Jesus Study Sample

Part One, Week 1 9 The Amazing Life of Jesus Christ WEEK 1 JESUS, THE PREEXISTENT CREATOR “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 T he idea of preexistence can be a difficult concept. “Forever” is easier to envision in a future sense than looking “forever” into the past. Maybe it’s because, although mankind hasn’t always existed, man will live eternally. Man and woman were created in the image of God, but are still starkly different from Him, and this is one of the most distinct ways: there will not be an end to man’s exis- tence because human beings are created to live eternally; however, every human being had a beginning. Jesus enters history in Luke 2 when, as John writes, “the Word became flesh” to dwell among us. But Paul says Jesus existed before all things (Colossians 1:17)—before time started ticking and space was filled and nothing was fashioned into everything. How challenging for limited, finite creatures to understand a limitless, infinite God! The careful reader can see Christ throughout Scripture, and that inspired observation is faith building. In his book, The Incomparable Christ , J. Oswald Sanders says Christ’s preexistence “is the foundation on which the whole superstructure of the Christian faith rests. If He was not preexistent, He cannot be God, and if He is not God, He cannot be Creator and Redeemer.” Today is the first step in a journey to know Jesus more intimately and love Him more deeply. This par- ticular week is unique in our study. Before studying the life of Jesus, it is crucial to understand Him as the Preexistent Creator and why He needed to enter life on earth as our Rescuer and Redeemer. Whether this is a brand-new thought or a well-traveled trail of meditation and study, pray for a bigger, grander view of Jesus as the infinite glory and image of God. Pray for a heart to treasure Him as the ever-ex- isting Joy-Giver. STUDY ONE Joy in the Lord and Creation While the story of Jesus living on earth as a perfect Man begins in the Gospels, the story of God’s inten- tion to use His Son to draw us to Himself begins long before that— in eternity past, before a creating word was ever spoken. Jesus’ birth, life, and death were never a “clean-up operation,” set in motion when everything else fell through. It is for joy that God created us, saved us, and sustains an intimate relation- ship with us.