Was Jesus created, or has He always existed?
God was not created.Jesus is God.
Therefore, Jesus was not created.
The above syllogism is valid and proves the conclusion that Jesus was not created, so long as both premises are true.
Premise one states that God was not created. Most people would agree with the statement that God was not created. By definition God must be uncreated/eternal or else something greater than God could be imagined (such as an uncreated God) and then that would be God. In fact, God's aseity (self-existence) and eternality are prerequisites for the existence of anything that has come into existence. Everything that has a beginning requires a cause. Infinite regress can never bring us to a beginning. Without a beginning, nothing could now exist. However, something does exist. Therefore, there must be something that has always been. Something that is eternal, self-existent and omnipotent, and that is God.
Even if philosophy could not prove the absolute necessity of God's eternal nature, God Himself has revealed it to all mankind through both general revelation (creation) and special revelation (the Bible). Regarding general revelation, Romans 1:19–20, states, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." Regarding special revelation, when Moses asked God for His name, God replied, "I AM WHO I AM," which means that He will not be defined by anyone other than Himself; He is the Self-Existent One (Exodus 3:14). God does not derive or receive life from anyone or anything, but has life in Himself and gives life to all things (John 5:26; Acts 17:25; 1 Timothy 6:13; Revelation 4:10). He is the everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28). He is the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8).
Premise two states that Jesus is God. This premise has abundant scriptural support. John 1:1–4, 14, states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Notice that Jesus, who is the Word who has become flesh, was both with God and IS God. This along with the fact that the Holy Spirit is also God forms the basis for the doctrine of the Trinity. God is one in essence and three in persons.
Several other Scriptures attest to the deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus forgave sins (Matthew 9:6) and received worship (John 20:28), both of which are the exclusive power and privilege of God. Paul makes reference to Jesus as God over all (Romans 9:5) and states that all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus (Colossians 1:19; 2:9). Paul also referred to Jesus as "our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Peter used this same description (2 Peter 1:1). The writer of Hebrews says, "But of the Son he says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom'" (Hebrews 1:8).
In the following thrilling and revealing exchange with the Jews, Jesus claimed the name of God Himself: "'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.' So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple" (John 8:56–58). In this passage, Jesus is not only claiming to have existed before Abraham, but He is claiming to be God. For this perceived blasphemy, the Jews attempted to stone Him.
All things were created through Jesus and for Jesus (Colossians 1:16). He is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 22:13). Any of this sounding familiar? It should because the Scripture speaks of God in the same way. Jesus is God. Jesus said that if someone had seen Him they had seen the Father (John 14:8–11). The Father and He are one (John 10:30). Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). He is God in bodily form, the second person of the Trinity. As the Nicene Creed states, Jesus is "begotten and not made." Jesus was with the Father before the creation of the world and enjoyed the eternal fellowship of both God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
Having demonstrated that God is uncreated and that Jesus is God, the conclusion that Jesus is uncreated follows both logically and inevitably. Jesus is truly God over all!
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Truth about Jesus Christ
