(John 8:23) But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Jesus says plainly that he comes from heaven. He is not like men who are from this world.
9Muslims : the fact that Jesus was not of this world means nothing special as his disciples are also not from this world as seen from the following verse.
(John 15:19) If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Christian reply
The two verses uses similar language but a closer examination shows that they are talking about two different things. In the first verse, Jesus says that the disciples are of this world, only he is not. And the reason he is not is because he is from heaven while they are not.
In the second verse, Jesus says that his disciples are not from this world, not in the sense that they come from heaven (the first verse already tells that they don’t) but in the sense that their lifestyle and worldview is totally different from the world, just as Jesus’ lifestyle and worldview is.
Therefore when Jesus said in John 8:23 that only he is not from this world but from heaven, it is a significant statement and a claim to deity.
Muslims : We all come from heaven, but most of us are immerse in earth and the chosen one’s of God are still immersed in heaven.
Christian response
Where is this doctrine taught in either the Bible or the Quran?