Speaking Words Before Being Born

God is serious about saying some things He'll do even if they sound impossible.

produced by static force llc sometimes things don't change.

Transcript

TITLE: Speaking Words Before Being Born

SUBTITLE: God is serious about saying some things He'll do even if they sound impossible.

Marketing Line: 

Jesus laid aside His glory for something like ours -- for a while.

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Speaking Words Before Being Born

by Eric Engelmann

All content © 2025 Static Force, LLC

We're visiting Israel in the months before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Why are we here now?

I received a question loosely tied to a previous episode that I decided to discuss. We'll be tracking the angel Gabriel through two passages as he addresses "How" questions.

THE QUESTION FROM A LISTENER

How can Jesus speak words prior to his birth or creation?

MOTIVATIONS

Peoples' motivation for asking "How" questions vary. Some have accepted Jesus' words for themselves, but are concerned about how to answer their family and friends. Other people ask "How" questions to ask more "How" questions and never accept for themselves Jesus' words.

If you are really serious about considering how Jesus could speak before He was born, you might use an internet search engine and enter 'bible "angel of the Lord."' I believe that the Old Testament references to the "angel of the Lord" generally refer to Jesus before He was implanted in Mary's womb. From those search results, if you can figure out how the "Angel of the Lord" could speak, then you've figured out how Jesus could speak before He was born. That might not be an easy task -- it's up to you how much detail you want to search through.

Here's more about some HOW questions that appear in the first chapter of Luke.

Let's look at Jesus' mother Mary and her "How" question. 

In the first chapter of Luke, Gabriel speaks to Mary. Verse 31 in the English Standard Version says "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus."

Mary asked -- I'll paraphrase -- "How can this be? I'm a virgin!". My paraphrase of the answer is, "The Holy Spirit will be involved". She accepted what Gabriel said. She believed God enough to accept that she was going to be pregnant without involving a man.

Now that we're done looking at Mary, let's look at someone else who asked a "How" question.

It's possible to show unbelief by asking "How". A few verses before Mary's conversation, a priest named Zechariah asked Gabriel "How?". One difference between Zechariah and Mary is that Zechariah didn't believe (see verse 20). The angel gave him a sign -- Zechariah wouldn't be able to speak for a while! Zechariah eventually accepted the words Gabriel told him. But it was Zechariah's wife Elizabeth who could praise the Lord with Mary and later it was Elizabeth who publicly named her child "John".

It's understandable that human beings ask the Most High the word "How?" God is the creator! His answers don't necessarily show predictable outcomes. But if you are going to ask the Most High "How" questions, maybe take a little time and choose to accept His words as best you can before doing it. 

Remember Gabriel's goal in his conversations was for the listeners to accept in faith, not understand to win every argument. God sometimes doesn't mind looking foolish to the world. People who trust Him need to get used to that idea. Both Mary and Zechariah did.

In the Future

There will be people who accept that Jesus spoke before He was born. They'll understand that at some point it's best to quit asking "How" and accept God's words and enjoy Him.

All content © 2025 Static Force, LLC