Examining the Scriptures one Passage at a time.
The Uncaused First Cause
John 1:1–3 establishes the eternal deity and self-existence of Jesus Christ as the uncreated Word prior to His incarnation as the Son.
Reasoning from the Scripture
Think of reality in two basic categories: the Creator and everything else. God exists by His own power. Everything else depends entirely on Him. When you read John 1:1–3, the passage places the Word squarely on the side of the Creator:
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He is uncreated. The text says Christ made all things. Not a single created thing exists without Him. If He made everything that came to be, He cannot belong to the category of created things.
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He is the Source of reality. Christ is the uncaused Cause. Everything in the universe depends on Him for its very existence.
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He shares the divine nature. Long before He took on human flesh as the only begotten Son, Christ existed in eternity as the Word.
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He is distinct within the Godhead. The opening lines show Him both existing with God and existing as God, distinct in person yet entirely one in divine essence.
The Argument
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A: Everything in existence is either the self-existent Creator or a contingent creation.
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B: All things were made by the Word, leaving nothing made without Him.
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C: The Word cannot be created, because He created all contingent things.
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Therefore, the preincarnate Word is the eternal, self-existent God who later became the incarnate Son.
Wide Margin Note
The preincarnate Word is eternal, self-existent God the Creator.
(cf. John 1:1–3; John 3:13; John 8:58; Prov. 8:23; Isa. 57:15; Micah 5:2; Hab. 1:12; 1 Cor. 15:28; Col. 1:15–18; Heb. 11:1–3; Rev. 3:14)