[Truth] 5. Since when did Jesus exist?


>5. Since when did Jesus exist?



Earlier, we saw that Jesus left a prophecy about Himself in the Old Testament. And from this, we can discern that he existed before he was born in the flesh.
When did Jesus exist?


5.1. Jesus before the creation of the world
His existence before the creation of the world can be proven by the words of Jesus and the Old Testament.
The night before Jesus was crucified, He prayed to God at the last supper with his disciples. Among these prayers were the following:
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17:5)
According to Jesus, he has been with God since the foundation of the world.


5.2. Wisdom in Proverbs
But is there anything in the Old Testament which tells us Jesus existed before creation? Yes, there is. The evidence is in Proverbs.
The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. ... Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. (Proverbs 8:22-31)
King Solomon, the son of King David, wrote most of the proverbs about 1,000 years before Jesus was born. In the words above, the being “I” says that he had existed before the creation of the world. Of course, “I” is not Solomon.
It is what a person called “wisdom” says. Jesus was speaking in the name of wisdom, revealing that He had helped God create the world.
But how do we know that wisdom is Jesus?


5.3. “I will pour out my spirit unto you”
Wisdom has more to say in Proverbs.
If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. (Proverbs 1:23, KJV)
Wisdom promises to pour out his spirit. The spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament, Jehovah gave the Holy Spirit to his prophets and co-workers of the prophets (for example, Numbers 11:25). That is why the Old Testament calls the Holy Spirit “the spirit of Jehovah” (Judges 3:10).
However, the wisdom of Proverbs says that he will give his spirit. Who else can say that the Spirit of God is his spirit? Here is why he is certainly Jesus.


5.4. Holy Spirit promise
Jesus promised His disciples the Holy Spirit at the last supper.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)
Jesus promised His disciples that if He went to heaven after carrying the cross, He would speak to his Father, God, to send the Holy Spirit.


5.5. Jesus received the Holy Spirit
Jesus died on the cross the next day and rose three days later, witnessed his resurrection to his disciples for 40 days, he ascended to heaven, and received the Holy Spirit from God. The book of Revelation shows this.
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)
When Jesus ascended to heaven and appeared before God's throne, He had seven eyes which represent the seven Spirits of God, the Holy Spirit. The number seven does not have a meaning as a number, but rather symbolizes perfection.
Therefore, as He had promised his disciples, He asked God and received the Holy Spirit.


5.6. Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit
Ten days after Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples on Pentecost.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)
When the disciples gathered together at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to them. To His disciples, Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit, saying “I will ask the Father”. Therefore, when the disciples received the promised Holy Spirit, they knew that Jesus' promise had been fulfilled and that Jesus was undoubtedly the Son of God.
Realising this, His disciples spared no life in preaching Jesus. They knew that they would go to God upon their deaths and believed God would grant them a great reward at the end of their lives.
Therefore, it is Jesus, not God, who sends the Holy Spirit in New Testament times. That is why the New Testament calls the Holy Spirit "the spirit of Jesus" or "the spirit of Christ" (Acts 16:7, Romans 8:9).
After Jesus ascended to heaven, he received and claimed the Holy Spirit from God after which He sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples.


5.7. The wisdom in Proverbs is Jesus
Therefore, from the book of Proverbs, we can see that Jesus is the “wisdom” who said to pour out “my spirit”.
Wisdom said that he had existed since before the foundation of the world and had aided God in the world’s creation.
So, Jesus is our Creator.
When Jehovah created humans, he said:
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26)
Therefore, it can be determined that Jesus is included in “us” here.


5.8. God's Existence
Thus far, we have seen that Jesus existed before the foundation of the world, that he helped God, created the world, and created human beings.
Jesus came to earth in the flesh two thousand years ago, became a sacrifice on the cross according to God's will, and received the Holy Spirit from God after His resurrection and ascension. Then, as promised, He sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples on Pentecost.
All of this is evidenced by the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus and by Jesus' deeds in the New Testament. Therefore, we can accept that Jesus is our Creator, and we can believe that there is a God whom Jesus calls Father.
We should be worthy of Jesus’ washing away of our sins before ascending to God.




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