From Heaven, From Above, From God

These phrases do not mean something pre-existed in a different world prior.

The proper way to understand how a phrase is used is to look at how the same phrase is used elsewhere.

From above We first notice that Jesus says that he is “from above.” This phrase is rather synonymous with the aforementioned and denotes the spiritual source of something. This too can be verified by the way the Pharisees are said to be “from beneath.”

“You are from beneath; I am from above” (John 8:23).

Neither being “from above” nor being “from beneath” is a literal concept, but is rather a figurative language common to John’s works. Jesus is no more literally “from above” than the Pharisees are literally “from beneath“; and likewise, those who are “born from above” (John 3:3 YLT) are not literally pre-existent but rather have God as their spiritual source.