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In the Beginning
In the Scriptures we find the term “in the beginning”. Of
course there were no such time as "the beginning", but
in order for God to tell us the history of the world he has to start somewhere.
He chooses a point that seems him good, and gives it an appropriate name. Were there other creatures present with God the Father and Jehovah
in “the Beginning”? Since Jesus lived on this earth with a body, just like us,
and lived with the Father before the world was, is it
possible that we also lived with them before we were born? This is a quite
radical question, but it is by no means a new one. Let’s read an interesting
question posed by the disciples of Jesus; 1 AND as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his
birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this
man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither
hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made
manifest in him. (John 9:1-3) Man Lived With God and
Jehovah (Jesus) in the Beginning. Look at the belief of the disciples! If
the man could have sinned and been punished with blindness from birth, he would
either have been punished before the fact, or
he must have lived before birth! And Jesus did not rebuke them for their
doctrine, so we must accept that Jesus taught his disciples that they lived from
the beginning. But this is just one passage of scripture. If there were no
others it would perhaps not be so weighty. But it is not isolated at all… 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified. (Romans 8:29-30) In this passage Paul teaches that there are some that God Foreknew, in the beginning,
to be something extra, and therefore they had special missions, or callings,
waiting for them when they were born into this life. And as they fulfilled
their callings he blessed them plentifully. In order for God to have a
foreknowledge of such an individual, there is one absolute requirement that
must be fulfilled; this Individual must actually exist! He must already be an
individual! If he does not exist, God could not have a foreknowledge of them
at all. Unless, of course, God made each individual exactly as he wanted them, and man had no say in
the matter. But if that is the case, then God would be responsible for Stalin,
Lenin, Mao, Hitler, etc, and man would have no responsibility of their own.
Then God would be the evil one, and
man would be his living puppets! Then the Day of Judgment,
when rewards and punishments would be passed out, would be a day of arbitrary
cruelty on the side of God! But God is no puppeteer. We even have a special testimony of one
of the chosen, foreknown, people, whom the Lord called from before he was born.
His testimony harmonizes with that of Paul’s and it proves God to be good, and
not that cruel, arbitrary puppeteer; 4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in
the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest
forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto
the nations. 6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send
thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt
speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I [am] with thee to deliver
thee, saith the LORD.
(Jeremiah 1:4-8) Obviously no one can
be ordained without existing! No one can be known without being seen. No
one can be sanctified without having a saintly existence. What we do know, so
far, is that Jesus, and some saints and prophets lived before they were born
into this life. Since we know God to be a just God, who is no respecter of
persons, we must draw the conclusion that all people who will live on this
earth have lived in the presence of God before birth. That existence was not an
existence in a physical body, but an existence as spirits. A spirit is a person
with the shape of a body. John the Baptist testified to this when he saw the
Holy Ghost, who is just that, a personage of spirit: 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove
upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in
thee I am well pleased. (Luke 3:22) (Note that it is the descending
that is dove-like, not the bodily shape) So, the entire human family lived together as brothers and
sisters, God Almighty were our father, and Jehovah was our older brother. 7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave
it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7) This passage mentions that at death the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. It is not possible to return to a place where we have not been before! The spirit is
the very identity of man. The body is only an additional tool given unto man,
to help him become more like his Heavenly Father. But the body is not man. It
could be said about man as it was said about God; God is Spirit… In the
resurrection man will receive an immortal body, just like Jesus did in his
resurrection. The importance of knowing that Jesus, you and I have lived before
we were born to this earth is that God did not create different kinds of people
arbitrarily, who had to deal with the hand he/she was dealt by a God who
created man out of nothing. For people who were created evil, or who were
placed in a life of suffering, it would have been better never to be born at
all! But if we existed already… that makes God into a merciful God who prepares
opportunities for each of us to develop our talent while the master is gone, to
show him what we were willing to do with the talent that he entrusted into our
care. Further, it makes Jesus into our elder brother. We know that we have lived
an eternity with him, and we know that he loves us. It also explains why we
love him with a feeling of no beginning of days…
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