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| The reference here is before creation, before the beginning. The use of παρά (para) twice in this verse looks back to the assertion in John 1:1 that the Word (the Λόγος [Logos], who became Jesus of Nazareth in John 1:14) was with God (πρὸς τὸν θεόν, pros ton theon).<ref>Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes, Jn 17:5 (Biblical Studies Press, 2006).</ref> | | The reference here is before creation, before the beginning. The use of παρά (para) twice in this verse looks back to the assertion in John 1:1 that the Word (the Λόγος [Logos], who became Jesus of Nazareth in John 1:14) was with God (πρὸς τὸν θεόν, pros ton theon).<ref>Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes, Jn 17:5 (Biblical Studies Press, 2006).</ref> |
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| | This is also echoed in the Old Testament: |
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| <ref> </ref>
| | :''But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, |
| <ref> </ref>
| | :''Too little to be among the clans of Judah, |
| <ref> </ref>
| | :''From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. |
| | | :''His goings forth are from long ago, |
| Is there such a thing as eternal sonship?
| | :''From the days of '''eternity'''.”<ref>New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update, Mic 5:2 (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).</ref> |
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| Every son has a beginning. Jesus could not be a son without being born, just as he could not be a saviour without dying. A son has no knowledge of his father's experiences, and Jesus had no understanding of God at his birth, but "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52)
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| Why did Jesus say "before Abraham was, I am", if he was not the eternal son?
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| God made Jesus "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). "Lord" refers to the word "Jehovah", which is the self-existent one. Jesus was Jehovah in flesh, born of a woman. "Christ" is the Greek word for Messiah, which means "anointed" Messiah by God. There are examples in the Bible of when God had entered flesh before, but never as the son of God. Here are two examples:
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| When King Nebuchadnezzar threw three Hebrews into a furnace, he saw four "men" walking around, and declared that the fourth man was "like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25). This man was "like" the Son of God as he was God in the flesh, but he was not the Son of God as he was not born of a woman.
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| Melchizedek ate bread and drank wine with Abraham, just like Jesus had communion with his disciples (Genesis 14:18). The Bible says that Melchizedek was made "like unto the Son of God" and was without beginning or end (Hebrews 7:3). Melchizedek was also God in flesh, but he was not the Son of God as he was not born of a woman.
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| When Jesus said "before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58) and referred to the glory he had with the Father "before the world was" (John 17:5), he was revealing that he was the possessor of the soul and spirit of God. Jesus' body was the temple of God (John 2:19) made of a woman, but inside he was the invisible God, Jehovah, of the Old Testament. His body was irrelevant to his existence, but relevant to the process of our redemption. Those who believe are also called the temple of the living God (II Corinthians 6:16). Just as the Woman was from the flesh of Man, those who believe are from the Spirit of God, and are eternal.
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| =References= | | =References= |
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| <References/> | | <References/> |