(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
Did Jesus have a beginning?
Intro:
Today as we begin the book of John, you hear some famous words that echo Genesis 1…”In the beginning.” And you won’t have to listen long to figure out that John’s talking about Jesus.
So, did Jesus have a beginning?
The important point that John made to his original audience is still important today. And in a brief podcast I’ll not be able to lay out the sum total of all this means for what we believe, but I will share with you a couple seriously important things to remember that are utterly foundational to sound Christian belief.
New Testament segment:
Passage: John 1:1-18
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 18
Words: ~386
1:1 In the beginning was the Word echoes the opening phrase of the book of Genesis, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” John will soon identify this Word as Jesus (v. 14), but here he locates Jesus’ existence in eternity past with God. The term “the Word” (Gk. logos) conveys the notion of divine self-expression or speech and has a rich OT background. God’s Word is effective: God speaks, and things come into being (Gen. 1:3, 9; Ps. 33:6; 107:20; Isa. 55:10–11), and by speech he relates personally to his people (e.g., Gen. 15:1)….
And the Word was with God indicates interpersonal relationship “with” God, but then and the Word was God affirms that this Word was also the same God who created the universe “in the beginning.” Here are the building blocks that go into the doctrine of the Trinity: the one true God consists of more than one person, they relate to each other, and they have always existed.(1)
Extra material: Go to forthehope.org and find show #1199 to learn what Jehovah’s Witnesses get wrong about this verse.
From the Patristic period (Arius, c. a.d. 256–336) until the present day (Jehovah’s Witnesses), some have claimed that “the Word was God” merely identifies Jesus as a god rather than identifying Jesus as God, because the Greek word for God, Theos, is not preceded by a definite article. However, in Greek grammar, Colwell’s Rule indicates that the translation “a god” is not required, for lack of an article does not necessarily indicate indefiniteness (“a god”) but rather specifies that a given term (“God”) is the predicate nominative of a definite subject (“the Word”). This means that the context must determine the meaning of Theos here, and the context clearly indicates that this “God” that John is talking about (“the Word”) is the one true God who created all things (see also John 1:6, 12, 13, 18 for other examples of Theos without a definite article but clearly meaning “God”).(1)
Now here is what we believe…that stuff I’ll not have time to lay out a long case for. If you have questions or concerns, call me. This is important because the real Jesus versus the wrong Jesus is what separates Christianity from Judaism, Islam, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and plenty others…and it’s the basis for multiple heresies that persist in the “church” today.
Jesus is the eternally begotten son of God. Unlike you and me having a baby, God the Father didn’t pre-exist Jesus, but for whatever reason, God’s ordering and design includes voluntary subordination of Father and Son. As you heard John say, Jesus is equal to the Father, eternal like the Father, and this means Jesus has all the attributes of divinity. There are no degreed properties here, which means he’s not more or less anything. Equal. And while we’re not talking about the Holy Spirit today, the same would be true of him.
Jesus then came to earth as a man. Put these two together, and this “God-Man” is dual-natured — fully God and fully man. Jesus’ humanity was birthed at a point in time (as we know time). And, of course, the gospel is based on his sinless life, atoning death, bodily resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of the Father where He still intercedes for us until He returns. Now here’s a brain twister…does Jesus still have a body? Yes. A new, transformed one which, in fact, is part of the promise of what we experience.
I’d love to go on and on, but remember this. What makes us distinctively human is that we have a soul unlike any other, made in the image of God. We’ve had this soul from the moment of conception. And our souls will continue on in eternity…some in a new heavens and earth and with new, transformed bodies (like Jesus has already demonstrated as possible), and, of course, some experiencing eternal separation from God (which will be hell, I promise).
So, did Jesus have a beginning. Technically, no. His humanity did, just like we did. But Jesus, the person, had no beginning.
Alright, let’s turn back to Jeremiah where we enter a new section that speaks to God’s judgment of the southern kingdom of Judah. And today, we hear of both God’s faithfulness and Judah’s infidelity.
Old Testament segment:
Passage: Jeremiah 34-35
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 41
Words: ~1251
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Proverbs 16:25-28
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 3
Words: ~47
The bottom line:
Remember how, in our Sunday Reflection this week, we talked about the exclusive nature of truth? And that truth would both unite and divide? Well, not unlike that last proverb, gossip and contrariness does, too. Sadly, this is endemic to broken people, sometimes even those who are close to us. And like we talked about Sunday, Jesus is the center of that because he doesn’t just tell the truth, he doesn’t just offer some truthful wisdom, he IS the truth. And if you have a false Jesus, you have a false gospel.
May God have mercy on all of us.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2019.