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The Lamb SLAIN Was BEFORE John!
*** What Does John 1:15 TRULY mean?
Here is John 1:15 from the KJV. “John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spoke, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.”
John 1:15 is used by some Christians to try to prove that Jesus LITERALLY PRE-EXISTED as the DIVINE Son of God.
Now, you should also know that the Holy Spirit is revealing to MANY Christians that the doctrine of the Trinity is NOT the God intended interpretation of the Scriptures.
However, SOME of those Christians whom the Holy Spirit has revealed that the doctrine of the Trinity is a FALSE teaching, are still holding fast to PART of the doctrine of the Trinity subconsciously.
In other words, they now KNOW that the Son of God did indeed have a BEGINNING and that he is NOT co-equal to the God, but they still wrongly believe that the Son of God LITERALLY PRE-EXISTED the Virgin birth.
And thus, they wrongly hold fast to a so-called DIVINE God the Son BECAME flesh, as opposed to the word of PROPHECY being MADE to become FLESH by the Creator, Almighty God the Father, PERFORMING His spoken words.
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What Does John 1:15 TRULY Mean?
Does John 1:15 PROVE that Jesus PRE-EXISTED?
The TRUE Sound Biblical Meaning of John 1:15!
A dear brother in our Lord Jesus Christ has been conversing with me for around two years concerning what the phrase “the Son of God” means.
He is a former or ex-Trinitarian Christian who has seen from God’s word that the Son of God did indeed have a BEGINNING and that the Son of God is under and subject to the Father.
However, presently at the time of the writing of this Verse Study on John 1:15, he wrongly believes that the Son was begotten in the eternity past.
In other words, he presently believes that the Son of God PRE-EXISTED as the Divine God the Son and that a so-called pre-existing God the Son BECAME flesh in John 1:14.
And one of his main arguments has been John 1:15, the CONTEXT of John 1:14.
I say, at this present time, that this is what he believes. For you see, I believe that the Holy Spirit is in the process of leading him and MANY other Christians “completely” out of Trinitarianism.
Also, he has not yet read the Verse Study on John 1:15.
As some of my faithful readers know, I often write studies on the questions that my readers ask concerning what a particular VERSE of Scripture means.
But, in the past, most of my more “in-depth” Bible Studies were written on SUBJECTS such as the questions “Why are we here?”, and “Is the 1000-year reign of Jesus LITERAL?”
And thus, studying the Bible by “subject” requires explaining many verses of Scripture. And that is why my older studies are so long.
But hopefully, my newer VERSE STUDIES will be much shorter and focus on the one verse of Scripture as to what that particular verse TRULY means in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
With that being said, let me explain as briefly as I can what the Holy Spirit revealed to me concerning the God intended meaning of John 1:15.
The Apostle John tells us in John 20:30,31 that what he wrote, he wrote in order that we are to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. AND that WE might have life through faith in his NAME.
So then, before we read John 1:15 with a little context, please know and understand that John wrote the Gospel of John AFTER the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
In other words, none of the writers of the New Testament carried around a notebook and RECORDED what happened AS it was happening.
And for that reason, I want you to read John 20:30,31 first, before we read John 1:14-18.
Pay close attention to the DETAILS in John 20:30,31, because they are IMPORTANT to correctly interpret the Scriptures.
John 20:30,31.
“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 20:31. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his NAME.”
Now, to me, every thing that John wrote must AGREE with John 20:31.
In other words, John says, “that we might have LIFE through his NAME!”
What NAME? Does John mean the name “Jesus”?
Or does John mean the NEW NAME that Yahweh GAVE to the Son of MAN, Jesus, AFTER the cross and resurrection, according to the prophecy in Isaiah 62:2, and the fulfillment in Philippians 2:8-11?
Answer this question CORRECTLY in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, and you will see and understand the TRUE Sound Biblical God intended meaning of John 1:15 as it is correctly interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
Now let us read John 1:14-18 with the focus on verse 15.
John 1:14-18.
“And the Word was MADE flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his GLORY, the GLORY as of the only BEGOTTEN of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (Now, the disciples of Jesus did not even know Jesus until after Jesus was baptized by John to Baptist.
Therefore, the GLORY that they saw was NOT the result of the Son being glorified of the Father at his virgin birth. ALSO, the Greek word “para” that is translated as the preposition “of” the Father, could just as easily be translated as “We beheld his glory, THE GLORY AS the ONLY one GENERATED to be BESIDE the Father”)
John 1:15. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spoke, He that comes AFTER me is preferred BEFORE me: for he was BEFORE me. (This same Greek word that is translated as “AFTER” also means to FOLLOW John the Baptist as a “follower” or disciple.
This same word is used in Matthew 4:19 where Jesus says FOLLOW me and I will make you fishers of men.
And after Jesus was ANOINTED by God, John the Baptist decreased and pointed his followers to now follow Jesus, the Lamb of God who would die for the sins of the world.
Again, this same Greek word is translated as FOLLOW and follow AFTER in Matthew 10:38. And it is translated as AFTER me and FOLLOW me in Matthew 16:24,
And thus, you can see that AFTER me does NOT dogmatically mean after John the Baptist was BORN. That is how church TRADITION “interprets” John 1:15.
Also, you can compare Mark 8:24, Luke 9:23, and when Jesus said get BEHIND me Satan.
I will explain the whole verse in more detail after we read the rest of the context)
John 1:16. And of his FULLNESS have all we RECEIVED, and grace for grace. (What FULLNESS?
What did we RECEIVE? The answer is found in John 7:38,39. We received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
It was AFTER the Son of MAN, Jesus, was GLORIFIED that his God and Father GAVE His human Son the FULLNESS of His Spirit to be dwelling in him.
And God did that in order for His now glorified Son to send His Holy Spirit to baptize or ANOINT whosoever BELIEVES in His Son as being the Christ, the ANOINTED one prophesied to come)
John 1:17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
John 1:18. No man has seen God at any time; the only BEGOTTEN Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has DECLARED Him.”
As I said earlier, this Verse Study was written to answer the question that was asked by a dear brother in the Lord.
I had suggested that he should take a closer look at the verses with the words, only begotten, begotten, first begotten, firstbegotten, and FIRSTBORN, that are found in those verses of Scripture.
I suggest that to him, so that he could see that all of those verses of Scripture refer to the Son of MAN as being the FIRSTBORN from the DEAD, the ONLY Son to be generated to be BESIDE the Father.
And he wrote back to me and asked me how do I RECONCILE John 1:15-18, which he interprets to mean that the Son of God PRE-EXISTED before a so-called God the Son BECAME flesh. And to him, that is WHY Jesus is called the Son of God.
So then, concerning your question my dear brother, and other brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, about how do I reconcile John 1:15-18, here is my understanding of that passage of Scripture.
John the Baptist was a prophet sent by Yahweh to bear witness of Christ or the Messiah, the one whom God would ANOINT.
And thus, John the Baptist knew that the Scriptures spoke or prophesied of the COMING of the Messiah who would be the LAMB of God that would die for the sins of the world.
Also, John the Baptist, being a prophet, would also be told by Yahweh what to SAY, just like Yahweh put His words in the mouth of His Prophet, Jesus.
So then, like Abraham saw the DAY of Christ through the Scriptures, John the Baptist saw the suffering Messiah, the Lamb of God, who would die for the sins of the world through the Scriptures.
But Yahweh revealed even more to His prophet John, than just the Messiah dying on the cross.
Yawheh also revealed the Scriptures to John that Jesus would be the FIRST to be begotten from the dead BEFORE him, speaking of before John and other believers who believe in the NAME of Jesus would also be begotten of Yahweh to become the GLORIFIED sons of God.
For you see, while we are CALLED the sons of God now in this present world, the MANIFESTATION of the sons of God will not actually happen until the coming of Jesus, according to Romans 8:18,19.
For you see, that is when Jesus will give us the SAME GLORY that God GAVE to him, after the cross and resurrection, according to John 17:22.
And Yahweh also revealed to His prophet John the Baptist that the FIRSTBORN of God would be the HEAD of the body of Christ, the church.
And that is why John said the Jesus is PREFERRED before me.
Now, as you already know, Trinitarian Christians interpret John 1:15-18 to mean that a so-called Son of God, or as they say, God the Son pre-existed before John the Baptist, who was BORN before Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary.
And in my own opinion, you my dear brother in the Lord have held fast to that Trinitarian interpretation subconsciously.
And thus, presently, you still believe PART of the doctrine of the Trinity even though you know full well that the Son had a beginning and the son is NOT co-equal with the Father, which proves the doctrine of the Trinity is a false man-made teaching.
But so is the so-called PRE-EXISTENCE of the Son of God ALSO a FALSE teaching.
For you see, all the disciples of Jesus wrote about Jesus being the FIRSTBORN from the DEAD and NOT the firstborn in the eternity past.
That is how the Jehovah’s Witnesses “interpret” Colossians 1:15 due to the incorrect translation of Colossians 1:1,16, which they take OUT of their context.
John the Apostle ALSO wrote in the Book of Revelation 1:5 that Jesus is the faithful WITNESS that was the FIRST BEGOTTEN from the DEAD.
Now, the Greek word translated as “WITNESS” also means MARTYR.
Then John wrote in Revelation 3:12-14 that the faithful and truthful MARTYR is the BEGINNING of the creation OF GOD was given a NEW NAME.
So then, after you understand that God prophesied in Psalm 102:18 about PEOPLE that He SHALL create after He already created people in Genesis.
Then you can understand that Jesus the TRUE sound Biblical meaning of the words of John saying, “These things said the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God”.
And when you understand that, then you will understand that the beginning of the creation of God is speaking of God's NEW CREATURES of righteous people that are God's TEMPLE.
Now, this is what I KNOW by the Holy Spirit revealing this truth to me, and also has and still is revealing to MANY MANY other Christians who are now Biblical Unitarian Christians.
And, as I said before, the Holy Spirit is ALSO in the process of revealing this SAME truth to you my dear brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, if you will RECEIVE this truth.For you see, God never forces anyone to believe His word of truth.
Now, knowing and understanding that Yahweh REVEALS to His prophets what to SPEAK, then, to me, John the Baptist spoke what Yahweh told him to speak in John 1:15, which is actually recorded in John 1:29-37.
And I will explain the true sound Biblical meaning of that passage of Scripture in the Verse Study on John 1:30, What does John 1:30 TRULY Mean?
But for now, please know and understand the context in John 1:15 is speaking about WHOM John spake was BEFORE him.
In other words, it was the LAMB who was SLAIN in the mind and plan of Almighty God the Creator, who was BEFORE the foundation of the world.
John spoke and said, “Behold the LAMB of God who will take away the sin of the world.”
And thus, the Lamb SLAIN from the foundation of the world was BEFORE John the Baptist.
Again, once Christians understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And that you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become a Lord, a King, and a God, to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING!
And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.
Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well.
Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! **
This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
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