Settling the Issue of Pre-Existence

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul," (Gen. 2:7).

"And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit," (I Cor. 15:45).

Our mainstream Christian denominations do not teach about the pre-existence of man.  Some in the Body consider it cultish to believe that man existed before he was born.   How do we rightly divide the word of truth when we hear scriptures like these that follow:

1.     Jeremiah 1:5, "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."

2.     Ephesians 1:4, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."

3.     James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

There are those who have asked:  If I'll have a life after death, did I have a life before birth? Interesting question.  What do you think?  The Church is divided on this issue; so, come and let us reason together and trust the Spirit of understanding to enlighten our hearts and minds.

Father of Lights

There is a difference between creating something and procreating or fathering something.  If God is the Father of lights and we are the children of the Light, when did He beget us?  If you have been studying with us, you already know the answer to that question from previous sessions.  We believe God released "lights" which are spirits when He said, "let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven... and it was so" (Gen. 1:14,15).  This He did before He created the sun, moon and stars in verses 16-18.    

"Let us make man..."  (Gen. 1:26)

Before we go further, let's open up a revelation about God in Genesis Chapters 1 & 2 (KJV).  Notice that the word "God" is always alone in chapter one?  What change do you see in chapter two beginning with verse seven? 

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul," (Gen. 2:7).

The original word for "God" in Genesis 1 & 2 is "Elohim".  It is a plural form of the word, "Elowahh".  In other words, our Bible could more accurately read, "In the beginning Gods created the heaven and the earth."  Don't get nervous!  We're not teaching polytheism.  We believe in one God; but God speaks of himself in the plural when He says, "Let us make man in our image".  How can we reconcile that with our belief in One God.  Simple.  

There are two kinds of "one-ness":  an absolute oneness and a compound oneness.   God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit; "and "these three are one" (I John 5:7).   When God puts a husband and wife together, there are considered "one flesh" (Gen. 2:24); yet, they are two separate individuals.  We are one Body in Christ.  We make up a compound oneness or unity.

God the Father utilized His Word to make all things.  The Word was with God and the Word was God, yet the Word became flesh and dwelt among us while the Father remained above.  After the initial act of creation was completed, the Word was still at work in Genesis Chapter two and was called "LORD" God because it would be the Word that remained in the earth doing the will of the Father in Heaven.  Christ would not return to His former glory until after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  So Jesus prays, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was," (John 17:5). 

The original word for "Lord" is "Jehovah" or "Yahweh", and all throughout the Old Testament the Lord was there and making himself known to His chosen ones.  Some of the familiar compound revelations of His name include

-  Jehovah Elyon: the Lord Most High (Ps. 38:2)   

- Jehovah Jireh: the Lord our Provider (Gen. 22:14)

- Jehovah Kanna: Lord Jealous (Ex. 34:14)        

- Jehovah Rohi: the Lord our Shepherd (Psalm 23)

- Jehovah Nissi: the Lord our Banner (I Chron. 29:11-13)

There are actually more than forty compound names of Jehovah.  Yet, Jesus the Christ came and fulfilled them all and was made "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).

Man is a created being.  He was formed by the LORD God.  Therefore he had a beginning.  The man was formed from the earth.  Into the inanimate clay form, the LORD God breathed His own breath to cause man to became a living, breathing, "nephesh" or soul.  It was not until that moment that "man" came into existence.   By creating a soul, God gave man the ability to be self-aware.  He became aware of something a spirit never had before:  a "humus" or "human" body with senses that gave it the ability to experience this earthly realm.  Now, that soul would develop and sense its own vitality, appetites, desires, mind, will, and sensations of pleasure. 

By having a body made from the dust of the ground and a newly created soul, man was now "different" from God, yet in God's "likeness".   The word "man" in the original is the word "adam".   So, our Bible could actually have read, "Let us make Adam in our image and in our likeness".  Adam was like God, but he was not God.  He was the son of God (Luke 3:38).  Note:  the lineage of Jesus is reckoned through Joseph in Luke 3:23-38.

GOD BREATHED...MAN BECAME

Here is a vital revelation for you.  Man [-kind] came into being by the breath of God, not the word of God!  The only part of man that was spoken into existence was his spirit.  God said, "let there be lights...".   While the Holy Bible calls God the Father of Lights, He is never referred to as the "Father of man".    As a matter of fact, some "men" have the devil as their "father".

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it," (John 8:44).

When God was ready to create man, He did not say, "Let there be man!"   He never spoke man directly into existence, but rather, He spoke to Himself saying, "Let us make man.   Could God have spoken man into existence?  Of course.  See how He created other living creatures (Gen. 1:20, 24).  Notice how animals live and move by instincts programmed into their DNA alone.  They are bound by God's Word and therefore they cannot be held accountable for their actions (i.e., animals don't go to hell).  They are subject to the domination of man.  They respond or reaction from instinct alone.  That is not true of man.

God's word is so powerful, it cannot return to Him void.  If God had used words to make man, those words would have bound man to be exactly what the Word wanted him to be.  There would be no free will and no ability to fail because the first Adam would have been the "word" made "flesh"!   God didn't make His word flesh in the first Adam, but in the Last Adam.  Therefore the scripture testifies,

"And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit," (I Cor. 15:45).

Note:  Jesus' spirit was formed by the Word of God and was in-fleshed in His body.  God's word is spirit and Jesus was given the Spirit without measure.   This is what made him 100% God.  However, He also received the BREATH of life which originated with God and which caused man to become a Living Soul.   So this is what made Jesus 100% Man.  The Son of God was also the Son of Man.

I know these are deep waters and I hope you're able to swim in them.  We're laying a scriptural foundation every step of the way.   Beloved, I believe you are reading this and receiving revelation because it's time.  Jesus wants to bring you into the light of knowledge and understanding.  He said to his disciples before His ascension, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now," (John 16:12).  Isn't it time we begin to chew on the meat of the Word and not milk only? 

Having said that man was created by the breath of God, not the Word of God.   Yet Jesus the Christ is both Son of God and Son of Man.  He is the Word made flesh (not the Word made "soul").  Now, we are in Him if we have received salvation.  So, now I'm going to have you look up a scripture and see if it doesn't carry more meaning to you than it would have before this teaching.

I Peter 1:23

1 Peter 1:23, "

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, 

which liveth and abideth for ever."

Now, if you fully grasped this lesson and you looked up and read the above scripture, you should be shouting!  Meditate fully on what the Holy Spirit shows you.  You'll be blessed.

Next week our subject will be "Defining the Light" and we'll see how the light shines through the seven spirits of God as spoken of in Isaiah 11:2, Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5 and 5:6.