Smoodock's Blog

Many people do not believe in the pre-existence of our Savior, Jesus Christ. That is, they do not believe he lived before his human birth. They attempt to support their understanding of God by explaining away many of the direct Scriptural indications of Jesus’ pre-existence. I don’t mean to suggest dishonesty on their part, but I am saying that their understanding is wrong. One group who holds to this understanding is the Biblical Unitarians (BU hereafter). I don’t mean to select them as a group who are especially heretical and opposes of truth. The fact is I do not consider the idea that Jesus is God a litmus test for being a Christian. I believe one could believe Jesus is not God and still be saved. On the other hand, any doctrine that is untrue and is believed hurts one’s understanding of God and what he has done. Therefore, I plan to write a series of blogs on John’s Prologue and consider the point of view of the BU, showing why it is wrong.

John 1:1 KJV  In the beginning was the Word (or the Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (parenthesis mine)

“In the beginning…” refers to the time when God began to create the universe (Genesis 1:1). The preposition is in (en – G1722) [1] and the phrase refers to the specific time of an event taking place. For its occurrence in John 1:1, it refers to the commencement of creation, and I believe this can be proved through a comparison of how the same phrase is used elsewhere in God’s word. Nevertheless, the BU position on this clause is that it does not refer to the beginning of the creation event but to a time previous to the recorded biblical history. They conclude that “in the beginning” has to do with when God first planned to create. They believe that it…

refers to the time before history when God first conceived of man, and foresaw the possibility that he would fall and need a Savior.^[2]

I see a problem here. The phrase en arche (in the beginning) is used only four times in the New Testament. It is used in John 1:1 and also in John 1:2, where it refers to the same event to which John 1:1 refers. It is used again in Acts 11:15 to refer back to the Pentecost immediately following the death and resurrection of Jesus. Specifically it refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. The final time this Greek phrase appears in the New Testament is in Philippians 4:15 where Paul recalls the event of the Gospel going to the Philippians for the first time. For each occurrence that the phrase is used, it refers to the specific time of an event taking place in the past.

In the Septuagint I have found only three additional places where this same clause is used in the Old Testament Greek. It is used in Genesis 1:1 where it refers to the beginning of creation. It is used in 1Chronicles 16:7 for David giving his psalm to Asaph, the chief of the priests who used the psalteries to praise God. The psalm was given to Asaph in the beginning of the day to be used when the ark of God was brought into David’s tent. The last place I found in the Septuagint that the phrase, en arche (in the beginning), is used (just as in John 1:1) is in Jeremiah 26:1 where the LORD spoke to Jeremiah in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah.

As it is used in the New Testament, so it is in the Septuagint. In each instance this phrase refers to an event that took place at a specific time in the past and does not imply repetition or further disclosure. That is to say, for example, the traditional point of view of creation is that it occurred, and God has not continued to create throughout the history of man. On the other hand, the BU position on en arche (in the beginning) is that God conceived the plan and continued to reveal that plan throughout our recorded history. Besides the obvious difference of the interpretation of what the beginning refers to (namely creation of the world in contrast to conception of a plan), there is also a difference of opinion concerning how the preposition, en (G1722), could be used.

This argument becomes even more important and more grammatically impossible as we consider the second clause. “In the beginning WAS THE WORD…” That is, the Word was already at this event. He or it (if the Word is a plan) preceded whatever was en arche (in the beginning). The International Standard Version has it, “In the beginning the Word existed…” Both God’s Word and the Good News Bible say, “In the beginning the Word already existed…”

For the BU viewpoint, which defines the Word as the plan of God, to be grammatically possible, instead of the preposition being en (G1722) it would have to be apo (G575). Primarily, apo means from,[3] and it is used with the word, beginning, in Matthew 19:4 to express the fact that God made mankind male and female “from the beginning.” That is, it was so then and continues to be so in the present. In John 15:27 Jesus used the phrase to say the apostles would be his witnesses, because they had been with him “from the beginning.” That is, they had been continually with Jesus from the commencement of his ministry to that point in time. In 2Peter 3:4 Peter speaks of those who doubt the coming of Christ, because they perceived all things continuing just as they had always been “from the beginning of creation.”

If God intended the Word to mean his plan, he would not have used the preposition in (en – G1722) to introduce the Gospel of John. It is clear that the BU position demands that God intended to continually reveal his plan to man throughout our history, until that plan culminated in the coming of Jesus Christ, whose life, they say, gave the plan its “clearest and most profound definition.” Using the preposition in (en (G1722) in the clause “In the beginning was the Word,” grammatically speaking, would require that the plan of God be made to exist before the BUs say God conceived the thought that man would need a Savior.

On the other hand, if apo (G575, meaning from) were used instead of en (G1722), then the plan would exist only from the beginning. That is, it would continually exist only from that point in time that God (according to the BUs) originally conceived the thought that man might need a Savior.

If I understand this doctrine correctly, the BUs believe that Jesus is the culmination or complete fulfillment of that plan. They argue that this plan is referenced throughout the Old Testament, being brought out in the lives and testimony of Abraham, Moses and the prophets etc. Little by little the plan of God was revealed to mankind through the figures under the Old Covenant, until the plan finally took the form of flesh in John 1:14. Nevertheless, the Greek construction of the clause “in the beginning was the Word” precludes this understanding, because the verb was (G2258) is in the imperfect tense.[4] What this means is that, whatever or whoever the Word is, it or he already existed “in the beginning.” That is, before “the beginning” came to be, the Word was existing and continued to do so afterwards. Therefore, if the Word is in fact the plan, this would put the existence of the plan of God before the time the BUs say God conceived the idea.

I believe John 1:3 sets the context of John 1:1-2 and places “In the beginning” at the beginning of God’s creative activity. This interpretation fits and does not contradict the Greek grammar, which the BU position does.

As I continue in this series on John’s Prologue, I hope to show how Jesus did exist before his human birth, and that he existed in the form of God. May God help me as I write and bless those who read and study his word with a view of submitting to his Spirit.

[1] G1722.  en; preposition governing the dative case in Greek. It means: in, on, at, by any place or thing, with the primary idea of rest. As compared with eis (G1519), into or unto, and ek (G1537), out of or from. It stands between the two; eis implies motion into, and ek motion out of, while en, in, means remaining in place. [The Complete New Testament Word Study Dictionary – by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates; emphasis mine]

^[2] One God & One Lord “Reconsidering the Cornerstone of the Christian Faith;” Part 3; Chapter 9 – By Mark H. Graeser, John A. Lynn and John W. Schoenheit.

[3] G575 apo means the going forth or proceeding of one object from another. It indicates the separation of a person or an object from another person or an object with which it was formerly united but is now separated. [The Complete New Testament Word Study Dictionary – by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates]

[4] The Imperfect Tense (ipf) is only used in the indicative mood and refers to continuous or linear action in past time. It is distinguished from the aorist indicative which conceives of an action in past time as simply having taken place, without further defining it: kaí hoi óchloi ezemtoun autón, “and the people sought [i.e., were continuously seeking] him” (Luke 4:42). The Complete New Testament Word Study Dictionary by Spiros Zodhiates.

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