Jesus is presented as the agent of creation – the eternal Son through whom the universe was made
The New Testament teaches that God created everything through Christ. Not only was the Word present at the beginning, but everything was made through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). The Son is upheld as the instrument of creation through whom the Father worked to bring the universe into existence. Passages like John 1:3 speak of the Word’s active involvement in making “all things.” This presupposes His pre-existence with the Father prior to creation.
Hebrews 1:2 affirms God “through whom also He created the worlds” has spoken definitively in Jesus Christ. This implies Christ’s pre-existent identity as the divine Son whom the Father used to create “the worlds.” All things continue to hold together in Him (Colossians 1:17). Jesus is the eternal God and agent of creation alongside the Father (Hebrews 1:8-12).
4. Jesus was active with the Father prior to His incarnation
The New Testament contains hints of the Son’s activities with the Father prior to becoming incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. Passages indicate the pre-incarnate Christ was the member of the Godhead through whom God revealed Himself and communicated His will in the Old Testament. For example, Paul teaches the Israelites drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). Furthermore, Hebrews 11:26 notes that Moses considered “the reproach of Christ” greater than the fleeting treasures of Egypt. These implications of Christ’s pre-existence are clarified in places like John 8:56-59.
Furthermore, Jesus prayed in John 17:5, “Glorify me with the glory I had with You before the world existed.” This speaks of a shared glory existing between the Father and the pre-existent Son before He took on flesh. Through the incarnation Jesus manifested this glory in a new way (John 1:14). But His inherent glory with the Father preceded the creation and His mission to earth.
5. Jesus was involved in Old Testament theophanies (visible manifestations of God)
Theophanies refer to visible manifestations of God in the Old Testament prior to the incarnation of Christ. There are hints in the Bible that a number of these encounters with God in visible form were actually appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ. For example, Joshua encountered the “commander of the Lord’s army” who claimed to be neither for nor against Israel, but had divine authority and received worship from Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15). Many believe this was “God the Son” appearing as a Christophany, or physical manifestation of Christ.
Some theophanies expressly mention “the Angel of the Lord” which is identified as the Lord Himself and also receives worship (Genesis 16:7-13; Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 6:11-24). There is strong biblical evidence that the Angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Christ appearing in angelic form. These visible manifestations of God were actually appearances of the eternal Son functioning as the Revealer of God prior to His incarnation in Jesus.
6. Jesus is identified as the eternal I AM – the self-existent God who revealed Himself to Moses and the Israelites
When God first appeared to Moses in Exodus 3:14, He identified Himself as “I AM WHO I AM.” This revealed His nature as the only eternal, self-existent, independent, self-sufficient God who depends on nothing outside of Himself. “I AM” affirms God’s eternity, self-existence, and unchangeableness in contrast to the contingent created world. Significantly, in the Gospel of John Jesus repeatedly applies God’s sacred name “I AM” to Himself:
- “Before Abraham was, I am.” (8:58)
- “I am the bread of life.” (6:48)
- “I am the light of the world.” (8:12)
- “I am the door.” (10:9)
- “I am the good shepherd.” (10:11)
- “I am the resurrection and the life.” (11:25)
- “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (14:6)
By equating Himself with the divine name “I AM”, Jesus claimed absolute deity for Himself and identified Himself as the same God who appeared to Moses hundreds of years earlier. This directly connects Jesus with the eternal God of the Old Testament, implying His own pre-existence.
7. Old Testament prophecies depict the coming Messiah as eternal
Several Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah portray Him as having origins from eternity past. Isaiah 9:6 gives Him the titles “Eternal Father” and “Mighty God”, which identify Him as the pre-existent Divine Son. Micah 5:2 predicts the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem yet His “origin is from of old, from ancient days.” Psalm 110:3 says the Messiah will be priest like Melchizedek, who was “without father, without mother, without genealogy” with an enduring priesthood. These prophecies foresee the humanity and pre-existent deity of Christ converging in the Messiah.
Perhaps most clearly, Isaiah saw the Messiah’s glory and spoke of Him saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). John tells us this vision of Isaiah’s was in fact a vision of the pre-incarnate Christ, evidenced by Isaiah seeing Jesus’ glory and speaking of Him (John 12:41). Old Testament prophecies like these anticipate the coming Messiah as more than a human, but the eternal Son of God incarnate.
8. Jesus is identified as the heavenly spiritual Rock that Moses struck
In 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul remarkably wrote, “And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” Here Paul takes Exodus 17’s account of Moses striking the rock at Horeb from which water sprung up, and makes the stunning claim that the rock was actually the pre-incarnate Christ spiritually present. This passage reveals Christ accompanying Israel in the wilderness as the source of their sustenance, and it implicitly teaches His pre-existence.
9. Christ’s eternal existence as the Son is essential to the Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity holds there is one God existing in three co-equal divine Persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three Persons share the same divine nature and have eternally loved and glorified each other in perfect relationship (John 17:24). For this triune God to have always existed, the Son must have eternal existence. If there was ever a time the Son did not exist, then God has not eternally been three Persons over all time. This would undermine the doctrine of the Trinity which Scripture reveals to be true. The eternality and deity of Christ are essential to hold a biblical view of the Trinity.
10. Jesus received worship as God both before and after His incarnation
Scripture records Jesus being worshiped as God both prior to His incarnation and after. As the Angel of the Lord, Christ repeatedly received worship (Genesis 16:7-13; Exodus 3:1-6; Judges 6:11-24). After the incarnation, Jesus accepted worship from His disciples (Matthew 28:9, 17) and others like the healed blind man (John 9:38). The Bible is clear that only God is worthy of worship (Luke 4:8). The Father would not allow the Son to receive worship unless He was fully divine and shared the same nature as the Father. This necessitates Christ’s pre-existence as the divine Son.
11. Direct assertions of Christ’s pre-existence in Scripture
Several biblical passages directly state or explicitly imply that Jesus existed as the eternal Son prior to the incarnation:
- “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1)
- “The glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5)
- “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3)
- “Christ as a Son over God’s house—and we are his house if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory” (Hebrews 3:6)
- “He is before all things” (Colossians 1:17)
- “the Lamb slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8)
These explicit statements teach Christ’s pre-existence in unequivocal language. They present the Son as existing “in the beginning” before creation and declare straightforwardly that He pre-existed before becoming a human being.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the cumulative biblical evidence provides very strong support for the pre-existence of Christ as the eternal divine Son of God. This doctrine is affirmed through: 1) Direct statements of Christ’s pre-existence, 2) Old Testament theophanies of Christ, 3) The eternal I AM titles applied to Christ, 4) Christ’s identity as the agent of creation, 5) Christ’s activity prior to His incarnation, 6) Worship given to the pre-incarnate Christ, 7) The implications of Christ’s divinity and the Trinity, and 8) Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah’s eternal nature.
Based on the overwhelming scriptural testimony, Christianity has historically embraced the pre-existence of Jesus as a core doctrine about Christ’s divine identity and work. The Son did not come into existence when He was born as a babe in Bethlehem. Rather, He is the eternal Son who shared glory with the Father prior to the world’s creation and then took on human flesh to save us from sin. Understanding Christ’s pre-existence provides greater awe and worship of Jesus for His profound condescension in leaving heaven to become one of us.