Preexistence of Christ

Definition and Meaning

The preexistence of Christ (literally, "existing beforehand") is the teaching that Jesus Christ already existed before he was born of Mary as a human being (the Incarnation). Orthodox Christology does not take this to mean merely that he existed somewhat earlier than other creatures. Rather, it understands the doctrine to mean that the Son is God, existing eternally with the Father from before creation. The doctrine is therefore closely bound up with the doctrines of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ.

Biblical and Historical Background

The passages most frequently cited in support of the doctrine include the following:

• John 1:1-3: All things were made through the Word (the Logos), who was with God in the beginning.
• John 8:58: "Before Abraham was, I am."
• John 17:5: Jesus speaks of the glory he had with the Father before the world was.
• Philippians 2:6-7, Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:1-3

In the fourth century, Arius argued that the Son existed before the world but, having been created by the Father, was not eternal (Arianism). In 325 the Council of Nicaea rejected this position and confessed that the Son is of the same essence as the Father (homoousios). The Nicene Creed, in its later form, confesses that the Son was begotten of the Father before all ages. In the modern era, some theologians have reinterpreted preexistence as an expression of God's plan or of the significance of Christ rather than as actual existence.

Practice in Korean Churches

The major denominations in Korea (Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, Pentecostal, Anglican, and others) all accept the eternal preexistence of Christ. On this point the differences among denominations are small; they differ chiefly in the manner in which the doctrine is confessed.

Presbyterians appeal to Chapter 8 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, which confesses the Son to be "very and eternal God." The Apostles' Creed, which most denominations recite in Sunday worship, does not mention preexistence directly. As a result, this confession is more prominent in the Anglican Church of Korea and the Lutheran Church in Korea, which use the Nicene Creed in worship. Across denominations, many sermons during Advent and around Christmas take John 1 as their text and treat preexistence and the Incarnation together.

The doctrine also figures in controversies over heresy. Jehovah's Witnesses regard Jesus as the first being created by God and thus deny the eternal preexistence and divinity of Christ. Various Korean denominations have cited this view of Christ as one of the principal grounds for designating the group heretical. Jehovah's Witnesses, for their part, point to expressions such as "the firstborn" in Colossians 1:15 and contend that their view is grounded in Scripture.