LESSON 16

He Anticipated Glorification

    In order to understand the true meaning of the first verses of Romans, we must make sure we understand the context. Paul was called to be a servant and an apostle. He was set apart for teaching the Good News of Yahweh (Romans 1:1). The Glad Tidings were about Yahweh’s Son and His coming Kingdom. This reference is actually revealing the fact that Yahshua did, in fact, pre-exist. Romans 1:3 says that Yahshua was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. If Yahshua were merely an ordinary human being, without pre-existence, there would have been no need for Paul to have added the phrase, according to the flesh. It is, therefore, implied that He did exist with Yahweh as a spirit being in the beginning, before He was born of the flesh.

   Continuing to harmonize each Scripture, please read John 17:5 and 24: “And now, O Father, glorify Me in Your own Self with the glory which I had with You before the world was. Father, I will that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me: for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” Clearly, Yahshua is explaining to those listening that He did indeed exist before the world was founded. 

   He divested Himself of the glory which He had in the beginning to take upon Himself the form of a man: “Who, being in very nature Elohim, did not consider equality with Elohim something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a tree!” It goes on to say, “Therefore Elohim exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name…” (Philippians 2:6-9). Further Scriptures for study showing that Yahshua came from the Father are:  John 6:46; 7:29; 9:16, 33; 15:26, 16:27 and 18:8.

The Messiah Who Came From Heaven

   And so, the truth continues to emerge: Yahweh was the Master Architect, but Yahshua did the actual creating. “He is the image of the invisible Elohim, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth...He is before all things and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17). Could this be describing a human being? Certainly not!

   Adam and Eve were on this earth long before Yahshua took on human flesh. “These are the generations (#8435 in Strong’s meaning descent, family history…) of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh Elohim made the earth and the heavens…” (Genesis 2:4). “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that Elohim created man, in the likeness of Elohim made He him...” (Genesis 5:1). The generations of man from Adam to Abraham are mentioned in Genesis, chapter 4 through chapter 11.

   Then, the Scriptures say, there were 42 generations from Abraham to Messiah. See Matthew 1:17, “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Messiah are fourteen generations.” The earth was well populated when Yahshua came from the heavens to be born of flesh. The Jews could not believe that this man was the One spoken of in the prophets. The Jews asked, “Is not this Yahshua, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I came down from heaven?’” (John 6:42)

   Yahshua then answered them in verses 44-51: “No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of Elohim. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father comes unto Me’...He that believes on Me has everlasting life. I am that bread of life...This is the bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven…”

   Yahshua then asked His disciples, “What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?” (John 6:62)

   We must understand the context of this verse in order to determine the message within it. The Jews were demanding a sign from Yahshua as proof that He was sent by Yahweh. They asked Him, “What miraculous sign then will You give that we may see it and believe You? What will you do? Our forefathers ate manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Yahshua said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of Elohim is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘from now on give us this bread.’ Then Yahshua declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:30-38).

   Yahshua was the true Manna from heaven—the Bread of life. Verse 38 relates that He came down from heaven in order to do the will of the Father. Verses 39-40 say that those who believe in the Son shall have everlasting life. But the Jews murmured at Him because they could not believe what He said. They thought He was their contemporary and that He existed only on the physical plane. Because of their blindness, they would not or could not understand Yahshua’s message: 1) that He had already existed in the beginning and came down from heaven; and 2) that they had to (symbolically) eat His flesh and drink His blood to gain eternal life (verses 51-58).

His Eyes Actually Saw Yahweh

    One of the most affirming proofs of Yahshua’s pre-existence can be seen in John 6:46, “No one has seen the Father except the One who is from Yahweh; only He has seen the Father.” What a revelation! Yahshua, Scripture says, is the only One who has seen the Father! The word seen is from the Greek word horao, meaning to perceive with the eyes and is not just a mental discernment. This proves also that Yahshua pre-existed in spirit form. If He were a human being, He would have died when He saw the Father. “And He [Yahweh] said, ‘You cannot see My face: for there shall no man see Me, and live’” (Exodus 33:20).  

   Yahshua was not speaking figuratively or in parables when He was quoted in John 16:27-30, “For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came from Yahweh. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said to Him, ‘Lo, now You speak plainly, and no proverb. Now are we sure that You know all things, and need not that anyone should ask You: by this we believe that You came forth from Yahweh.’” The disciples already understood the truth Yahshua wanted them to know—that He pre-existed before becoming a human being. The words came out and came forth in John 16:27 and 30 are from the Greek para, which means from beside.

   Notice that Yahshua said He came from the Father, and that He would again be leaving this world (verse 28), meaning that He had already been there. He was the very One who appeared as Yahweh in the Old Testament, not the Father Yahweh. Both Elohim are seen in Genesis 19:24, “Then Yahweh rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven.”

   The fact that Yahshua was not literally seen descending from heaven does not discredit the Scriptural evidence that He did pre-exist. The fact that manna was not literally seen descending from heaven does not mean that it did not come from heaven. Manna was only visible in the morning when the dew was gone (Exodus 16:14; Numbers 11:9).

   In John 17:5, Yahshua is recorded as having said: “And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.”

   1 Corinthians 8:6 says, “Yet for us there is but one Elohim, the Father, from Whom all things came and for Whom we live; and there is but one Master, Yahshua the Messiah, through Whom all things came and through Whom we live.”

   How can one refute the Messiah’s pre-existence? We can see it so plainly in Hebrews 1:1-3, “In the past, Elohim spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, and through Whom He made the universe [this was before He came to earth!]. The Son is the radiance of Elohim’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven.”

Yahshua—Part of the Elohim Family

   Yahshua was Yahweh’s creation, so therefore, cannot be equal to Him. He is, though, an Elohim and superior to the angels. “So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did Elohim ever say, ‘You are My Son; today I have become your Father?’ Or again, ‘I will be His Father, and He will be My son.’ And again, when Elohim brings His firstborn into the world, He says, ‘He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.’ But about the Son, He says, ‘Your throne, O Elohim, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your Kingdom’” (Hebrews 1:4-8).

   To be able to give Yahshua all the glory due to Him, it is of utmost importance to comprehend that He did, indeed, exist with Yahweh before He was born on this earth. No man of flesh could have fulfilled all the prophecy Yahshua fulfilled. Please notice the following things Yahshua said, while He was on this earth, to describe Himself: “And no man has ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven;” “I am the living bread which came down from heaven;” “What and if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before?” “You are from beneath; I am from Above;” “And now, O Father, glorify Me...with the glory which I had with You before the world was;” and again, “Before Abraham was, I am.”

   To further summarize this subject, please note the things that were said of Yahshua: He is the “image of the invisible Elohim;” “firstborn of all creation;” “through Whom all things were created;” “He was before all things;” “the beginning;” “the firstborn from the dead;” “the Word was in the beginning with Elohim...in Him was life; and the life was the light of men,” meaning no other than Yahshua the Messiah!

   As we have seen from this lesson, the pre-existence of Yahshua is, without a doubt, a scriptural certainty. Although it is an abstract concept—one that deserves much study—Yahshua’s pre-existence is very real and the understanding of it should give us complete confidence in the awesome power of His life, death and resurrection!

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