God said to Jeremiah "before i formed you in the womb i knew you" Does this apply to all of us? Do we exist

Question

in some way before we are concieved?

Answer 1

It applies all the true body of believers that ever exsisted. The others are basically like 'hollowdeck' images on 'Star Trek'. NONE ISSUES.

Answer 2

You could have just as well asked this in the philosophy section. Or it might be in the humor section where you ask which comes first the relationship or the egg and it might be just another bad joke. But you ask this in the R & S section. An egg is not a chicken...or a person. From a purely materialistic point of view you can then argue that perhaps a fetus is but then we might slide into the issues the "pro life and pro choice" people go on about. When is a life a life? For the people who believe in being "born again" there may be an argument that at any point in life you can become a new person, but then what happens to the one who we knew before that time. Was he murdered to make way for the new person? And then if we admit that there is a difference between the spiritual person and the physical person then that fetus may not be the spiritual person. Perhaps they don't have to necessarily coexist. Reincarnation may be an elegant solution but not such a common one here in the west though it is said that some of the Gnostics believed in reincarnation. There does seem to be some separation as I can wound the spirit when the physical seems to suffer no harm and on some occasions physical harm may even seem to strengthen the spirit. (As when we challenge ourselves.) So considering this separation might it be possible for the divine to know the divine in you even though it is not so visible to our physical eyes? It seems a reasonable assumption. And while we might assume great knowledge to the omniscience, including the knowledge of the physical, our priorities may not be the same as the divine' s and the physical may not be what is referred to in this instance.

Answer 3

Jeremiah 1v5 What a way to start a book! Thank you for reminding me of this saying.

Jesus said the same to all his followers in John 6v70, and Paul commented on this saying in Ephesians 1v4, but the gospel saying was later deleted, perhaps by Eusebius of Caesarea who revised the Greek NT in the 4th century. According to multiple authors who were still quoting this gospel text up until the 7th century AD, Christ said to them:
"You were chosen for me before the world’s foundations."

I am not a Calvinist and I do not think this saying should be interpreted in the way that Calvin interpreted Ephesians 1v4. I don't think there is any such thing as 'irresistible grace'. It is human nature to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Answer 4

Yes , we were alive before satans rebellion in the first earth age. There is a time span beteen Genesis 1:1 and 1: 2 . There is no indication that 1:1 happened shortly after 1:2.

Answer 5

God knew Jeremiah in the first earth and heaven age. This was when all souls were created. Jeremiah is also one of God’s elect..

Answer 6

I believe it's for all of us. I agree with Adore Him, that's a good explanation. I agree with nettyone... and the poster who said 'predestination'
As for Father Ks answer - all born again believers know this scripture and believe if God said it to Jeremiah and predestined him - then God predestined all of us. For me personally God gave me a *rhema* word - which means there's no mistaking God's voice when He speaks -- the 'logos' word is what we read - and a *rhema* word jumps out the page... Hope this helps.

to pick up on what Father K said - he's right when he says the verse is not about 'pre existence' -- it's about 'predestination' -- which just means He knew He was going to design us - He had a picture of us in His head and heart - and a plan for our lives - Jer 29v11 "for i know the thoughts and plans i have for you says the Lord - thoughts and plans for welfare and peace - and not for evil - to give you hope in your final outcome".

Answer 7

no we never existed before we were conceived. What this means is that God knew us in His heart and mind before He chose to time for us to be conceived. God is the one that knew our name, long before creation. That is how much He loves you- He thought of you, long before you were created, and me too- He still loved us enough to create us, even when He knew He would have to send His Son into the world to die for us, so that we could have a personal relationship with Him.

Answer 8

God does not live in time, therefor as I said earlier to someone else, "everything has already happened and is yet to happen at the same time to him".
So we are already dead I suppose, it's kinda like watching a movie, that you wrote, or maybe more like a movie you already saw.

Answer 9

I have to admit, that the thoughts expressed by many Christians on Yahoo Answers, do scare me, the American ones most of all, they are so fundamentalist and narrow minded.

Answer 10

No. This verse is commonly used (Jer. 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you...") by Mormons.

But this verse is not talking about pre-existence. It is talking about God’s ordination and appointment of Jeremiah to be a prophet to his nation. Let’s look at the whole verse: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

Unfortunately, the Mormons misinterpret this verse and say that we preexisted with God, that God and his goddess wife, and they produce offspring who inhabit human bodies at birth.

This is a purely Mormon invention and is not found in the Bible. So, they will need to find whatever they can in the Bible to support their false doctrine.

One more point worth looking at is how God uses the word "know." For example, the Bible says that God only knows believers, not unbelievers. "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27); and "...The Lord knows those who are his," (2 Tim. 2:19); and, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’‘ (Matt. 7:21-23). Of course, God knows who everyone is, He is omniscient. But God is showing us that when He says He knows us, He is referring to a salvation relationship.

Therefore, we did not "preexist." We are born here in this world and will enter the next.