V-47. Philippians 2:6-8 Proves Jesus Pre-existed?

DOES PHILIPPIANS 2:6-8 PROVE THAT JESUS PREEXISTED

as the ETERNAL SON OF GOD in the eternity past?

Let us begin this study in God's word by saying that there is more than just one way to “interpret” Philippians 2:6-8. There is a correct way to interpret Philippians 2:6-8 and there are incorrect ways to interpret Philippians 2:6-8. So then, HOW do we know which “INTERPRETATION” of Philippians 2:6-8 is the CORRECT interpretation? As I have said many times in the studies I write that any interpretation which a Christian concludes a verse to mean, then that interpretation must AGREE with what the WHOLE word of God teaches us.

I teach my readers to always start with the immediate CONTEXT when interpreting the Scriptures so let us read Philippians 2:1-11 which is five verses of context before Philippians 2:6-8 and three verses of context after Philippians 2:6-8. Please read the whole context even if you have read it thousands of times before.

Philippians 2:1-11.

“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

2. Fulfill you my joy, that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.

4. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

5. Let this mind be in you, which was ALSO in Christ Jesus: (So the subject in the first five verses of context is on having the SAME mind that Jesus had while he was on the earth which is to esteem others better than ourselves)

6. Who, (Speaking of Jesus right now PRESENTLY in the PRESENT tense and NOT in eternity PAST. The Greek word translated as “being” means CAME into existence. And it was AFTER the cross and resurrection that the HUMAN Son of God CAME INTO) being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (I will explain further for WHY I say right now presently and NOT in eternity PAST after we read the whole immediate context)

7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9. WHEREFORE, (Or BECAUSE OF this very REASON that Jesus Christ became OBEDIENT unto death even the shameful death of the cross) God also has HIGHLY EXALTED him and has GIVEN him a NAME which is above every name:

10. THAT (Or SO THAT) AT the NAME of Jesus (Speaking of the NEW NAME that Almighty God GAVE to Jesus) every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, TO the glory OF God the Father.”

Now, does the CONTEXT agree with verse 6 being INTERPRETED as Jesus ALWAYS existing as Almighty God Himself? To me, the interpretation of verse 6 that Jesus pre-existed as God the Son, the second person of a Godhead Trinity God does NOT agree with the context.

Does Almighty God the Father HIGHLY EXALTING Jesus agree with the Oneness Pentecostal and the Trinitarian teaching that Jesus was FULLY Almighty God in the flesh and fully a human being at the SAME time having TWO natures, one divine, and one human? Again, to me, the interpretation that Jesus pre-existed as Almighty God Himself in the eternity past does NOT agree with the context. Why would an already Almighty God need to be highly exalted and given a new name above every other name if Jesus was fully Almighty God in the flesh?

Notice that verse 11 teaches us that all the GLORY is TO Almighty God the Father. Also, the CONTEXT is about having the SAME MIND as Jesus Christ to be HUMBLE, to be a SERVANT to others, and to esteem others better than ourselves. So what does any of that have to do with a so-called PRE-EXISTING of Jesus in eternity PAST in the FORM of God?

Before we get into the meanings of the Greek words I would like you to read another passage of Scripture where Paul and Barnabas are perceived to be gods by the pagan Gentiles because they commanded a cripple man to stand up and walk in the name of Jesus and the man was healed.

Please read Acts 14:8-15.

“And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:

9. The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

10. Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

11. And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

12. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

13. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.

14. Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,

15. And saying, Sirs, why do you do these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:”

The Apostles of Jesus, as well as every Christian, has been given the power and authority to heal people according to the faith of the people and even raise some people from the dead as the Holy Spirit leads them to do so. And in the eyes of the unsaved Gentile people, only the gods could do such things. So in a sense, the Apostles of Jesus were looked upon as being in the form of gods that had come down from heaven in the likeness of men. And in the same way, after Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan he was endued with power from on high. And according to Acts 10:38, God ANOINTED Jesus with the Holy Spirit and POWER.

And that is WHEN God SENT His Son into the world and Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil for God was WITH Jesus by dwelling IN him. But yet, Jesus never once exalted himself or tried to make himself equal with God. Rather, Jesus became a servant to others. This is one possible sound Biblical meaning of Philippians 2:6-8 but there are other and more ACCURATE interpretations that also AGREE with the whole word of Almighty God. Let us now look at the meanings of some of the Greek words in verse 6 to see another sound Biblical interpretation that does not contradict any other verses of Scripture.

Keep in mind that we are reading the English TRANSLATION of what Paul actually said in the Greek language. So let us look up the meanings of the words in Philippians 2:6. Here is verse 6 with the Strong’s numbers color-coded so you can follow along with what I am saying a little easier.

Philippians 2:6 with Strong's numbers after each English word.

“Who, G3739 being G5225 in G1722 the form G3444 of God, G2316 thought G2233 it not G3756 robbery G725 to be G1511 equal G2470 with God: G2316 “

And here is how the concordance in E-Sword defines these Greek words.

G5225

ὑπάρχω

huparchō

hoop-ar'-kho

From G5259 and G756; to begin under (quietly), that is, come into existence (be present or at hand); expletively, to exist (as copula or subordinate to an adjective, participle, adverb or preposition, or an auxiliary to a principal verb): - after behave, live.

The two root words that the compound Greek word “huparcho” comes from means COMMENCE to be UNDER, or to come into existence to be PRESENTLY UNDER in the form of God. So then, the English word “BEING” means to come into existence to commence being under “the Father” in the form of God, as in, Jesus was MADE in the IMAGE OF God after the cross. And that meaning of the Greek word “huparcho” AGREES with Acts 2:36 which clearly teaches us that Almighty God MADE the Son of MAN, Jesus, both Lord and Christ AFTER the cross and resurrection. That is WHEN the CONTEXT of Philippians 2:6-8 teaches us that Jesus was HIGHLY EXALTED after he became obedient to die on the cross. Let us look at the next Greek word that is translated as in the “form” of God.

G3444

μορφή

morphē

mor-fay'

Perhaps from the base of G3313 (through the idea of adjustment of parts); shape; figuratively nature: - form.

Total KJV occurrences: 3.

The adjustment of parts speaks of human nature being CHANGED to the divine nature of IMMORTALITY which again took place AFTER the cross and resurrection of the Son of MAN, Jesus. Also, Jesus went from being able to do NOTHING OF himself to now being GIVEN ALL power and authority to be able to give eternal life to those of us who believe. And all these adjustments took place AFTER the cross and resurrection. Let us go ahead and look at how the concordances in E-Sword defines the root word from which the Greek word “morphe” comes from which is translated as “FORM” of God.

G3313

μέρος

meros

mer'-os

From an obsolete but more primary form of μείρομαι meiromai (to get as a section or allotment); a division or share (literally or figuratively, in a wide application): - behalf, coast, course, craft, particular (+ -ly), part (+ -ly), piece, portion, respect, side, some sort (-what).

So then, Jesus came into existence to commence being under in the form, or NATURE of God by way of God adjusting his HUMAN nature to become DIVINE nature to SHARE the divine nature with Almighty God Yahweh the Father. Also, Jesus will INHERIT the worlds to come. The next word means Deity and divinity. It also means to be [A] God or a Deity but with the definite article “the” it almost always refers to the ONE TRUE God who alone is the Father, according to what the Bible itself teaches us. However, there is NO definite article in verse 6 where Jesus came to exist in the FORM OF God and NOT in the form of THE Almighty God Himself. So then, this verse could be translated as Jesus came into being in the form of a Deity which is exactly what actually happened. For you see, Jesus was MADE Lord by his God and Father after the cross, according to Acts 2:36.

G2316

θεός

theos

theh'-os

Of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate; by Hebraism very: - X exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward].

Now let us read the first part of Philippians 2:6 with the meanings of the Greek words.

My own paraphrased version of Philippians 2:6a.

“Who (Speaking of Jesus right now PRESENTLY in the PRESENT tense and NOT in eternity PAST) being (Or who has COME INTO EXISTENCE to PRESENTLY be UNDER) in the form (Or in that NATURE, as in, by adjustment of his human nature to now SHARING the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY) of God,...”

In other words, AFTER the CROSS, Almighty God the Father HIGHLY EXALTED the Son of MAN, Jesus, and GAVE him the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY to share in the GLORY of Yahweh the Father. The Greek word “huparcho” is in the PRESENT tense and carries the meaning of coming into this present existence of sharing the divine NATURE of God.

The rest of verse 6 simply means that Jesus did not even think to seize this glory for himself. But rather, this was God’s idea. For you see, God SET this JOY before the Son of MAN, Jesus, to ENDURE the cross, according to Hebrews 12:2. And even with such a joy set before Jesus he still had to BECOME OBEDIENT to put his OWN will under his God and Father’s “WILL”, according to Matthew 26:38-42 and the other gospels where Jesus prayed not my will but your “WILL” be done. Jesus wanted that cup of suffering on the cross to pass from him if at all possible. But Jesus knew the Scriptures spoke of him and he knew what God prophesied for him to do. So Jesus became OBEDIENT to do his God and Father’s “WILL” over his own “will”. And for that very REASON of Jesus humbling himself to die a cruel and shameful death on the cross, his God and Father HIGHLY exalted him to sit on his God and Father’s throne at the Father's side.

Keep in mind that AFTER the 1000 year reign of Jesus has ended that Jesus will step down from ruling the Kingdom and commit the ruling of the Kingdom BACK into his God and Father’s hand so that God may be all and in all. Let us read 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 from the KJV, but first, I would like you to read verse 28 from the Message Bible.

1 Corinthians 15:28 from the Message Bible.

“When everything and everyone is finally under God's rule, the Son will STEP DOWN, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God's rule is absolutely comprehensive - a perfect ending!”

The New Century Translation says it like this.

1 Corinthians 15:28 from the New Century Version.

“After everything has been put under the Son, then he will put himself under God, who will have put all things under him. Then God will be the complete ruler over everything.”

And the whole CONTEXT in the King James Version reads as follows.

1 Corinthians 15:22-28.

This is NOT what the Oneness Pentecostal doctrine teaches. Nor is this what the doctrine of the Trinity teaches. But this IS what the Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us over and over again and again. And that is that Jesus is ANOTHER God UNDER and subject to his God and Father the ONE and ONLY TRUE God.

I myself do not see any problem with Almighty God the Father creating Himself another God to replace Lucifer the fallen rebellious God who Yahweh Himself set to be the God over the earth in ages past. The Bible clearly teaches us that Yahweh is THE God OF Gods. Please read the study D-5. ARE THERE TWO GODS? But for now, please know and understand that just because Jesus is [A] God does NOT make Jesus any less because Yahweh the Father COMMANDS us to HONOR Jesus EVEN AS we HONOR the Father. Jesus was GIVEN a NEW NAME to rule for Yahweh in the world to come IN the NAME OF Yahweh. And I believe that the new name of Jesus is Yahweh our RIGHTEOUSNESS. And during that day, speaking about the world to come, the 1000 year reign of Jesus, Yahweh’s name will be ONE NAME. In other words, Jesus will be ruling in Yahweh's NAME as Yahweh's King of kings and Lord of lords.

Think about a King who has a Son and that King SETS his Son to be the King for the day over his kingdom. And if anyone does not RESPECT and honor his Son the SAME as the KING, then when the King takes over the OFFICE ruling his kingdom again, I would NOT want to be the one who did NOT HONOR the King’s Son even as they HONOR the King himself. Now, the word “God” is ALSO a TITLE just like the word “King” is a title. Satan is called “the god” of this present world, but that does not mean that Satan is THE ONE TRUE God. So Jesus being in the FORM of God does NOT prove that Jesus always pre-existed in the FORM of God. Let us continue reading Philippians 2:7,8 with Jesus coming into existence in the form of God AFTER the CROSS. I will use the paraphrased version for verse 6 only and the KJV for verse 7 and 8.

Philippians 2:6-8.

“Who (Speaking of Jesus right now PRESENTLY in the PRESENT tense and NOT in eternity PAST) being (Or who has COME INTO EXISTENCE to PRESENTLY be UNDER) in the form (Or in the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY, as in, by adjustment of his human mortal nature to now SHARING the DIVINE NATURE) of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (Or it did NOT even enter into the mind or thoughts of Jesus to seize or take by force to be like God as Lucifer did during a previous AGE of the earth. You see, Lucifer rebelled and waged a WAR against God’s throne to try and self exalt himself to take by FORCE of WAR to be like God)

7. But (Or CONTRARY-WISE Jesus) made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made (Or BEING made) in the likeness of men: (The words “and was” are NOT in the original text. So this should read as follows in my paraphrased version. “Contrary-wise instead of seeking to be equal with God after being GIVEN all power and authority after the cross, Jesus made himself of no reputation. Even during the ministry of Jesus, he did NOT seek fame and glory unto himself But rather, he took or he remained a SERVANT MADE in the likeness of men and gave ALL of the glory to his God and Father.” Some translations say that after coming into the form of God after the cross he did not even think to take by force to be equal with God, but contrary-wise he stripped himself or he humbled himself to be a servant made in the likeness of men)

8. And (Or MOREOVER, if you remember before the cross, Jesus) being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

I believe that Yahweh PROPHESIED the ORDER of events in the order that they are to be FULFILLED. As you read the prophecy of both the first and the second coming of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6,7, I want you to notice that a CHILD is prophesied to be born FIRST. And then, the Son that is to be GIVEN is NOT God’s Son coming down from heaven, but rather, it is the Son of MAN, Jesus who was GIVEN as the atonement for sin. Then notice that the Son given will NOT be called the Mighty God UNTIL the government is LAID on his shoulders in the world yet to come.

Please read Isaiah 9:6,7.

“For (Order of event #1 that has already been FULFILLED) unto us, a CHILD is BORN, (THEN comes Order of event #2 that has also already been FULFILLED) unto us a son is given: (Speaking of the HUMAN Son of MAN, Jesus as the Son given as the ONE sacrifice for the sins of the world. Yahweh provided His own Lamb that was slain in the mind of God from the foundation of the world. God chose His Lamb to be made inferior to the angels so He made the human race a little lower than the angelic beings) and (And THEN Order of event #3 is YET FUTURE and it is YET TO BE FULFILLED) the government shall be upon his shoulder: (Which is the WRATH of God executed by Jesus. That is WHEN the kingdoms of this present world will become the kingdom of God's dear Son to begin the 1000 year reign of Jesus) and (And THEN will come Order of event #4 that is YET FUTURE and it is YET TO BE FULFILLED WHEN the government will be set upon the shoulder of Jesus IN the world to come, at which TIME) his NAME shall be CALLED Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, (Or more precisely, according to Hebrews 5:9, the Father of everlasting life or the AUTHOR of eternal life. For you see, it was BECAUSE, OF the Son of man, Jesus obeying his God and Father's “Will” that Jesus made it possible for whosoever believes in him shall be saved. Jesus was MADE perfect and he BECAME the Father of eternal life AFTER the cross and resurrection. For you see, the Son of MAN, Jesus, was GIVEN the authority and the power AFTER the cross to JUDGE and also to give eternal life to whomever he chooses. This is why Psalms 2 prophesied to kiss the feet of God’s Son whom He ordained to be his King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is also called) The Prince of Peace. (And, according to Revelation 1:5, Jesus is our Prince right now standing at the right hand of God. But at his second coming, Jesus will SIT on the right hand of Yahweh to rule and reign FOR Yahweh as the Lord of the Sabbath. And at that time, the kingdoms of this present world will become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. And)

7. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Also, please notice WHO is doing the PERFORMING of His own spoken word of PROPHECY that came forth OUT FROM His mouth. It is Almighty God Yahweh the creator who is performing His own word. So to me, Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of the spoken word of PROPHECY. Jesus began as a THOUGHT in God’s mind as God's secret plan of salvation. Not just the salvation of mankind that He had not yet created, but also the RESTORATION of the entire universe back to being at PEACE having no WAR. God created the human race to put an END to evil. Please read the studies under the heading >>>Q-0. WHY are we HERE?-Is God at WAR?<<<

I myself find NO prophecies of a God the Son coming down from heaven to manifest or to incarnate himself to become flesh. We ALL agree that the BODY of Jesus was CREATED. In other words, all Christians believe that the Son of God did NOT have a HUMAN BODY in the eternity past. And thus, God needed to CREATE the human BODY of Jesus. So if Christians have no problem with God creating the human body of Jesus, why is it so hard for some Christians to believe that ALL of Jesus was created by Yahweh the Father? In other words, why is it so hard for some Christians to accept the truth that the Son of God never PRE-EXISTED in the eternity past? And thus, God created Himself a HUMAN Son in the WOMB of the Virgin Mary and then MADE His HUMAN Son a divine God after the cross and resurrection to JUDGE His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen Elohim.

Please read another prophecy made by Yahweh concerning a new people that He would CREATE in the future, as in, the future from the time the prophecy was first written and prophesied in the Old Testament.

Please read Psalm 102:18.

“This shall be written for the generation TO COME: and the people which SHALL BE CREATED shall praise the LORD.”

And when we considered the ALL of the “whosoever who believe” of fallen man who have been and who will be CREATED IN Jesus Christ to become God’s NEW CREATION of righteous people, then I myself believe that Psalm 102:18 is the PROPHECY of God’s new creatures who are created in His Son Jesus Christ. But how does this verse prove that Jesus himself was created?

Again, we all agree that the BODY of Jesus was CREATED. We all agree that Jesus was SLAIN in the MIND and PLAN of Almighty God from the foundation of the world and that he was NOT LITERALLY slain in the past. So why is it so hard to believe that ALL of Jesus was created? Why try to make a PART of Jesus to pre-exist in the eternity past while knowing full well that his body was indeed created at his virgin birth? I mean, why would the SOUL and the spirit of Jesus pre-exist without a body in eternity past unless you NEED for Jesus to NEVER have a beginning so that you can say Jesus has always been Almighty God Yahweh WITHOUT ever having a BEGINNING? Please consider the PROPHECIES. We already saw the ORDER of the events prophesied in Isaiah 9:6,7 but some may argue that Jesus was BORN and NOT CREATED.

To ME, there is no difference between being created and being born. For you see, we are all BORN, but we also understand that God CREATED everyone of us. But I can relate to Christians who do not like it when other Christians say that Jesus was CREATED. Sometimes the truth offends the “religious” spirit that has crept into our lives. The Jews wanted to KILL Jesus just because he was teaching them the TRUTH. But the Jews that finally understood the words of Jesus got over their being offended. They believed Jesus OVER their TRADITIONS. And it is sad to say, but some Christians still want to cling to the church TRADITIONS over believing the Scriptures. My intention is not to offend anyone, but rather I want you to THINK for YOURSELF. My desire is that you believe God’s word OVER church TRADITION.

Please read Jeremiah 31:22.

“How long will you go about, O you backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.”

Do you remember what the angel Gabriel said to the Virgin Mary at the time the child was CONCEIVED in her WOMB that COMPASSED the manchild? He said that “Holy THING” in you SHALL be called the Son of the Highest and the Son of God. And Jeremiah 31:22 says that new THING was CREATED in a WOMAN. Mary said be “it” done according to your WORD. In other words, Mary said let it be according to what you just SAID that God SAID would take place. So Mary BELIEVED God’s word of PROPHECY that was spoken to her by God’s messenger, Gabriel. Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of Yahweh’s word of PROPHECY. And one of the prophecies is that God would EXALT His FIRSTBORN Son.

Please read Psalm 89:25-29.

“I (Yahweh) will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

26. He shall cry unto me, You are my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

27. Also, I (Yahweh) will make him My FIRSTBORN, HIGHER than the kings of the earth.

28. My mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and My covenant shall stand fast with him.

29. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.”

This is a PROPHECY of Jesus to be made HIGHER than the kings of the earth. Jesus is called the FIRSTBORN in the New Testament. Let us read those verses where Jesus is called the FIRSTBORN.

Matthew 1:25.

“And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”

So then, we see the FULFILLMENT of the prophecies of the HUMAN CHILD being BORN of a WOMAN first. We do NOT see a so-called pre-existing God the Son coming down from heaven and incarnating himself in the womb of the Virgin Mary. There are NO PROPHECIES of that human INVENTION of incarnation and there are NO Scriptures describing such an event of God the Son manifesting himself as a fetus in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

But the Bible ITSELF has much to say as to HOW the word made flesh BECAME the FIRSTBORN Son of God made in the IMAGE OF the invisible God.

Romans 8:29.

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the IMAGE of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Then we see that the HUMAN Jesus BECAME the FIRSTBORN among many BRETHREN that are being conformed into the IMAGE of God's GLORIFIED Son AFTER the cross. And HOW do we know the IMAGE of God means the GLORIFIED Jesus and NOT the mortal human Jesus BEFORE the cross to be the CORRECT interpretation? Read all the verses where Jesus is called the FIRSTBORN and then put them all together.

Colossians 1:15.

“Who is the IMAGE OF the invisible God, the firstborn of every CREATURE:”

First of all, please notice that this verse says “CREATURE” which means that Jesus is a CREATED being who was created in the IMAGE OF the invisible God. Adam was the first human creature. Adam had no sin when God first created him. After Adam sinned, he was no longer in the IMAGE OF God. So then, WHEN did Jesus BECOME the IMAGE OF Yahweh, the invisible God? Keep reading the CONTEXT in verse 18.

Colossians 1:18.

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the DEAD; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

In other words, Jesus is the BEGINNING of his CHURCH, the called-out ones to serve God in RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jesus is the BEGINNING of God’s NEW CREATION of GLORIFIED humans. Jesus is the FIRSTFRUITS of God’s CREATURES to be CREATED as IMMORTAL human beings. Jesus is the FIRST human to be born from the dead to be given the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY. Jesus is the FIRSTBORN from the DEAD ONES is what this verse literally says. And that agrees with Revelation 1:5 and Revelation 3:14 as being the faithful and true WITNESS born from the DEAD to become the BEGINNING of the CREATION of God. And according to Romans 8:29, Jesus is the firstborn among many BRETHREN. Jesus is our BROTHER. Jesus is the FORERUNNER gone BEFORE us, according to Hebrews 6:20 and Hebrews 2:10. And because of what the ANOINTED Son of MAN, Jesus did, his God and Father ALSO made Jesus Lord, according to Acts 2:36. Jesus is head over us but Yahweh is the head over Jesus, according to 1 Corinthians 11:3.

Hebrews 12:23.

“To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,”

Jesus was MADE PERFECT BY Yahweh the Father when Almighty God the Father SHARED His GLORY with him AFTER the cross. And even after Jesus was glorified, he did not even think to be EQUAL with God. So to ME, Philippians 2:6-8 does NOT prove that Jesus pre-existed as God the Son, the second person of the Godhead.

Now, some Christians may argue that Philippians 2:6,7 SEEMS to be saying that a pre-existing Jesus TOOK ON human nature. And just reading the English translation, then those verses do SEEM as if Jesus made the choice to be made FLESH in the fashion of humans. But the Greek language is not the SAME as the English language which has more “structure”. In other words, if you move words and phrases around to CHANGE the order of words in a sentence in the English language, then you might change the true intended meaning of that sentence. But this is NOT the case in the Greek language. Here is a quote from an article that was written by Spencer Alexander McDaniel, who knows Ancient Greek. He was asked the following question.

Did Ancient Greek have free word order?

And here is his answer. The emphasis on my own.

“For the most part, yes. There are some general rules for word order, but none of them are really hard-and-fast. While English is highly dependent on word order to determine meaning, ancient Greek is a highly inflected language in which most of what English does with word order is done instead using noun case endings. The same is also true for Latin, but, unlike ancient Greek, Latin generally tends to follow a pattern of having the subject at the beginning of the sentence, the object in the middle, and the verb at the end (SOV order).

In ancient Greek prose, word order is usually determined mainly by emphasis and personal taste. The aspect of the sentence that a writer wants to emphasize the most normally goes at the beginning, the part that writer wants to emphasize second most normally goes at the end, and everything else goes basically somewhere in the middle. The two most common orders are SOV (subject-object-verb, as in Latin) and SVO (subject-verb-object, as in English). Generally, in my experience, in prose texts, I have found that the subject often tends to occur towards the beginning of the sentence, but this is far from always true and you can often find sentences where subjects do not show up until somewhere in the middle of the sentence or even not until the very end.

Generally speaking, ancient Greek writers do not normally split up prepositional phrases. Also, in most cases, words that are related to each other are typically grouped together. Articles almost always come before the nouns they refer to, typically immediately before or with an adjective in between. Adjectives can come before or after the nouns they modify, but are typically kept close to those nouns in proximity.

However, it is very common for texts to violate any or all of these principles for stylistic reasons. In fact, it is so common that classical scholars even have a name for it: hyperbaton (from ancient Greek ὑπέρβατον, which literally means “stepping over”). Hyperbaton occurs wherever a writer splits up words that would normally be grouped together for some kind of rhetorical effect. This may go so far as dropping a demonstrative pronoun at the beginning of the sentence, an article in the middle, an adjective halfway between the middle and the end, and then the noun that the demonstrative, the article, and the adjective are referring to at the very end! The point of doing this is to build up suspense for the conclusion of the sentence.”

In other words, the TRUE INTENDED meaning of any verse in the Bible can only be correctly interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Keep in mind that the actual order of the Greek words in the original text are not necessarily read and understood in the order that they are WRITTEN.

For example, the Old English King James style of writing is “backward” to us in the way we speak English today. When I first read Revelation 20:4-6, I had to read it several times before I finally saw that the FIRST resurrection is NOT at the end of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. I was so focused on the ONE phrase “THIS IS the FIRST resurrection” that I could not see the rest of the Scripture until I took my FOCUS off of the ORDER in which the phrase “this is the first resurrection” was placed. Let us go ahead and read the KJV and then read my own paraphrased version so you can see what I am saying.

Revelation 20:4-6 from the King James Version.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (If you are not aware of the “BACKWARD” Old English style of writing, then verse 5 SEEMS to be saying that the FIRST resurrection is when the REST of the dead will be resurrected. In other words, the ORDER of the placement of the phrase “This is the first resurrection” is in the WRONG place in the way that we speak English today. It should be placed at the BEGINNING of verse 5 and NOT at the END of the verse)

6. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Now let us read Revelation 20:4-6 from my own translation where I simply moved that last phrase in verse 5 to be the first phrase in verse 5, because this is the way we speak English today. You can clearly see that moving the last phrase to be the first phrase did NOT change the true meaning of this passage of Scripture. But rather, by moving the phrase to the way we speak English today, it makes verse 5 much clearer and easier to understand.

Revelation 20:4-6 from my own translation.

5. This is the first resurrection. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

With this in mind, let us now go back to Philippians 2:6-8 and do the SAME moving of the last phrase in verse 7 to be the first phrase in verse 7.

Philippians 2:6-8 from my own translation.

7. But (Or CONTRARY-WISE, Jesus) was made (Or NEVERTHELESS, Jesus BEING made) in the likeness of men made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,

8. And being found in fashion as a man, (Or having been a partaker of the fashion of humans) he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

I simply moved the phrase “made himself of no reputation” to be after the phrase “was made in the likeness of men” instead of the old King James English being before that phrase. Also, here is how E-Sword defines the Greek word translated as “but” in verse 7.

G235

ἀλλά

alla

al-lah'

Neuter plural of G243; properly other things, that is, (adverbially) contrariwise (in many relations): - and, but (even), howbeit, indeed, nay, nevertheless, no, notwithstanding, save, therefore, yea, yet.

So the Apostle Paul is CONTRASTING who Jesus is NOW after being GLORIFIED to who Jesus was DURING the days of his FLESH from his virgin birth to the cross BEFORE the Son of MAN, Jesus was HIGHLY EXALTED by his God and Father, Yahweh, the ONLY TRUE God who ALONE has always existed without ever having a beginning. And this interpretation of Philippians 2:6-8 not only agrees with the immediate CONTEXT but it also agrees with the WHOLE word of Almighty God. There is not one verse of Scripture that CONTRADICTS this interpretation of Philippians 2:6-8 when those verses are CORRECTLY interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God.

Below is a complete list of all the studies that I have which show WHY I no longer believe in the doctrine of the Trinity and why I can NEVER believe in the doctrine of Oneness. I assure you that every verse that SEEMS to be saying that Jesus pre-existed in the eternity past has another meaning that does NOT contradict any other verses of Scripture in the entire Bible.

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. So, 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.

To learn more TRUTH, then please return to

AMatterOfTruth.com

VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PREEXISTED!

To me, the best way to know the ONE true God in ONE person is to know who Jesus TRULY is according to the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So please read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>N-0. WHO is JESUS ACCORDING to the BIBLE?<<< and you will see that the Bible itself teaches us that Jesus was CREATED by his God and Father. And if you have any questions related to the correct meaning of certain verses of Scripture on this subject of who Jesus is please read all the studies under the two headings >>>U-0. VERSES used for THE TRINITY!<<< and >>>V-0. VERSES used to TEACH that Jesus PRE-EXISTED!<<< These two headings have ALL of the studies that I have on who Jesus truly is according to what the Bible itself teaches us in simplicity. I compiled these three headings to make it easy for my readers to send just one, two, or three links to those you desire to help understand what the Bible itself teaches concerning who Jesus is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me.

My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com.

Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.

Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Brother Mark.

RETURN to HOMEPAGE at

AMatterOfTruth.com

The end.

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V-47. Philippians 2:6-8 Proves Jesus Pre-existed?