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Were We Pre-existing Spirits Before the Creation, and Was Jesus the First One Created?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tom Edwards<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had an interesting study with a couple young Mormons yesterday. They had stopped by earlier this week, but I invited them back so that we could talk about each other\u2019s beliefs. It was an interesting conversation; and they were polite, well-mannered, and informative about their doctrines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did you know that Mormons believe that everyone who has ever been \u2014 and ever will be \u2014 has actually already existed in spirit-form before the world began? According to the young men I spoke with, Jesus was the first spirit-being God the Father created; and then all the other spirit-beings were made, which included you and me, along with everyone else who has ever been or ever will be! My two visitors did not know how long ago that actually happened, but it was sometime prior to the creation of the universe; and in that state, we were all supposedly similar to angels!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out of all those spirit-beings, about a third of them eventually chose to follow Satan in his rebellious ways and were, thus, cast out of heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first humans, the spirits of Adam and Eve had been chosen by God to come to earth; and they willingly agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other spirit-beings also desired to have a home on earth, so they then became the souls within the bodies born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reading from one of the Mormons\u2019 pamphlets, entitled, \u201cThe Plan of Salvation,\u201d page 2 has a section that answers the question, \u201cWhere did I come from?\u201d Here is the answer it gives: \u201cYour life did not begin at birth\u2026 Your Heavenly Father created your spirit, and you lived with Him as a spirit before you were born on earth. You knew and loved Him, and He knew and loved you. This period is called pre-earth life<\/em>. Throughout your pre-earth life<\/em>, you were taught the principles and commandments that would lead to happiness. You grew in intelligence and learned to love the truth. You were taught about the plan of salvation. During this pre-earth life<\/em>, Jesus Christ was chosen as the Savior; you learned that through Him you would be able to overcome the effects of your wrong choices. An important part of God\u2019s plan was for you to come to earth to receive a physical body and to learn to make correct choices. You would not remember living in Heavenly Father\u2019s presence, but He would give you the ability to know right from wrong. \u2026 In your pre-earth life<\/em>, you chose to have faith in Jesus Christ and to follow God\u2019s plan. Because of your choices, you were born on earth. Only by making these same choices can you find peace in this life and be able to return to live with your Heavenly Father after this life is over\u201d (pages 2,5,6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Mormons, the reason why none of us are aware of our previous state as spirit-beings is because of the \u201cveil of forgetfulness,\u201d which God gave us when entering this world, and which was necessary in order that we could benefit from Christ\u2019s sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where, however, do you read of any of this in the Bible? Does it give any indication that Jesus was created and, therefore, has not always been? And that we existed in spirit-form prior to the creation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The passage the Mormons cited to allege that Christ was created is Colossians 1:15 that speaks of Him as being \u201cthe firstborn of all creation.\u201d James Strong, however, shows that the Greek word can be used literally or figuratively. And in the context, it expresses not merely first in time, but first in greatness, in the sense of having a superiority over all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Old Testament times, when a father \u201cwills what he has to his sons,\u201d the firstborn was to receive \u201ca double portion of all\u201d that his father had, \u201cfor he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn\u201d (Deut. 21:15-17).\u00a0 So this right of the firstborn gave him a preeminence over his siblings; and that idea of a higher rank or superior position is also the way \u201cfirstborn\u201d is figuratively used in Psalm 89:27, where God says of David, \u201cI also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.\u201d The very phrase having \u201cfirst place in everything\u201d expresses preeminence, that exalted and superior position over others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The passage begins by saying that \u201cby Him all things were created.\u201d This corresponds with what John says of Jesus in John 1:3: \u201cAll things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.\u201d And wouldn\u2019t that also be a good reason for the Lord to be exalted over all that has been created \u2014 since He is the Creator of all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like the Mormons, the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses also believe that Jesus was a created being before the world began; so in their New World Translation of the Bible, Colossians 1:16 is rendered as, \u201cbecause by means of him all OTHER things were created in the heavens and on the earth\u2026\u201d (emphasis mine). By their usage of the word \u201cother,\u201d it twists the passage to fit with their doctrine that Jesus was the first one created, and then He created everything else. For, otherwise, if all created things were created by Him, then He would have had to also create Himself. So the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses use the word \u201cother\u201d to exempt Him from that and conform the verse to their wrong belief. We should all, however, take heed to the warnings in the Bible of not tampering with God\u2019s word by adding to or taking away from its teachings and, thus, perverting it and bringing upon ourselves the wrath of God (cf. Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Jn. 1:9; Rev. 22:18,19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking to the Scriptures, Jesus is shown to have always existed. Though His physical body had a beginning when born of the virgin Mary, yet He is actually \u201c\u2026from long ago, from the days of eternity\u201d (Micah 5:2); and though inconceivable to us, it appears from John 8:58 that He was filling all eternity at that very moment \u2014 and still is. For in this passage He says of Abraham, who lived about 2,000 years prior to this statement, that \u201cBefore Abraham was born, I am.\u201d Also, in Revelation 22:13, Jesus refers to Himself by saying, \u201cI am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end,\u201d which also expresses His eternal nature. And just as we know that there will be no \u201cend\u201d to Jesus\u2019 existence, the same is true when we also try to look back to His \u201cbeginning\u201d \u2014 for that also stretches throughout eternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider also Hebrews 7:3. It speaks of Melchizedek being \u201clike the Son of God\u201d in the sense of \u201chaving neither beginning of days nor end of life\u201d; but in Melchizedek\u2019s case, it figuratively conveys that his serving as a priest was not based on his ancestry \u2014 \u201cWithout father, without mother, without genealogy\u201d \u2014 which would have been required for the Levitical priesthood and would disqualify one without that genealogical record of proof, as it did with those in Ezra 2:62: \u201cThey searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood.\u201d While these phrases are used figuratively with regard to Melchizedek, they are literal when referring to Jesus. His eternal existence did not come about through a father and mother; so He is, therefore, without genealogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That the Lord Jesus Christ has always been is truly an amazing characteristic that also indicates His superior greatness! What other religious leader could even come close to that?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what about man existing in spirit-form prior to the creation?\u00a0 Is that so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n God is spirit (Jn. 4:24), and \u201c\u2026a spirit does not have flesh and bones\u2026\u201d (Luke 24:39). So when man was created in God\u2019s \u201cimage,\u201d according to His \u201clikeness,\u201d as seen in Genesis 1:26,27, that pertains to the spiritual part of man, his soul, that entity that will never cease to be \u2014 rather than merely his temporary physical appearance, his body. Therefore, being created in God\u2019s image does not mean that He necessarily looks like a human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if we were already spirit-beings prior to the creation, why would that spirit part of us need to be created again \u2014 rather than just simply be put into the body?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can also be said that when we were formed in the womb, our souls or spirits for those bodies were made morally pure, innocent, without sin. Some have referred to this as man\u2019s \u201coriginal righteousness.\u201d Solomon declares, \u201cBehold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices\u201d (Eccl. 7:29). This same verse is also rendered as, \u201c\u2026We were completely honest when God created us, but now we have twisted minds\u201d (CEV); And that \u201c\u2026God made people decent, but they looked for many ways to avoid being decent\u201d (God\u2019s Word).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to having corrupted our spirits (our souls) by transgression, which every accountable person has done, \u201cfor all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God\u201d (Rom. 3:23), there is, therefore, that need to be made pure again \u2014 and just as pure as when we were first born into this world as those innocent children of whom belongs the kingdom of God (cf. Mark 10:14,15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul also speaks of that need to get back to the \u201clikeness of God\u201d as we \u201clay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth\u201d (Eph. 4:22-24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n From these passages, we can see that the soul or spirit of man is much more than merely the body. This is also clearly seen in Matthew 10:28, in which Jesus encourages His followers by saying, \u201cDo not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if man were a pre-existing spirit-being prior to the creation of the universe, why would Genesis 1:26,27 indicate the spiritual part of man also being made on the 6th day of the creation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though you might read it in other books, nowhere does the Bible say we existed as spirit-beings prior to the creation of the universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what we each need to be concerned with now is making sure that our souls, which will never cease to be, will end up in the right place where we would want to spend an eternity. The choice is up to us. God has made the way that every lost soul can be saved, but we must be willing to comply with His plan of salvation, as shown toward the end of this bulletin. So if you haven\u2019t done that yet, please give it some serious thought \u2014 and know that if you do become a Christian, you\u2019ll never regret having done so in the Judgment Day! 1) Hear<\/strong> the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31). \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations\u2026teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 Contents: 1) Were We Pre-existing Spirits Before the Creation, and Was Jesus the First One Created? (Tom Edwards)\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 -1- Were We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":906,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions\/906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Was Jesus Created?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The context of Colossians 1:15 also implies this figurative usage in Jesus being \u201cthe firstborn of all creation.\u201d\u00a0 For the passage shows Him exalted above all creation and gives good reasons for that: \u201cFor by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities \u2014 all things have been created through Him and for Him.\u00a0 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.\u00a0 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything\u201d (Col. 1:16-18).<\/p>\n\n\n\nDid We Exist Before the Creation?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2) Believe <\/strong>in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent <\/strong>of sins <\/strong>(Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith <\/strong>in Christ <\/strong>(Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized <\/strong>in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
6) Continue in the faith<\/strong>; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013
<\/strong>Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
<\/strong>1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA\u00a0 31501
Sunday <\/strong>services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday: <\/strong>7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist\/editor: <\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com<\/a>
http:\/\/ThomasTEdwards.com\/go<\/a><\/strong> (older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990)
http:\/\/ThomasTEdwards.com\/audioser.html<\/a><\/strong> (audio sermons)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"