Omanghana
Jesus never used the exact modern English expression, “I have existed from eternity.” However, several New Testament passages record Him speaking of an existence that preceded Abraham, His human birth and even the creation of the world.
These statements, particularly those found in the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation, form the biblical foundation for the mainstream Christian belief that Jesus Christ is eternal and uncreated.
One of Jesus’ clearest declarations appears during a confrontation with religious leaders in John 8. When they questioned how a man who was not yet 50 years old could have seen Abraham, Jesus responded:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” — John 8:58
Jesus did not say, “Before Abraham was, I was.” Instead, He used the present-tense expression “I AM,” translated from the Greek egō eimi.
Many Christian scholars understand the statement as an echo of Exodus 3:14, where God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM.” From this perspective, Jesus was not simply claiming to be older than Abraham. He was identifying Himself with the eternal existence and divine identity of God.
The reaction of His listeners supports the seriousness of the claim. According to John 8:59, they immediately picked up stones to throw at Him, apparently regarding His words as blasphemous.
Jesus spoke even more directly about His pre-existence in His prayer to the Father shortly before His arrest.
In John 17:5, He prayed:
“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
The statement presents Jesus as consciously existing with the Father before creation and sharing divine glory with Him.
Later in the same prayer, Jesus said the Father had loved Him “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). These words describe a relationship between the Father and the Son that existed before the universe was created.
Jesus also repeatedly said that He had come down from heaven. In John 6:38, He declared that He descended from heaven to accomplish the will of the One who sent Him.
He later asked His disciples what they would think if they saw the Son of Man return “to where He was before” (John 6:62). This language suggests that His life did not begin at His human birth in Bethlehem.
The Book of Revelation records the risen Christ using titles associated with eternal divine authority.
In Revelation 1:17–18, Jesus said:
“I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”
Revelation 22:13 similarly records the declaration:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
These titles closely resemble God’s declaration in Isaiah 44:6: “I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.”
By using the same descriptions, the risen Jesus presents Himself as possessing eternal authority extending over creation, history, death and the world to come.
The New Testament writers interpreted Jesus’ identity in the same way. The opening verses of John’s Gospel declare that the Word already existed “in the beginning,” was with God and was God.
John 1:3 adds that everything that was created came into existence through Him. If all created things were made through the Word, then the Word Himself cannot belong to the category of created beings.
John later identifies this eternal Word as the One who “became flesh” and lived among humanity. Christian theology understands this to mean that Jesus did not begin to exist at His birth. Rather, the eternal Son entered human history by taking on a human nature.
Paul presents a similar teaching in Colossians 1:16–17, writing that all things were created through Christ and that “He is before all things.”
Philippians 2:6–7 also describes Christ as existing “in the form of God” before taking the form of a servant and entering human life.
Hebrews 1:10–12 applies to the Son language from Psalm 102 concerning the Creator’s eternal nature:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth… You are the same, and Your years will not fail.”
Together, these passages present Jesus as existing before creation, participating in creation and remaining unchanged beyond the end of the present world.
Mainstream Trinitarian Christianity understands these texts as evidence that the Son is uncreated and eternally shares the divine nature with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This belief was expressed in the Nicene Creed through the words “begotten, not made.”
Not every religious tradition interprets the passages in the same way. Ancient Arianism and some modern non-Trinitarian groups teach that Jesus existed before the universe but was God’s first created being.
Unitarian and Socinian interpretations generally understand references to Christ’s existence before the world as describing His place in God’s eternal plan rather than a conscious personal existence before His birth.
Despite these alternative interpretations, the mainstream Christian conclusion is that Jesus claimed far more than existence before His earthly ministry. His statements about being present before Abraham, sharing glory with the Father before creation and being “the First and the Last” point to eternal divine existence.
The New Testament therefore presents Jesus not as a created being who later became divine, but as the eternal Son who entered the world, became truly human, died for humanity and rose to reign forever.
Source: Omanghana
