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Where was Jesus in the beginning?
This question should be one that each of us calling ourselves Christian can answer. Why? Because Genesis, the first book in the Bible tells us about Jesus in creation. God in the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, were all present when they made the world.
You find Jesus from the first pages throughout both the Old and New Testaments. However, in the Old Testament, you may have to look harder because He is not referred to as Jesus.
So, what was Jesus called?
In the Book of Isaiah, we find Jesus referred to as the Arm of the Lord, Branch, Counsellor, Glory of the Lord, Holy One of Israel, Immanuel, Lawgiver, and Mighty God to name a few. In Psalms He is called the Cornerstone, in Micah He is the Judge of Israel, in Zachariah He is King, and in Daniel, He is the Messiah.
All these names refer to Jesus. Jesus is referenced from the first of Genesis to Revelation. The names used to refer to Jesus or often descriptive of who He is and what He is doing or will do. Each name is important because it helps us to understand more about who Jesus is and what He does and will do.
Here are some questions people may ask you about Jesus that you may need to answer about Him. Questions like, Who is Jesus? Is Jesus God? Why does He have so many names in the Bible?
Do you have an answer to these questions?
God’s written Word provides you with the answers you need. I hope that you will take the time to study God’s Word so you can answer them correctly. You need to read and study His Word daily. There is more to know about Jesus than that He came to earth to die for your sins.
However, the best place to start is to know that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. You need to understand that without what Jesus did you would have no hope but the grave.
We need to realize that there is only one God. This is stated throughout Scripture. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit but they are one in completeness.
God is ONE.
Genesis 1:1-2 NKJ reads like this, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
Following this Scripture a little further we find that it uses the plural in Genesis 1:26 NKJV where it says, 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
After referring to creating man in Our image the Scripture goes on to say in Genesis 1:27 NKJV, 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. The plural was used in verse 26 because all three personalities were present during creation.
We find the same information when we go from the Old to the New Testaments.
The gospel of John affirms these same truths. John the Apostle wants us to understand that everything was made by Jesus in the beginning.
John 1:1-3 NKJV says, 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Even if no one ever asks you don’t you want to be able to answer what Jesus, (the Word), did during creation? On the other hand, a child or an adult may ask, and you can now give an intelligent answer from the Bible. If you take the time to memorize the above verses, especially verse 3, “All things were made through Him,” it would be wonderful. I believe that God will bless you for your effort.
We will never understand everything Jesus did in the beginning. Knowing that our Creator took on a fleshly body to live among us should be enough to move anyone. He chose to give up His throne in Heaven and dwell in a fleshly body so He could reach us with His truth.
In the beginning, Jesus planned to come!
Jesus came because He loves us, all of us. That means He loves you, me, and everyone else. He made us all and allowed us to choose where to spend eternity. Because of His love, He wants all of us to be able to dwell with Him in Heaven.
However, if not for Jesus’ righteousness we would have no hope. It is His blood that takes away our sins. His death, burial, and resurrection open the doors of Heaven to us.
Listen to this Scripture!
Acts 4:12 NKJV tells us, Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Our faith in Jesus is what will help us overcome the world. This faith will change how we look at life and the world in which we live. Our focus will turn toward how we can be good servants to our Lord and His creation.
If you are not presently a Christian, my hope is as you study through this lesson your heart will be changed and you will make Jesus the Lord of your life. When you take this step it will change your life forever, on the earth and in eternity.
There is a reason that one of the most popular verses in the Bible is John 3:16. John tells us, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This is God’s promise to us. If we place our trust in God’s Son and walk with Him we will saved when the end comes.
One great faith builder that helped me over the years, after accepting who Jesus was, is the mountain of evidence that God gave us before sending Jesus.
Let us look back at how the stage was set for Jesus coming into the world as a sacrifice for our sins.
Today we have so much more to help us understand God than the children of Israel had when God made them into a nation and gave them the promised land. We have printed Bibles that include the history of creation, the building of the Jewish people into a nation, the life of Jesus, and the lives and teachings of the Apostles. Before this, they only knew they were to worship the God of Abraham and Isaac. They understood that He was a great and mighty God and that He had made a covenant with Abraham to build a mighty nation from his descendants.
However, they had lived for many generations in Egypt, much of it as slaves. Everything they knew about the God of Abraham was handed down to them by word of mouth. After Moses led them out of Egypt God began to put His message on Moses’ heart and He was led to instruct them. The Holy Spirit worked through Moses and during the years of wandering in the desert, He recorded what God gave to him.
Four hundred years
For four hundred years, they had lived in Egypt and most of that time as enslaved people. They were influenced by the Egyptians worshiping many different idols as gods. The Israelites had physically built many of the idols the Egyptians worshiped.
In Genesis, God gave Moses a simple explanation of the one God who made everything. The Egyptian gods were not capable of building anything. So instead, the Egyptians manufactured objects and forced the people to worship them.
Scripture explains that it was God who created all things and not the gods of the Egyptians. So they needed to understand that there was only one God.
Moses gave them a key scripture to learn to help them stay on track. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:” Deut 6:4 JKV
First, there is only one God.
So, how can I answer yes to the question, did Jesus create the world? We can answer this with certainty simply by reading the early books of the Bible.
As Deuteronomy says, the Lord is One. Perhaps we will never fully understand this until we are in Heaven and the presence of the united God Head.
However, Genesis 1:1 says that God created Heaven and the earth. Then in verse 26, it says, 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Gen 1:26 NJKV
Notice!
That God uses the plural to speak of His creation of man. The “Us” God is speaking of is Himself, His Son, and His Holy Spirit. They are still one God who manifests Himself in three persons.
We see Jesus, creator of all things when He identifies Himself with the Father in the following verses. 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. John 14:9-10 NKJV
Jesus says that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father.
There is only one God who created all things. He did this in His fullness.
Second, Jesus is one with Father.
If we were to ask the Apostles, “Did Jesus create the world?” Their answer would be a very resounding YES! We find several references to this fact in their writings.
Paul writes to the Hebrew Christians about Jesus’ part in creation. And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.” Hebrews 1:10 NKJV
In other words, it was Jesus who laid the earth’s foundation. Yet, we know that Paul believed Genesis 1:1 to be the inspired Word of God. So he is saying that God laid the earth.’
So laying the foundation of the earth puts Jesus in the creation business.
Let’s think about this
This Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins, created everything we know and see. Not only that, but He created everything we do not see. Then He came to earth to dwell among us. He came to make a way so we could be with Him in Heaven.
Jesus, creator of all things
Paul goes into even greater detail in his letter to the Colossians.
Read this scripture with me, and let’s consider just what Paul is saying about Jesus,
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Col 1:15-16 NIV
There is no question that Paul is saying Jesus is God in the flesh and that He created the heavens and the earth. Therefore, he is God, and He holds together all things.
To conclude this explanation of Jesus’ part in creating the world with these verses in the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1-3 NKJV
The Simple Conclusion:
YES, without question, Jesus created the world and it is He who keeps it all together.