Those of us in the ecclesia called the body of Christ — not to be confused with members of the Christian religion who mistakenly use our title — are not Trinitarians (nor are we Modalists, for the same reasons we don’t believe in the Trinity).
As far as why we aren’t Trinitarians, I’ve written about that elsewhere, so please click here if you’re interested in learning more about that topic, but in this post I want to mention a debate within our ecclesia as to whether Arianism (which is a theological label that is largely used today to refer to the doctrine that Jesus was the first being God brought into existence) or Socinianism (which is a theological label that is largely used today to refer to the doctrine that Jesus first came into existence as a conscious being at His birth as a human) is more likely to be true. This isn’t a salvation issue, so most of us don’t let this minor disagreement get in the way of fellowship between members of the body (and any who do should not), but it is something that people are increasingly taking sides on in recent years, so I’ve published this post to provide you with the main arguments from either side of the disagreement.
Now, while I can see the arguments for both sides of the debate, there is a side which I do believe seems to have made a stronger case from Scripture than the other so far. However, I’m not 100% sold on either perspective at this time, and I don’t want to lead you astray if I’m wrong, so I’m simply going to share links to a series of articles on the topic for your consideration so you can decide for yourself (and I’ll add more as I come across them or as I’m informed that they’ve been written).
[A] = written from an Arian perspective, and [S] = written from a Socinian perspective
- The Pre-existence of Christ by A.E. Knoch [A]
- Was Jesus Christ alive before his life on earth began? (Part One)by Aaron Welch [S]
- Was Jesus Christ alive before his life on earth began? (Part Two)by Aaron Welch [S]
- A consideration of passages thought to reveal the “preexistence of Christ”: Paul’s letters to the body of Christ by Aaron Welch [S]
- A consideration of passages thought to reveal the “preexistence of Christ”: John’s Account, Part One by Aaron Welch [S]
- A consideration of passages thought to reveal the “preexistence of Christ”: John’s Account, Part Two by Aaron Welch [S]
- A consideration of passages thought to reveal the “preexistence of Christ”: John’s Account, Part Three by Aaron Welch [S]
- When Did Christ’s Life Begin? A Response to Some Miscellaneous Objections + Further Remarks on Colossians 1:15-17 and the Preeminence and Authority of Christ by Aaron Welch [S]
- A consideration of passages thought to reveal the “preexistence of Christ”: The letter to the Hebrews by Aaron Welch [S]
- The preexistence of Christ, Part 1. by Martin Zender [A]
- The preexistence of Christ, Part 2. by Martin Zender [A]
- The preexistence of Christ, Part 3. by Martin Zender [A]
- A Rebuttal to Martin Zender’s “The Preexistence of Christ” by Aaron Welch [S]
- The “pre-existence of Christ” – a biblical doctrine? (part 1) by Andrew P. [S]
- The “pre-existence of Christ”: the prologue of John 1 and other Johannine prooftexts (part 2) by Andrew P. [S]
- The “pre-existence of Christ”: predestination and the gospel of John (part 3) by Andrew P. [S]
- The “pre-existence of Christ”: further prooftexts and final remarks (part 4) by Andrew P. [S]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART I) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART II) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART III) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART IV) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART V) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART VI) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART VII) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART VIII) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (CHRIST’S PREEXISTENCE SERIES, PART IX) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (END OF THE PREEXISTENCE SERIES) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- Who created the heavens and the earth? (part one) by Aaron Welch [S]
- Who created the heavens and the earth? (part two) by Aaron Welch [S]
- When did Christ take the form of a slave? by Aaron Welch [S]
- One God and One Lord by Aaron Welch [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 1) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN, or the Bible Student’s Notebook) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 2) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 3) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 4) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 5) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 6) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 7) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 8) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 9) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 10) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 11) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Part 12) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- Was Jesus Christ Alive Before His Life on Earth Began? (Miscellaneous Considerations & Conclusion) by Aaron Welch (updated version of his original series, in the BSN) [S]
- The low Christology of John (part 1) by Andrew P. [S]
- The low Christology of John (part 2) by Andrew P. [S]
- new Q&A: the pre-existence of Christ by Andre Piet [S] (this page is in Dutch, just FYI)
- The use of OT Yahweh texts for Jesus by Andrew P. [S]
- An in-depth response to “GerudoKing” concerning when Christ’s existence began (Part One) by Aaron Welch [S]
- An in-depth response to “GerudoKing” concerning when Christ’s existence began (Part Two) by Aaron Welch [S]
- An in-depth response to “GerudoKing” concerning when Christ’s existence began (Part Three) by Aaron Welch [S]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH AGAIN (PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE, PART I) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH AGAIN (PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE, PART II) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH AGAIN (PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE, PART III) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE, PART IV) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH AGAIN (PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE, PART V) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH AGAIN (PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE, PART VI) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH AGAIN (PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE, PART VII) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH AGAIN (PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE, PART VIII) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]
- RESPONDING TO AARON WELCH (END OF THE PREEXISTENCE RESPONSE) by Stephen Janowski, aka “GerudoKing” [A]