Did humans exist with God, before they were born on Earth?
Some people think that Jeremiah 1:4-5 proves that we existed before we were conceived: “Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” However, the word “formed” is the exact same Hebrew word that is used in Genesis 2:7. This shows us that just as Adam was conceived the moment God breathed the spirit of life into him and he became a living soul, our souls were conceived the moment God gave our bodies the spirit of life inside our mothers (Job 31:15; Zechariah 12:1; Isaiah 44:2; Isaiah 44:24; 1 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Corinthians 15:45). Some teach that we existed in heaven before we were conceived. The Bible says only Jesus came from heaven, and that no one but Him has ever seen God. This is because we come into being on earth (John 1:1; John 17:5; 1 Corinthians 15:46-49; Colossians 1:17; 1 John 4:12). If we all existed in heaven before conception, then how could Jesus say to an unbeliever, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21-23)? Likewise, we do not experience multiple lives with the same soul, as we see in Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men only once to die”.
Finally, some will say that we did exist before conception based on verses about God’s foreknowledge (Jeremiah 1:4; Romans 8:26-30; Ephesians 1:4). However, the key word is “foreknowledge”, which indicates a knowledge about us before we existed. We have to understand that God has no beginning and no end (John 1:1; Hebrews 1:10-11; Revelation 1:8-11; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:13). Therefore, He can know us before we were ever created. In a small way, this is much like how an engineer can know everything about a bridge before it is even built because he designed it. With God’s foreknowledge, He knew in eternity past who would love Him and who would reject Him. One day, when we stand face to face with the Lord, we will fully know Him as He knows us (1 Corinthians 13:12).
The Bible teaches us that humans have three parts, a body, soul, and spirit. There are two types of bodies, terrestrial [inhabitant of the earth] and celestial [belonging or relating to heaven]. Man also has a spirit, which gives him the power to live in his body. When the body of man is energized by the spirit of life given by God, man becomes a living soul. The soul is what makes up man’s being as a person and gives him emotions and appetites.
We are not a "god" or "gods", in ourselves. The Bible teaches that just as Adam became a living soul at the moment God breathed the spirit of life into his body, by the same, humans become a living soul.
