Is Jesus man or God?  Was he pre-incarnate?  Did he pre-exist?  What does the Bible teach?

Yahweh

…is eternal

Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Man

…has a beginning

Job 14:1. Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble

…lives his life

Job 14:2. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

…dies

Job 14:12. So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.

…is buried, i.e. sleeps in the grave (sheol or hades)

Job 14:13. Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

…and will be resurrected.

Job 14:14. If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes.

 

Yahshua (Jesus)

…had a beginning

Luke 1:30,31 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS

…lived his life

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

…died

1 Corinthians 15:1-3 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,  by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 

…was buried

1 Corinthians 15:4a. and that He was buried

…was resurrected

1 Corinthians 15:4b-6, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

A simple and honest reading of scripture makes it clear that Jesus was not pre-incarnate or pre-existing.  He had a beginning just like us and was, according to Scripture, a man – not God and not pre-existent.

One more point:  Paul, writing to the Hebrews makes it clear that “…he (Yahshua) had to be made like his brothers[1] in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”  Hebrews 2:17.  Yahshua was a man just like us.

 

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