Affirms
Christ eternally pre-existed as the divine Son before the Incarnation
Vineyard affirms the eternal pre-existence of Christ as the second person of the Trinity. Before the Incarnation, the Son existed eternally with the Father and was the agent of creation. The Incarnation was not the beginning of the Son's existence but the taking on of human nature by the eternal Word.
This conviction is embedded in Vineyard's Trinitarian theology and its high Christology. The eternal Son's voluntary self-limitation in taking on human form is regarded as the ultimate expression of the servanthood that Vineyard holds as a core value — 'come not to be served but to serve.'
Key Distinctions
- Preexistence affirmed:
- affirmed — the Son/Logos eternally pre-existed the Incarnation
- Ot identity:
- the eternal Word and agent of creation (John 1:1-3); identified with YHWH in various OT theophanies
Scripture References
Sources
- Vineyard USA Statement of Faith