It is claimed by many unitarians and some others that that Jesus had no sentient existence before his coming into the world. Many base such a claim on certain things said by Philo and some other Jewish writers who adopted and adapted heathen mythologies and philosophies into their writings.
Just because the apostate Philo, or any other apostate Jew, believed something concerning the word “Logos” does not mean that John was speaking of the Logos in John 1:1,2 in the same manner, or that John was confirming the apostate’s belief. That John is applying the term “Logos” to the Son of God can be seen from Revelation 19:13, where Jesus is called by the titular name, “The Logos of God.” Jesus is the word of God because he is the promised prophet like Moses, who Yahweh foretold: “I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.” — Deuteronomy 18:18.
John, of course, is writing retrospectively in John 1:1,2, using the title of the promised one who would speak the words of Yahweh. Nevertheless, he does speak of that one as being in existence before the beginning of the world of mankind — before the beginning of the world that was made by means of the Logos. (John 1:10) This agrees with John 17:5, where Jesus speaks of the glory he had with the only true God before the world of mankind was made. This, of course, does not mean that Jesus was the only true God whom he was with, but rather gives even more evidence that Jesus is not God. It agree with Jesus words concerning himself, that he descended from heaven, the only man on earth who could make that claim, so that he could tell of heavenly things that he had seen in heaven. (John 3:12,13) Thus, Jesus speaks of ascending to “where” he was before. — John 6:62.
John 1:1,2 does use the word THEOS applied to Jesus, but it should be viewed similar to the usage of forms of the Hebrew EL as used in the Old Testament when applied to others than Yahweh or false gods. This usage is demonstrated by the King James Version rendering in the following verses: Genesis 23:6 (mighty); Genesis 30:8 (mighty); Genesis 31:29 (power); Deuteronomy 28:32 (might); 1 Samuel 14:15 (great); Nehemiah 5:5 (power); Psalm 8:5 (angels); Psalm 36:6 (great); Psalm 82:1 (mighty); Proverbs 3:27 (power); Psalm 29:1 (mighty); Ezekiel 32:21 (strong); Jonah 3:3 (exceeding). Likewise, Jesus, being with the only true God before the world of mankind was made, was not the only true God whom he was with, but he was “mighty” with the only true God, thus the Logos “was” mighty, or “the Logos was a mighty one.”
This speaks of a past situation, that is, before the world of mankind was made, Jesus “was” mighty. In John 17:5, Jesus asks for that glory that he had with his Father before the world was made. Thus, at the time of this prayer Jesus did not have that glory that he formerly had with his Father. Paul, using the glories of physical bodies, illustrates of two general forms of glory of living beings, the celestial (heavenly) and the terrestrial (earthly). (1 Corinthians 15:40) Jesus had the glory of the celestial before became flesh. It was God who prepared Jesus’ body in the womb of Mary (Hebrews 10:5), so that Jesus’ flesh would not be born into this world with the crooked condition that is upon mankind due to Adam’s sin. (Eccleisiastes 1:13-15; Romans 5:12-19) Thus, instead of being crooked, unjust, as the rest of mankind, Jesus was born into this world in an just condition, the same upright, purely just condition (2 Peter 3:18) as Adam had before Adam sinned. (Ecclesiastes 7:29) As such, he had the unblemished crown of glory as a human. — Hebrews 2:9.
However, unlike Adam, Jesus never fell short of the glory of God due to sin, since he never sinned. (Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5) The maintained the human glory unblemished — just (Hebrews 9:14; 2 Peter 3:18), thus, he had the right to live forever as a human. (Leviticus 8:5; Nehemiah 9:29; Matthew 19:16,17; Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12; ) Jesus, however, did not hold onto that just human flesh but sacrificed his unblemished flesh for the life of the world. (John 6:51; Hebrews 10:10; 2 Peter 3:18) Having sacrificed that flesh, Hebrews 5:7 speaks of the “days of his flesh” as something past. And Peter tells us that he was the just one [in his flesh], who died for the unjust [the world of mankind dying in Adam], and he was “put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” (2 Peter 3:18) Jesus, therefore, no longer has the glory of the human, but he again has to glory that he prayed to be returned to him in John 17:5, that is,
the celestial glory.
Some have confused “mediator” with the term Logos of God. The mediator, however, is not the same function as the Logos of God, although the Logos is also the Mediator.
The mediator between God and Man is is a person, and he is mediator due to fact that he gave up his just flesh as a ransom for all, and has been exalted to the right hand of Yahweh. — Psalm 110:1; Isaiah 53:12; Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 7:25; 2 Peter 3:18; 1 John 1:1,2.
Items I have written of related interest:
https://reslight.wordpress.com/2007/05/31/oneness-vs-trinity-vs-the-bible/
Items others have written of related interest (I do not necessarily agree with all conclusions given.):
http://www.winpie.com/what-do-you-think-of-the-following-comment-on-john-11/
Restoration Light Bible Information 