Jesus of the Shadows: Part 2
Mike Criswell
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” Genesis 1:1.
With these powerful words, the Bible begins to reveal a framework for understanding God.
Scripture rarely goes out of its way to prove the existence of God. It simply blurts it out in the first verse of the Bible. Oh sure, there are passages like Psalm 19, where the writer notes, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” In reality, however, the general consensus of revelation is that sufficient proof of God is all around us. We’d be a fool to deny the existence of the Almighty (Psalm 53:1).
But while the existence of God may seem obvious, what about Jesus? Where does He come in, and what part does he play in the grand scheme of Holy Writ?
Without becoming too theological or technical, the fact is that Genesis 1:1 isn’t only speaking of God, the Father. In the beginning, before time, the Godhead consisted of three. Not three gods, but one Godhead composed of three personalities. God, the Father. God, the Son. And God, the Holy Spirit. All three are encapsulated in the first verse of Genesis.
Just as the Father spoke all things into existence and the Spirit of God brooded over the mass that soon would become earth, so the Divine Logos (Jesus) existed and became the Word that brought the universe into being.
Echoing Genesis 1:1, the apostle John notes that “in the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God and the Word was God,” John 1:1. John goes on to say that the Word (Jesus) became flesh, tabernacled among us, and that we beheld his glory (John 1:14).
So, what’s the point? Well, even in those early, shadowy days, Jesus was already there! He hadn’t yet been revealed as Immanuel (God with us), but He was definitely present. God the Son, the second part of the Divine plan, was there, and He was the instrument the Father used to bring everything into being.
We can draw many conclusions from the facts above, but the one I’d like you to focus on is Jesus' eternality. In our current series, we’re on a quest to find the “Jesus of the Shadows.” We’ve begun a fascinating journey into how Jesus, our Savior, was revealed before he was even born.
We hope you’ll tag along in this journey. As we walk the trail of history, we’ll notice that Jesus existed before time began. We’ll examine how Jesus’ messiahship was foretold in prophecy. We’ll also see the various ways, through “typology,” that God foreshadowed the coming of His Son, and we’ll look at several “theophanies” in which Jesus appears to various people long before He comes to Bethlehem.
Set aside some time this Thursday to dig with us as we search for the Water of Life in the Wells of Salvation that those of old dug for us.
