What does "He was with God in the beginning" imply about Jesus' existence? The phrase in question is the second half of verse 2, yet it cannot be isolated from verse 1. The double assertion—“was” and “was with”—anchors the Person referred to as “the Word” (ho Logos) outside the boundaries of created time. Eternal Pre-Existence “In the beginning” (en archē) echoes Genesis 1:1, but here the verb tense places the Logos already existing when the beginning itself began. This implies: (1) Jesus is not a creature; (2) His existence is eternal; (3) time itself is contingent on Him (cf. Colossians 1:17, “in Him all things hold together”). Personal Distinction Yet Essential Unity John avoids modalism by maintaining distinction (“with God”) while affirming full deity (“was God”). Later Scripture confirms: “Glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed” (John 17:5); “Your origins are from of old, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). Thus, the verse is an early Trinitarian seed—one Being, three Persons, co-eternal. Christ As Co-Creator And Sustainer Because He predates the cosmos, He is its active Cause: “Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). Laboratory-level observations of irreducible complexity and digital information in DNA point to a designing Mind rather than unguided processes; the Logos meets that explanatory demand. Geologically, the sudden global deposition of fossil-bearing strata—consistent with a catastrophic Flood—mirrors Genesis chronology and suggests recent, rapid formation rather than deep time, underscoring the Logos’ recent creative acts. Old Testament Anticipations Proverbs 8 personifies pre-creative Wisdom rejoicing before God; intertestamental Judaism often linked that Wisdom with the coming Messiah. The Angel of the LORD who receives worship (e.g., Exodus 3:2-6) foreshadows a divine yet distinct Person. John identifies that enigmatic figure definitively as Jesus. Witness Of The Early Church And Manuscripts Papyrus 𝔓52 (c. AD 125) and Papyrus 𝔓66 (c. AD 200) transmit John 1 unchanged, leaving no time for legendary development. The magisterial uncials (𝔄 𝔅 𝔏) corroborate the reading. Inscriptions such as the 1st-century Ichthys acrostic—“Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior”—and the Alexamenos graffito (mocking Christian worship of a crucified God) demonstrate that the earliest believers already ascribed deity to Jesus. Ignatius (c. AD 107) writes, “Our God, Jesus the Christ, was carried in Mary’s womb,” echoing John’s high Christology only a decade after the apostle’s death. Philosophical And Scientific Corroboration Only an eternal, personal Mind can ground universal, unchanging laws of logic and morality that humans intuitively employ. Information theory affirms that complex specified information (e.g., 3.5 billion letters in human DNA) never arises from unguided matter but from intelligence. The resurrection, attested by multiple independent lines of evidence (empty tomb, post-mortem appearances, explosive growth of the church, James’s and Paul’s conversions), authenticates Jesus’ own claim to pre-existence (John 8:58). A Being who defeats death must, by definition, transcend it. Chronological Implications For A Young Earth If creation occurred roughly six millennia ago, “He was with God in the beginning” places Christ not billions but merely thousands of years before Abraham—yet still outside time. This compresses history without diminishing the eternal nature of the Logos; eternity is qualitative, not quantitative. Implications For Salvation And Worship Because the Word is eternally divine, His atonement possesses infinite value: “He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25). Worship of Jesus is therefore not idolatry but rightful acknowledgment of deity (Matthew 14:33; Revelation 5:13). Practical And Devotional Application Believers can trust Christ’s promises; an eternal Person cannot fail or lie (Titus 1:2). Union with the pre-existent Logos supplies identity and purpose: “Christ who is your life” (Colossians 3:4). For the skeptic, the invitation remains: examine the evidence, but be prepared to meet a Person who was already there “in the beginning.” Conclusion “He was with God in the beginning” proclaims Jesus’ eternal, personal, co-creative existence alongside the Father, establishing His deity, grounding redemption, and calling every human heart to glorify the God who stepped into His own creation to rescue it. |
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