6. Jesus Before Creation

Genesis 1 is a logical starting point for researching Jesus’ role as Lord—but it’s not the best place to begin. Although Genesis 1 describes a time called the Beginning, there was a time that existed before the Beginning. Did you ever hear of that? The Bible reveals what was going on before the Creation of the World.

The Beginning (described in Genesis 1) is the Beginning of this World, but there was another World before it. If you read closely, you’ll realize that the Scriptures drop us some big hints about a time and place that existed before Creation. Here’s a passage that gives us one of those hints:

… when Christ came as High Priest… he went through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle that is… not a part of this Creation (Hebrews 9:11).

Another World

Did that Bible verse say that the Greater Tabernacle is ‘not a part of this Creation’? If it’s not, then what is it a part of? Here we have a Bible verse of immense importance because it proves that a realm exists outside of the World we live in! A place exists beyond what astronomers and astrophysicists refer to as the cosmos. That is to say, we live in the Universe, a place the Bible calls ‘this Creation,’ but there is another realm beyond it—the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now, we don’t really need a revelation from the Bible to confirm this truth. Anybody should be able to deduce that a place exists outside the Universe. It takes mere common sense to make that deduction. It’s logical that the Almighty never would have lived alone in some dark void before the World was made--even though some people envision Eternity Past like that. It's also logical to deduce that everything cannot come out of nothing. We see everything around us. It certainly didn't just appear out of a void. Nothing comes from nothing. Everything comes from something.

But we have more than logic to teach us, we have a Bible passage refering to the place and time that predates the Universe—the Kingdom of Heaven. And that Bible verse confirms common sense.

We can affirm with confidence that what some Bible teachers suggest was emptiness, was actually a time and place because it contained a building—the ‘greater and more perfect Tabernacle.’

That means that before God created this World, the Heavenly Tabernacle was already standing. And we’ll have you know that the Heavenly Tabernacle is no trivial place. It is the very Throne Room of the One God—the place where God Himself dwells.

And don’t disregard this fact: that the Tabernacle not only existed before the World was created, it still exists today! In fact, Jesus is working there now! It’s his place of employment. Jesus works there on our behalf, interceding for us as our High Priest—so we’re talking about a really important place.

But we’re drifting off the subject when we talk about what Jesus is doing there. The main idea is this: Supported by Hebrews 9:11, we can state with confidence that there was another World before the 6-Day Creation account. There had to be another World because a building existed. The building had to be located in a place and time—and it definitely wasn’t the place or time that we experience here and now (because the place and time we experience now hadn’t yet come into existence).

What Jesus Made

So we maintain that Jesus made everything in this Universe—everything! That is to say, it was Jesus who created all the things that Genesis 1 declares were made:

• the heavens and the Earth (v. 1)

• the light (v. 3)

• the sky (v. 8)

• the land and the sea (v. 10)

• vegetation (v. 11)

• two great lights (the sun and the moon) and the stars (which would include the other planets; v. 16)

• every creature of the sea and every winged bird (v. 16)

• the livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, horses, etc.), the creatures that move along the ground (reptiles/snakes, amphibians, crabs, insects, etc.) and the wild animals (lions, monkeys, elephants, etc.; v. 24)

• as well as mankind which was male and female (v. 27).

It was Jesus [although he was then known by the name the Word] who made all of that! Our Lord Jesus was there in the Beginning with God, working as God’s General Contractor. Moreover, the Bible says that Jesus is the Creator of things visible and invisible. That is, there are things man has never seen (like Hades and certain angelic thrones) and Jesus made them too, just like he made the visible things.

God the Father gets the credit for Creation most of the time in the Bible—although Jesus did the actual handiwork—but that’s not only because it was God’s idea to make the World, it’s because God equipped Jesus with the power to create. God facilitated creation so he deserves the primary credit. Jesus was following orders when he made everything like a contractor at a construction site. If you think that it’s unfair to give God the primary credit for Creation, consider how even in the business of construction (on a human level), due recognition is always given to the architect and designer—and God is just that regarding the Universe. God is the Architect of the Universe.

Still, Jesus was there. He was there at Creation doing amazing things. And he was with God prior to Creation. That's what makes Jesus so great! Speaking of Jesus, John states:

This One was in the Beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being (Genesis 1:2-3; LEB).

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