John 6:38 — How Did Jesus Come Down From Heaven?
Did Jesus Literally Exist in Heaven Before His Birth?
By Simon Brown
Part 1 — Quick Facts
One of the most frequently quoted verses used to support the belief that Jesus personally existed in heaven before His birth is John 6:38.
Jesus said:
"For I have come down from heaven, not that I should do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
(John 6:38)
Many Christians conclude from this single statement that Jesus was literally alive in heaven before He was born of Mary.
But is that really what Jesus meant?
Before reaching that conclusion, let us first examine the biblical facts.
Quick Facts
Jesus often taught using parables, figures of speech, allegories, and symbolic language (John 16:25).
In the same chapter, Jesus also called Himself "the bread that came down from heaven." No one believes Jesus was literal bread descending from the sky (John 6:51, 58).
Matthew and Luke both carefully record the birth of Jesus, yet neither writer says Jesus literally descended from heaven before His conception. Instead, they explain that Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:31–35).
Gabriel declared that Jesus "will be called the Son of God," describing His miraculous birth, not a return from a previous heavenly life (Luke 1:35).
Jesus is repeatedly described as the Christ, the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the Second Adam—a true human being born into the world to redeem mankind.
Jesus repeatedly distinguished Himself from His Father, calling the Father "the only true God" (John 17:3).
The New Testament consistently teaches there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6).
James teaches that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). Jesus, God's greatest gift to the world, was likewise sent from the Father.
Later in John's Gospel, Jesus explains His words by saying:
"I came forth from the Father and have come into the world."
(John 16:28)
Throughout Scripture, Jesus presents Himself as the One sent by God, fulfilling God's eternal plan and purpose.
The Question We Must Answer
When Jesus said:
"I have come down from heaven,"
was He teaching that He literally lived in heaven before becoming a man?
Or was He using figurative language—as He so often did—to reveal that He had been sent into the world by His Father in heaven?
In this study, we will examine the birth accounts, the Gospel of John, the words of Jesus Himself, and the wider testimony of Scripture to discover what Jesus really meant when He declared:
"I have come down from heaven."
Rather than building a doctrine upon a single phrase, we will allow the whole Bible to explain one of the New Testament's most discussed statements.
Part 2 – Why This Verse Has Confused Millions
One of the main reasons why many Christians believe Jesus personally existed in heaven before His human birth is because of several statements Jesus made in John's Gospel.
Consider these passages:
"No one has ascended into heaven except the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man."
John 3:13
"The One who comes from above is above all... The One coming from heaven is above all."
John 3:31
"For I have come down from heaven, not that I should do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
John 6:38
"You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."
John 8:23
When these verses are read on their own, it is easy to understand why many conclude that Jesus literally lived in heaven before His birth.
In fact, some of Jesus' own listeners reached the same conclusion.
John records their response:
"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
John 6:42
Notice what happened.
The people listening to Jesus were puzzled because they knew His family.
They knew His mother.
They knew His earthly father.
They knew where He had grown up.
So they asked:
"How can He say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
In other words, they understood Jesus' words literally.
This raises an important question.
Were the crowd correct in their understanding?
Or had they misunderstood Jesus' words, just as people often misunderstood many of His other teachings?
This was not the first time people misunderstood Jesus.
When He spoke about:
His audience frequently interpreted His words literally when Jesus intended them figuratively.
John's Gospel records many examples of this pattern.
Before we conclude that Jesus was describing a literal descent from heaven, we should first ask whether John intended his readers to recognise the same pattern here.
If Jesus was speaking figuratively, then His statement would harmonise perfectly with the rest of Scripture.
If He was speaking literally, then we must explain why neither Matthew nor Luke—who both carefully recorded Jesus' miraculous birth—ever mention Him descending from heaven before His conception.
That brings us to the birth accounts themselves.
Do Matthew and Luke describe Jesus as a heavenly person transformed into a human baby?
Or do they describe something entirely different?
Let us examine the biblical record.
Part 3 – Matthew and Luke Explain Exactly How Jesus Was Born
Before deciding what Jesus meant when He said,
"I have come down from heaven,"
(John 6:38)
we should first examine the two Gospel writers who recorded His birth.
If Jesus literally descended from heaven as a conscious person before becoming human, Matthew and Luke would surely tell us so.
Instead, they carefully explain exactly how Jesus came into existence as a human being.
Matthew begins by saying:
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ came about in this way..."
(Matthew 1:18)
Matthew then explains that Mary conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit. He says nothing about Jesus descending from heaven, becoming a baby, or changing from a heavenly being into a human being.
Luke provides even more detail.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced:
"You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus."
(Luke 1:31)
Notice the simplicity of Gabriel's announcement.
He does not say:
"A heavenly person will enter your womb."
"God will transform Himself into a baby."
"An angel will become a man."
"The Son will return from heaven."
Instead, Gabriel describes a miraculous conception.
Mary asks:
"How will this be, since I am a virgin?"
Gabriel answers:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God."
(Luke 1:35)
These words are extremely important.
Notice what Gabriel actually says.
The Holy Spirit—the power of the Most High God—would come upon Mary.
Because of this miraculous act of God:
"The Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God."
Luke describes Jesus' beginning as the miraculous work of God in Mary's womb. He does not describe Jesus as a heavenly person who left heaven and transformed into a human baby.
Gabriel also calls Jesus:
"The Son of the Most High."
(Luke 1:32)
Who is the Most High?
The Scriptures consistently identify the Most High as the one true God, the Father.
Gabriel therefore distinguishes between:
The Most High God, and
His Son, Jesus Christ.
He never says that Jesus is the Most High.
He says Jesus will be called the Son of the Most High.
Luke also records that:
"The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David."
(Luke 1:32)
Again, notice the distinction.
The Lord God gives.
Jesus receives.
Throughout the birth narrative, Luke consistently distinguishes between God and His Son.
Nowhere does he describe Jesus as returning from a previous heavenly life.
Instead, he presents Jesus as the promised Messiah who was miraculously conceived by God's power and born into the world exactly as the prophets foretold.
This creates an important question.
If Matthew and Luke both explain Jesus' birth in such detail, why do neither of them ever mention Jesus literally descending from heaven before His conception?
Could it be that Jesus meant something different when He later said,
"I have come down from heaven"?
To answer that question, we must now examine how Jesus Himself often taught—through parables, figures of speech, and symbolic language.
Part 4 – Jesus Often Spoke Figuratively
Before deciding that Jesus literally descended from heaven before His birth, we should first ask an important question:
How did Jesus normally teach?
The answer is found throughout the Gospels.
Jesus frequently taught using parables, figures of speech, allegories, symbols, and illustrations.
Matthew tells us:
"Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables; and He did not speak to them without a parable."
(Matthew 13:34)
Later, Jesus Himself told His disciples:
"These things I have spoken to you in figures of speech; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father."
(John 16:25)
Notice Jesus' own words.
He openly admitted that many of His teachings were expressed in figurative language, requiring careful thought and spiritual understanding.
This is an important principle for interpreting His words.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus repeatedly used illustrations that His listeners often misunderstood because they interpreted them literally.
For example, Jesus said:
"I am the door."
(John 10:9)
No one believes Jesus was a literal wooden door.
He also declared:
"I am the true vine."
(John 15:1)
Again, no one imagines Jesus was a literal grapevine.
Jesus told His hearers:
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
(John 2:19)
His listeners thought He was speaking about the Temple in Jerusalem.
But John explains that Jesus was speaking about His body.
Perhaps the most striking example appears in John 6 itself.
Jesus said:
"Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves."
(John 6:53)
Many of His listeners were shocked.
Some even stopped following Him because they understood His words literally.
Yet Jesus was not teaching cannibalism.
He was using figurative language to describe believing in Him and receiving eternal life through His sacrifice.
Notice something remarkable.
The very same chapter that contains the words:
"I have come down from heaven."
also contains:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven."
(John 6:51)
Surely no one believes that Jesus was literally a loaf of bread that floated down from the sky.
The bread is symbolic.
It represents the life that God gives through His Son.
This immediately raises another important question.
If Jesus was clearly speaking figuratively about being bread from heaven, could He also be speaking figuratively when He said He had come down from heaven?
The context certainly suggests that possibility.
Rather than describing a literal journey from heaven to earth, Jesus may have been revealing the divine origin of His mission.
He came from the Father.
He was sent by the Father.
He spoke the Father's words.
He accomplished the Father's will.
In other words, Jesus came from heaven because His mission, authority, and life all originated with God.
This interpretation harmonises perfectly with the birth accounts in Matthew and Luke, where Jesus is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born as the Son of God.
It also prepares us to examine the next question:
If Jesus did not literally descend from heaven before His birth, what did He mean when He said He "came forth from the Father"?
That is the subject of our next section.
Part 5 – "I Came Forth From the Father"
One of the greatest keys to understanding John 6:38 is to allow Jesus to explain His own words.
Rather than relying on assumptions, we should ask:
How did Jesus Himself describe His origin?
Fortunately, Jesus answers that question very clearly.
John records:
"Knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going to God."
John 13:3
Later, Jesus said:
"I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father."
John 16:28
These verses are extremely important.
Notice carefully what Jesus did not say.
He did not say:
"I returned from heaven."
"I came back to earth."
"I became human after living in heaven."
"I changed from a heavenly being into a man."
Instead, Jesus simply says:
"I came forth from the Father."
That is exactly what Matthew and Luke describe.
Jesus came into the world because the Father sent Him.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
He was born of Mary.
He was the Father's promised Messiah.
Everything about Jesus originated with God.
This perfectly agrees with what Gabriel told Mary:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God."
Luke 1:35
Notice the beautiful harmony between the Gospels.
Luke explains how Jesus came into the world.
John explains who sent Him.
There is no contradiction.
Jesus came from the Father because the Father was the source of His miraculous conception, His authority, His message, and His mission.
Jesus repeatedly emphasised this truth throughout John's Gospel.
He said:
"I have not come of My own accord, but He who sent Me is true."
John 7:28–29
Again:
"I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me has Himself given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak."
John 12:49
Jesus consistently pointed away from Himself and toward His Father.
Everything He did came from the Father.
Everything He taught came from the Father.
Everything He accomplished was through the Father.
This is precisely why He could say:
"I have come down from heaven."
Not because He had previously lived in heaven as a conscious person, but because His life, authority, mission, and message all originated with the Father who is in heaven.
This interpretation also explains another statement made by Jesus.
He said:
"As the Father has sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world."
John 17:18
The disciples were sent into the world, yet no one believes they literally came down from heaven before beginning their ministry.
In the same way, Jesus was sent by His Father into the world to accomplish the work that the Father had given Him.
This understanding fits naturally with the whole testimony of Scripture and prepares us for another important passage.
James tells us that every good and perfect gift comes down from above.
Could that principle also explain why Jesus said He came down from heaven?
Let us examine what James wrote.
Part 6 – Every Good and Perfect Gift Comes Down from Heaven
If we wish to understand what Jesus meant when He said,
"I have come down from heaven,"
(John 6:38)
we should also examine how the Bible itself uses this same language elsewhere.
One of the clearest examples is found in the Epistle of James.
James writes:
"Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."
James 1:17
This verse teaches a simple but important principle.
Every good and perfect gift comes down from above.
But what does James mean?
Does every gift literally descend through the clouds from heaven?
Of course not.
James is teaching that every good gift has its origin in God.
God is the source.
God is the giver.
Everything that comes from Him may rightly be described as coming down from heaven, because heaven is God's dwelling place.
This biblical principle helps us understand Jesus' own words.
Jesus is described throughout the New Testament as God's greatest gift to mankind.
Jesus Himself said:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone believing in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
Notice carefully.
The Father gave His Son.
The Son was God's gift to the world.
Just as James says that every perfect gift comes down from above, so Jesus—the greatest gift ever given—came down from heaven because He came from the Father, who is in heaven.
This understanding agrees perfectly with the birth accounts.
Matthew and Luke explain how God gave His Son.
The Holy Spirit came upon Mary.
The power of the Most High overshadowed her.
Jesus was conceived by the miraculous power of God and born as the promised Messiah.
The Father remained in heaven.
His power accomplished the miracle on earth.
His Son was born into the world.
This also explains why Jesus repeatedly emphasised that He had been sent by the Father.
His authority came from the Father.
His message came from the Father.
His works came from the Father.
His life itself was God's gracious gift to the world.
Therefore, when Jesus said,
"I have come down from heaven,"
He was not necessarily describing a literal journey from heaven to earth.
Rather, He was declaring the divine origin of His mission.
He came from heaven because He came from God.
He came by God's power.
He came with God's authority.
He came to accomplish God's will.
This understanding also harmonises beautifully with another statement made by Jesus.
He said:
"You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."
John 8:23
What did Jesus mean when He said He was "from above"?
Was He describing His physical location before birth?
Or was He once again pointing to His heavenly origin, authority, and divine commission from the Father?
That is the next question we will now examine.
Part 7 – What Did Jesus Mean by “I Am From Above”?
Another passage often used to support the belief that Jesus literally lived in heaven before His birth is found in John 8.
Jesus said to the Jewish leaders:
"You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."
John 8:23
At first glance, some conclude that Jesus was teaching He had previously lived in heaven before becoming a man.
But is that really what He meant?
Once again, we must allow the whole Bible to explain Jesus' words.
Notice that Jesus contrasts two different origins.
He says:
"You are from below."
and
"I am from above."
He also says:
"You are of this world."
"I am not of this world."
Was Jesus speaking about where people were physically born?
Surely not.
The Jewish leaders standing before Him had all been born on earth.
Jesus Himself had also been born on earth through Mary.
His physical birth took place in Bethlehem, and He grew up in Nazareth.
Therefore, Jesus cannot simply be speaking about physical birthplace.
Instead, He is speaking about spiritual origin, authority, and character.
The religious leaders were thinking according to human wisdom.
Their minds were fixed on earthly things.
Jesus, however, had been sent by His Father.
His teaching came from above.
His authority came from above.
His mission came from above.
His life reflected the will of His heavenly Father.
Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus repeatedly emphasises this truth.
He said:
"My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me."
John 7:16
Again He declared:
"I do nothing on My own authority, but speak just as the Father taught Me."
John 8:28
Later He said:
"The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does His works."
John 14:10
Notice the consistent pattern.
Everything about Jesus points back to the Father.
His message.
His authority.
His miracles.
His mission.
Even His life itself.
Jesus continually directed people's attention to the One who had sent Him.
This helps explain why He could truthfully say:
"I am from above."
He was not claiming to be a heavenly being disguised as a man.
Rather, He was declaring that everything He did originated with God, who is above.
This interpretation also agrees perfectly with James' teaching:
"Every good and every perfect gift is from above."
James 1:17
Jesus is God's greatest gift.
He is therefore from above because He comes from the Father, who is in heaven.
This understanding also harmonises beautifully with the birth accounts in Matthew and Luke.
God, who is above, brought His Son into the world through the miraculous conception of Mary.
Jesus was born on earth, but His origin, commission, and authority were from heaven because they came from God.
The same truth is beautifully expressed elsewhere in John's Gospel.
Jesus says:
"The Father has sent Me."
This raises another important question.
If Jesus was sent by the Father, does being sent require that He personally existed with the Father before His birth?
Or does the Bible use this language in another way?
That is the next question we shall examine.
Part 8 – Does Being “Sent by the Father” Mean Jesus Literally Pre-Existed?
Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus repeatedly describes Himself as the One sent by the Father.
In fact, this is one of the central themes of His ministry.
Jesus said:
"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
John 6:38
Notice that Jesus immediately connects coming down from heaven with being sent by the Father.
The emphasis is not upon where Jesus previously lived.
The emphasis is upon who sent Him and whose will He came to accomplish.
This same truth appears throughout John's Gospel.
Jesus said:
"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work."
John 4:34
Again:
"I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent Me."
John 5:30
Again:
"My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me."
John 7:16
Again:
"The living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father."
John 6:57
Notice the repeated pattern.
Jesus continually points away from Himself and toward His Father.
Everything He did was because the Father had sent Him.
Everything He taught came from the Father.
Everything He accomplished was in obedience to the Father.
The Father's will—not Jesus' previous location—is the focus of these passages.
This raises an important question.
Does the Bible always use the word "sent" to describe someone who literally existed with the sender before being sent?
The answer is clearly no.
John the Baptist is introduced with these words:
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John."
John 1:6
No one suggests that John the Baptist consciously lived in heaven before his birth simply because he was sent from God.
Likewise, Jesus told His disciples:
"As the Father has sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world."
John 17:18
Again, after His resurrection, Jesus said:
"As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
John 20:21
The disciples were sent into the world, yet no one believes they first lived in heaven before being sent.
The word "sent" describes a commission, a mission, and an appointment—not necessarily a previous heavenly existence.
The prophets were sent.
John the Baptist was sent.
The apostles were sent.
Jesus, above all, was sent.
But Jesus was sent in a unique way.
He was God's promised Messiah.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
He was born of Mary.
He was the Father's only begotten Son, sent to accomplish the greatest mission in human history.
This understanding harmonises perfectly with everything we have already examined.
Matthew explains how Jesus was born.
Luke explains how God brought His Son into the world.
James explains that every perfect gift comes down from above.
John repeatedly explains that Jesus was sent by the Father.
Together, these passages present one consistent picture.
Jesus came down from heaven because He came from God, was sent by God, spoke God's words, accomplished God's will, and revealed God's character to the world.
This prepares us for one final question.
If Jesus truly meant that He had personally lived in heaven before His birth, why did He never simply say,
"I lived in heaven before I was born"?
Instead, He consistently described Himself as the One whom the Father sent.
That final point deserves careful examination.
After carefully examining all of the evidence, one question remains.
Or have many readers misunderstood His words by interpreting figurative language literally?
When we allow the whole Bible to explain John 6:38, a remarkably consistent picture emerges.
Matthew explains how Jesus came into the world.
Matthew records Jesus' miraculous conception but says nothing about Jesus descending from heaven before becoming a human being.
Luke gives even more detail.
Again, Luke explains how Jesus was conceived and born.
He does not describe Jesus leaving heaven and being transformed into a baby.
Surely no one believes Jesus was literal bread.
Nor do we believe that eternal life comes from eating literal flesh and drinking literal blood.
Jesus was using powerful figurative language to teach profound spiritual truths.
The "bread from heaven" represents God's life-giving provision through His Son.
Likewise, Jesus "came down from heaven" because He came from the Father, who sent Him into the world to accomplish His saving purpose.
James beautifully confirms this same principle.
No one imagines that every gift literally falls from the sky.
James simply means that every good gift originates with God.
Jesus is God's greatest gift.
Therefore He truly came down from heaven because His life, His mission, His authority, and His miraculous birth all originated with the Father who is in heaven.
The emphasis throughout John's Gospel is not upon Jesus returning from a previous heavenly existence.
The emphasis is upon the Father sending His Son into the world to accomplish His will.
Finally, Jesus Himself tells us who the Father is.
The testimony of Scripture is wonderfully consistent.
The Father is the one true God.
Jesus is His only begotten Son, the promised Messiah, miraculously conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of Mary, sent into the world by His Father, and given as God's greatest gift for the salvation of mankind.
He was revealing the heavenly origin of His mission, His authority, His message, and God's gracious gift to the world—not necessarily describing a literal, conscious existence in heaven before His birth.
The safest way to understand any passage of Scripture is to read it in harmony with the whole Bible.
Rather than building an entire doctrine upon one expression, we should allow Matthew, Luke, John, James, Paul, and above all Jesus Himself to explain what those words mean.
When we do so, the message becomes beautifully clear.
Before concluding that Jesus literally existed in heaven before His birth, every sincere student of Scripture should carefully consider the following questions:
These are important questions that deserve honest and careful examination.
The purpose of this study has not been to ask anyone to accept a particular tradition.
Rather, it has been to encourage every reader to do exactly what the Bereans did:
If we approach the Scriptures with humility and allow the whole Bible to explain each passage, we can avoid building doctrines upon isolated verses or misunderstood expressions.
My prayer is that this study will encourage you to continue searching the Scriptures with an open mind, always seeking the truth that comes from God.
May we all follow the example of the Bereans and let the inspired Scriptures be our final authority in every matter of faith.
.png "John 17:5 — Did Jesus Exist with the Father Before the World Began?")
