The Scriptures present Jesus as having a personal existence in heaven as the Father’s son before he was born through Mary. He was then sent by God into the world, became a human being and fulfilled the work his Father had given him. Several passages contribute to this understanding and taken together, they provide a consistent picture of Christ’s prehuman existence.

The first evidence is found in John 1:1–3, 14. John identifies Jesus in his prehuman existence as “the Word” or Logos in Greek. The Word was “with God” in the beginning, and John then says that all things were made through him. (The translation “with God,” as appears in most Bibles, is inaccurate. The correct translation is “unto God” or “towards God,” meaning “pertaining to God” or “in the service of God.”) This presents two distinct entities: God the Father, and the Word who was with Him and through whom God carried out His creative work. Verse 14 then tells us that “the Word was made flesh,” identifying this prehuman Word with the man Jesus Christ, as further indicated in verses 16–18. Thus, John’s description is not simply that God’s plan or purpose existed beforehand, but that the one who later became Jesus was with God and subsequently became flesh.

Other passages give further information about Christ’s position in relation to creation. Colossians 1:15–17 calls him “the firstborn of every creature” and says that “by him were all things created.” 

Revelation 3:14 similarly describes him as “the beginning of the creation of God.” These passages indicate that Christ was the first direct creation of God—the Father’s “only begotten son” (John 3:16)—and that God subsequently used him as His agent in bringing the remainder of creation into existence.

Proverbs 8:22–30 also provides a remarkable picture of Wisdom being brought forth before the earth was made and then being present with God during His creative work. This can be understood as figurative language pointing toward Jesus’ prehuman relationship with God.

Perhaps even more significant is what Jesus himself said about his previous existence. In John 8:58, he declared, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Through these words, Jesus was clearly claiming an existence that preceded Abraham. 

In John 17:5, he prayed to the Father, “Glorify thou me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” It is difficult to understand this simply as God’s foreknowledge of a future person, because Jesus speaks of a glory he had with the Father before the world existed.

Similarly, in John 6:38 he said, “I came down from heaven,” and in verse 62 he asked what his disciples would think when they saw “the son of man ascend up where he was before.” These statements indicate that Jesus regarded himself as having personally lived in heaven before his human birth.

Paul provides another important perspective. In 2 Corinthians 8:9, he says that although Christ “was rich,” for our sakes he became poor. The contrast makes particular sense if Christ possessed heavenly riches and glory before voluntarily accepting the limitations and circumstances of human life.

Philippians 2:6–8 develops this thought further. Christ existed in “the form of God,” yet humbled himself, taking “the form of a servant” and becoming a man. The passage describes a conscious change in condition: one who possessed a high position voluntarily humbled himself and became obedient even to death.

The cumulative evidence is important. No single verse needs to carry the entire argument. John describes the Word as being with God before becoming flesh, Paul describes Christ as voluntarily humbling himself from a higher state, and Jesus speaks of glory he had with the Father before the world existed and of having come down from heaven. Taken together, these passages lead to the understanding that Jesus did not begin his personal existence at his conception in Mary. Rather, the one who was born as Jesus had previously lived with his Father in heaven and was then sent into the world to accomplish the work God had given him.

Additional Resource:
Beauties of the Truth, “Understanding John 1:1, Toward God”