Bible Study Seattle

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.” Proverbs 8:22-31

Who is this referring to? Wisdom? Can a quality rejoice at creation? Or is this referring to Jesus? And if it’s Jesus, is it saying he had a beginning? On the one hand we have:

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 1:15

On the other, we have:

“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” John 8:58

We assume the present tense indicates no beginning. But what about Jesus’ death? How can an immortal God die? This is where Satan’s lie to Eve comes in. “You will not surely die [only your body dies, but your soul flies around somewhere].” Why does Jesus say,

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:13

Jesus has huge goals as God’s son. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:22-26

The mostly unbelieved fact is that Jesus was born [before the rest of creation was created by him and his Father], and Jesus died. Not just his body but his entire soul. We too are born and will die, and just like Jesus, will be raised from the dead, to the glory of God the Father.