1-14 Jesus Didn't Pre-Exist: And So What?
2 Jn. 11 speaks of how teaching that Jesus was not truly human is
associated with " evil works" . Surely the implication is that good
works are inspired by a true understanding of the Lord's humanity, and
evil works by a refusal to accept this teaching. The tests of
genuineness which John commanded centred around two simple things: Do
those who come to you hold true understanding of the nature of Jesus;
and do they love. The two things go together. And they are a fair test
even today. For where there is no love, the true doctrine of Jesus is
not truly believed, no matter how nicely it is expressed in words and
writing.
Bold Prayer And Witness
Therefore
in the daily round of life, He will be a living reality, like David we
will behold the Lord Jesus before our face all the day. We will really
believe that forgiveness is possible through the work of such a
representative; and the reality of his example will mean the more to
us, as a living inspiration to rise above our lower nature.
Appreciating the doctrines of the atonement enables us to pray
acceptably; " we have boldness and access with confidence by the Faith" - not just 'by faith', but as a result of the Faith (Eph. 3:12). Hebrews so often uses the word " therefore" ; because of the facts of the atonement, we can therefore
come boldly before God's throne in prayer, with a true heart and clear
conscience (Heb. 4:16). This " boldness" which the atonement has
enabled will be reflected in our being 'bold' in our witness (2 Cor.
3:12; 7:4); our experience of imputed righteousness will lead us to
have a confidence exuding through our whole being. This is surely why
'boldness' was such a characteristic and watchword of the early church
(Acts 4:13,29,31; Eph. 3:12; Phil. 1:20; 1 Tim. 3:13; Heb. 10:19; 1 Jn.
4:17). Stephen truly believed that the Lord Jesus stood as his
representative and his advocate before the throne of grace. Although
condemned by an earthly court, he confidently makes his appeal before
the court of Heaven (Acts 7:56). Doubtless he was further inspired by
the basic truth that whoever confesses the Lord Jesus before men, He
will confess him before the angels in the court of Heaven (Lk. 12:8).
The
connection between the atonement and faith in prayer is also brought
out in 2 Cor. 1:20 RSV: " For all the promises of God in him are yea.
That is why we utter the Amen through him" . The promises of God were
confirmed through the Lord's death, and the fact that He died as the
seed of Abraham, having taken upon Him Abraham's plural seed in
representation (Rom. 15:8,9). Because of this, " we utter the Amen
through [on account of being in] Him" . We can heartily say 'Amen', so
be it, to our prayers on account of our faith and understanding of His
atoning work.
Love
The
fact the Lord Jesus didn't pre-exist as a person needs some meditation.
The kind of thoughts that come to us as we stand alone at night, gazing
into the sky. It seems evident that there must have been some kind of
previous creation(s), e.g. for the creation of the Angels. God existed
from infinity, and yet only 2,000 years ago did He have His only and
His begotten Son. And that Son was a human being in order to
save humans- only a few million of us (if that), who lived in a 6,000
year time span. In the specter of infinite time and space, this is
wondrous. That the Only Son of God should die for a very few of us
here, we who crawled on the surface of this tiny planet for such a
fleeting moment of time. He died so that God could work out our
salvation; and the love of God for us is likened to a young man
marrying a virgin (Is. 62:5). Almighty God, who existed from eternity,
is likened to a first timer, with all the intensity and joyful
expectation and lack of disillusion. And more than this. The Jesus who
didn't pre-exist but was like me, died for me, in the
shameful way that He did. Our hearts and minds, with all their powers,
are in the boundless prospect lost. His pure love for us, His
condescension, should mean that we also ought to reach out into the
lives of all men, never thinking they are beneath us or too
insignificant or distant from us. No wonder 1 Jn. 4:15,16 describes
believing that Jesus is the Son of God as believing the love that God
has to us.
True Christianity holds that personal
relationships matter more than anything in this world, and that the
truly human way to live is- in the last analysis- to lovingly,
constantly, unreservedly give ourselves away to God and to others. And
yet this is ultimately rooted in the fact that we are seeking above all
else to follow after the example of Jesus. This example is only real
and actual because of the total humanity of Jesus. As He taught these
things, so He lived them. The word of love was made flesh in Him. At
the deepest level of personhood, His was the one perfect human life
which this world has seen. And exactly because of His humanity, exactly
because He was not " very God" but " the man Christ Jesus" , because
Jesus didn't pre-exist, we have the pattern for our lives and being. To
claim Jesus was " God" is to depersonalize Him; it destroys the wonder
of His character and all He really was and is and will ever be.
The Reality Of Judgment
We
will be judged in the man Christ Jesus (Acts 17:31 R.V. Mg.). This
means that the very fact Jesus didn't pre-exist and was human makes Him
our constant and insistent judge of all our human behaviour. And
exactly because of this, Paul argues, we should right now repent. He is
judge exactly because He is the Son of man.
Conclusion
John
makes such a fuss about believing that Jesus came in the flesh because
he wants his brethren to have the same Spirit that was in Jesus
dwelling in their flesh (1 Jn. 4:2,4). He wants them to see
that being human, being in the flesh, is no barrier for God to dwell
in. As Jesus was in the world, so are we to be in the world (1 Jn. 4:17
Gk.). This is why it's so important to understand that the Lord Jesus was genuinely human.
