Before Bethlehem — He Already Was

The Life of Jesus Christ | Part One

Introduction

Jesus Christ didn’t begin in Bethlehem.

Long before Mary held Him in her arms, before the shepherds came to see Him, before the wise men followed the star, Jesus Christ already was. That is a truth we need to remind ourselves of often. Bethlehem was the place of His birth into this world, but it was not the beginning of His existence. In John 1:1–3 (NLT), John takes us farther back than the manger when he writes, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”

01 | The Eternal Son and Creator

That changes the way we look at the familiar Christmas story. The baby lying in the manger was not simply a child God had chosen for an extraordinary purpose. He was the eternal Son of God. The One who entered the world through Mary was not only present when the world was created; He was active in its creation. Colossians 1:16–17 (NLT) tells us, “for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see… Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”

02 | Before Abraham Was, I AM

Jesus made it clear during His earthly ministry that He didn’t begin to exist when He was born in Bethlehem. While speaking to religious leaders who questioned His identity, Jesus made a statement that left no doubt about the claim He was making. John 8:58 (NLT) tells us, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” Jesus wasn’t simply saying that He existed before Abraham. He was saying something much greater.

The words “I AM” would have immediately pointed these religious leaders back to what God told Moses in Exodus 3:14 (NLT): “I AM WHO I AM.” This was how God identified Himself to Moses when He sent him to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. So when Jesus said, “Before Abraham was even born, I AM,” He was revealing something extraordinary about His identity. He was not saying, “I was.” He said, “I AM.” Jesus was declaring not only that He existed before Abraham, but that His existence was eternal.

03 | The Glory He Shared with the Father

Jesus was not claiming to be God the Father. He was revealing Himself as God the Son. He shared the divine nature of God and had existed with the Father before He ever stepped into human history. We hear Jesus speak of this eternal relationship in His prayer to the Father. In John 17:5 (NLT), He prayed, “Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.” Think about what Jesus was saying. Before there was a world, before there was a human being, before anything had been created, the Father and the Son shared glory together. Jesus wasn’t speaking about something He hoped to receive for the first time. He was speaking about glory He had already shared with the Father before creation.

The religious leaders who heard Jesus declare, “Before Abraham was even born, I AM,” understood the significance of His words. In fact, their response makes that clear. John 8:59 tells us that they picked up stones to throw at Him. They understood that Jesus was making a claim about His divine identity, but they refused to believe Him.

04 | The Eternal Son Became Human

Jesus was not merely a good man who lived an extraordinary life. He was not simply a teacher, a prophet, or someone who came along and gave people better principles for living. He was God the Son who took on human flesh and came into the world to accomplish the Father’s plan of salvation. His birth was the beginning of His earthly life, not the beginning of His existence. Before there was a Bethlehem manger, there was the eternal Son.

It’s very important that we understand this truth, because we cannot fully appreciate the life of Jesus Christ if we begin with His birth. The One we are about to follow through the pages of Scripture came from eternity into time. He willingly entered the world He had created and took on human flesh. But becoming human did not mean that He stopped being God. Jesus Christ was fully God and fully human. The eternal Son took on humanity without surrendering His deity.

Conclusion | He Came Near

So before we look at what Jesus did, what He taught, the people He healed, or the Cross He carried, we need to understand who He is.

He is Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.

And then, something extraordinary happened.

He came near.

IN THIS TEACHING

• Introduction

01 The Eternal Son and Creator

02 Before Abraham Was, I AM

03 The Glory He Shared with the Father

04 The Eternal Son Became Human

✓ Conclusion | He Came Near

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THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST

CURRENT TEACHING

01 — Before Bethlehem — He Already Was

Coming next in the series

02 — He Came Near — God With Us

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SCRIPTURES IN THIS TEACHING

John 1:1–3

Colossians 1:16–17

John 8:58–59

Exodus 3:14

John 17:5

Scripture references from the New Living Translation (NLT).