Where was Jesus before the creation of the earth? Do you believe He exist before the creation of the earth? When God said let us create man in our own image whom was he referring to?

Jesus has been acclaimed as the greatest religious leader who ever lived, as being the most influential person to have lived on our planet, and as being unique to the degree that no one can be compared to Him.

But considering Jesus Christ merely on the basis of an exemplary life and His superior moral teaching will not remove the stumbling blocks to Christianity raised by an unbelieving world.  The real test of what one thinks of Him must revolve around whom He claimed to be and what He accomplished during His brief mission to our planet.  Our conclusion must be that there is no Christianity without Christ; all center in Him.

The predominant theme of the scriptures is the person and the work of Jesus Christ.  He is God.  He became a human being, died by crucifixion, and was buried.  He rose again from the dead.  He is the only, all-sufficient Saviour of the world.  He will come again to this earth.  Removing this from the Scriptures robs them of all coherent meaning and continuity.

In this Bible Study series we want to explore the Sonship of Jesus Christ and some general theme on Jesus Christ.  We should expect something like His Existence Before Creation.  A Birth like none other, His God-man lifestyle, A lamb led to slaughter.  Triumphant over the Grave, Ascended and Seated in Heaven, His promised Return and His Lordship.

The Question of Jesus’ Identity

We must come to grips with identity of Jesus in a personal, one-on-one encounter.  Upon entering Caesarea Philippi, Jesus penetrated His disciples’ thinking with a question that forced such an encounter: “‘who do people say the Son of Man is?’ ” (Matt. 16:13).

That question echoes as loudly today as it did back then.

A.                   Who is Jesus, according to people today?  Some say He’s a great human teacher, the founder of Christianity, a Nazarene Carpenter’s Son, a Jew who claimed to be Messiah, a first century martyr who died for a noble cause, the Son of God.

B.                   Who was Jesus, according to the people of the first century? His disciples said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets’ ” (Matt. 16:14).  Read more: Luke 5:21, Luke. 7:49, Luke. 9:9,        Luke. 23:3

C.                   Who is Jesus, according to His own claim?  After His disciples told Jesus who the people thought Him to be, Jesus handed Peter the pointed end of the question. 

See 16:15-17, Thomas, gave a similar confession in John 20:26-29.  Notice that Jesus did not rebuke Thomas for calling Him God, nor did He rebuke Thomas for falling down to worship Him.

II.            The Issue of Jesus’ Eternally

Turning to John 8, we can almost feel the heat rising from the page as the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees intensifies.

A.            According to Jesus Himself. (See John 8:39-43) 45-51, 52-58

Three times in John 8 “I am” is used in the absolute sense (vv. 24, 28, 58).  When Jesus referred to Himself as ‘I am”, He was not only asserting His Supremacy over Abraham and overtime, but He was also asserting His Identity with God.  (Also see Ex. 3:14).

B.                   According to John’s Gospel.  The eternality of Christ is asserted not only by Himself but also by His closest disciple – the disciple whom Christ loved – John.  (Read John 1:1) The identity of this Word is revealed in verses 14-18.  The Word is Jesus Christ.

C.                   According to Paul’s Letters.  In Philippians 2:5-7, Paul affirms the teaching of John about Christ’s deity and incarnation.

In another letter, Paul again agrees with John – that Jesus not only existed before creation, but that “all things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3).  Also, see        Col. 1:15-17; I Corin. 15:12-28.

III.          The Importance of Jesus’ Deity

The deity of Jesus is important on two different levels, theological and practical.  Theologically, if Jesus isn’t eternally God, then the credibility of Scripture is undermined.  Practically, if Jesus is a mere man, then HE cannot be turned to for help, either for salvation from our sins or for salvation from our day-to-day struggles.