Pre-existent, Self-existent Son of God
“Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God.... In speaking of his pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him.” – Evangelism, p. 615.2; Signs of the Times, August 29, 1900
PRE-EXISTENCE: Refers to the existence of Christ as the Son of God before His incarnation and the creation of all things. It does not mean to have always existed and implies a beginning. The Trinitarian view actually denies the pre-existence of Christ in the full sense, as it denies the personality of Christ as the literal Son of God before His birth in Bethlehem. Ellen White confirms this below where she refers to all the fallen Churches, which are Trinitarian, as they all deny the pre-existence of Christ as the literal Son of God before His incarnation.
“The fallen denominational churches are Babylon. Babylon has been fostering poisonous doctrines, the wine of error. This wine of error is made up of false doctrines, such as the natural immortality of the soul, the eternal torment of the wicked, the denial of the pre- existence of Christ prior to His birth in Bethlehem, and advocating and exalting the first day of the week above God's holy, sanctified day.” — Review & Herald, Sept 12, 1893
SELF-EXISTENT SON OF GOD: Self-existent means existing independently of other beings. This applies to the Father and the Son who are not reliant on other beings to exist. Since the Father gave His life to His Son, He has the same self-existent life as His Father.
“For as the Father has life in Himself; so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself;” John 5:26.
If Jesus had always existed alongside the Father as the Trinity doctrine claims, then God could not have given life to His Son, as He would have always had life. But Scripture reveals this is impossible.
DATELESS AGES: The spheres in the heavens, as we know it, measure Time. For example: A year for the earth to revolve around the sun, a month for the moon to revolve around the earth and a day for one rotation of the earth. And it is from this that our “date” is derived. Hence the time before the creation of all things is called the “dateless ages” as there was nothing in the heavens to measure time by.
THERE NEVER WAS A TIME WHEN CHRIST WAS NOT IN CLOSE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIS FATHER: There never was a time when I was not in close fellowship with my father either. But there was a time when my father was not in close fellowship with me, which was before I was born. The same applies to the Father and Son obviously.
HAD BEEN WITH GOD AS ONE BROUGHT UP WITH HIM: Ellen White is quoting Proverbs 8:22-30 where she says that Jesus was brought forth from His Father and was brought up with Him, thus declaring Jesus is the literal Son of God.
“The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting.... When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” Proverbs 8:22- 30.” — Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, 34.1
“Through Solomon Christ declared: “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. when there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth.” — Signs of the Times, Aug 29, par. 14, 1900