c. Jesus as
Preexistent
The belief in the preexistence of Christ
is clear in the third edition. It is affirmed first of all in the Prologue,
where the Word is said to have existed “in the beginning” (1:1) and to have
been with God “in the beginning” (1:2). He was present at creation, and an
active intermediary in creation (1:3–4). We have pointed out that the origin of
the Prologue is difficult to determine with precision. It was probably a
community hymn taken over by the author of the third edition, edited by him,
and affixed to the Gospel. Given the prominence of light and darkness imagery,
it would seem to have been composed at a time after the composition of the
second edition. At any rate, the most important factor in this is that its
presence in the Gospel is due to the third author. In the body of the Gospel,
preexistence is clear both in general descriptive statements (6:62; 17:5, 24)
and in the “divine” I AM statements (8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:6, 8). In 6:62,
Jesus speaks of returning “to where I was before.” In 17:5, Jesus speaks of
“the glory that I had with you [the Father] before the world existed.” In
17:24, he speaks of the fact that “you loved me before the beginning of the
world.”
For the third author the theological
significance of Jesus’ preexistence is complex. It has its own intrinsic
importance; but, in relation to the second edition, it clarifies the sonship of
Jesus by extending it to a point beyond any sonship in human time. Thus, Jesus
is not a son “born of the Spirit” in time as the believer is. He is distanced
from the believer both by his divine qualities and by the fact of his existence
with God from the beginning. (Urban C. von Wahlde, The Gospel
and Letters of John: Introduction, Analysis, and Reference, 3 vols. [The
Eerdmans Critical Commentary; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2010], 1:423–424)
(1) Jesus
as Egō Eimi
There are several texts in the third
edition where the divine “I AM” appears (8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:6, 8). It is
these texts in which Jesus appropriates the designation for Yahweh in the LXX.72
This appropriation of the divine name is one of the distinct characteristics of
the Fourth Gospel, and there is no title for Jesus that could more definitely
attribute divinity in its fullest extent to Jesus. Yet for Jesus to appropriate
the title “I AM” is not to claim identity with God the Father. Jesus remains
the Son but so completely reveals the Father that to see Jesus is to see “I
AM.”
The fact that these appear in the third
edition is an indication of the third author’s intention to make clear for his
readers the full extent of Jesus’ oneness with the Father. The author focuses
his attention on the notion of “I AM” in chapter 8.
The statement of 8:24 is striking in its
simplicity: “… if you do not believe that “I AM,” you will die in your sins.…”
In 8:28, the third author combines the title “I AM” with that of “Son of Man”
and, at the same time, continues to affirm Jesus’ dependence upon the Father:
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and I do
nothing of myself, but I speak these things just as the Father taught me.” As
divine as Jesus is, his divinity is not independent of the Father. In 8:58, the
author combines it with the notion of preexistence: “… before Abraham was, I
AM.” Then in 13:19, Jesus informs the disciples that his ability to foretell
events happening to him will be evidence that “I AM.” Finally, in the act of
being arrested (18:6, 8), Jesus identifies himself as “I AM,” and the power
inherent in the title causes the arresting party to fall to the ground.
(Ibid., 425-26)
