Saturday, April 25, 2015

"In the beginning was (ἦν) the word"--absolute proof of eternal preexistence?

In his book, The Forgotten Trinity (1998) and some of his debates, James White has argued that ἦν ("was") in the locution, "in the beginning was (ἦν) the word" proves that the word/Jesus existed all throughout the eternal past. However, this is an argument that those who hold to the eternal pre-existence of Jesus should avoid. Why? Examining the use of this indicative imperfect form of ειμι ("to be") in John's writings shows that it does not necessarily have this meaning--more evidence will be required. Consider the following examples early on in the Gospel of John:

He was (ἦν)  in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (John 1:10)

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was(ἦν) there. (John 2:1)


I don't think anyone will seriously argue that Jesus' incarnation goes back to the eternal past nor that Mary was in Cana of Gailee since the eternal past. If one will argue for eternal pre-existence, one should instead focus on the phrase εν αρχη ("in the beginning") hearkens back to Gen 1:1 in the LXX and other considerations which could provide a more plausible case for this doctrine.