<p>8:23 <i>And he said to them: You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world</i>- &quot;Not of this world&quot; cannot mean that He personally pre-existed in Heaven before His birth, for He uses the same phrase as to how His followers were not of this world as He was not (17:14). His Kingdom was &quot;not of this world&quot; (18:36). He was very much &quot;in&quot; this world, as He states often in John 17:11,12,13 etc. His being &quot;from above&quot; referred to how He was in relation to the world, rather than His literal origins. It was this which meant that they did not perceive His language correctly.</p>