The Child from Ancient Days

"The origin of the Messiah who appears in Bethlehem is from eternity. Therefore, the mystery of the birth of Jesus is not merely that He was born of a virgin. That miracle was intended by God to witness to an even greater one -- namely, that the child born at Christmas was a person who existed "from of old, from ancient days." He was not merely born, as John 18:37 says; He came into the world. Listen to how Jesus puts it in John 8:56-59. He says to the Jews:

'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad.' The Jews then said to Him, 'You are not fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.' So they took up stones to throw at Him...

What Christ was before Abraham, indeed before all creation, John and Paul and the writer to the Hebrews make clear for us. John says in chapter one verse one: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (and don't let any Jehovah's Witness convince you that the proper translation is "the Word was a God." The argument that they use is not grammatically compelling and it flies in the face of the rest of John's witness; for example, Thomas' confession, "My Lord and my God." Almost all scholars of antiquity, even those who think he was wrong, agree that John meant to say, the pre-existent Christ was God.) Verse 2: "He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through Him. And without Him was not anything made that was made." (Christ Himself was not a creature, but was involved in creating all that was created.) Verse 14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." Christ existed before Abraham, indeed, before all creation because He was Himself one with the creator God."

~John Piper