So was Jesus a distinct person before the incarnation?
Yes, Jesus speaks of the glory he had with the Father before coming to earth.
Mark 8:38
People today are so sinful. They have not been faithful to God. As you live among them, don’t be ashamed of me and my teaching. If that happens, I will be ashamed of you when I come with the glory of my Father and the holy angels.”
just a good verses to read
John 8:16
But if I judge, my judging is true, because when I judge I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me.
John 17:24
“Father, I want those you gave me to be with me where I am. Then they can see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Revelation 3:21
As for those who emerge victorious, I will allow them to sit with me on my throne, just as I emerged victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
“I
n the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1.) See Genesis 1
“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (John 17:5.)
Being God he had to pre-exist.
https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...7ede6f2e17d11e1d399/1472145389413/lesson1.pdf
Matt. 22:41-45--Jesus said David in the Old Testament was talking about the Messiah (Jesus) when
David said, "The Lord (Father) said to my Lord (Jesus)…"
John 1:1--"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This
verse proves that Jesus is God and existed from the beginning (forever).
John 1:2--"He was in the beginning with God." He was with the Father (John 17:5).
John 1:3--"All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has
come into being." He created the world before He came here.
John 1:14--"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." For the Word to become flesh, He had to
exist before He was born.
John 1:15--John said, "He who comes after me (Jesus) has a higher rank than I, for He existed before
me." Luke 1:13-36 tells us John was 6 months older than Jesus, which means Jesus existed before He
was born.
John 1:30--John said, "...for He (Jesus) existed before me."
John 3:13--Jesus said, "And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven,
even the Son of Man." Jesus said He descended from heaven.
John 6:46--Jesus said He had seen the Father (in heaven).
John 6:51--Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven…"
John 6:62--Jesus said, "What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was
before?"
John 8:56--Jesus said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it and was glad."
John 8:58--Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." The Jews
wanted to know how he had seen Abraham when He wasn't 50 years old. Jesus answered that He was "I
AM." I AM is the Hebrew name for God (Ex. 3:13-14, Dt. 32.39, Isa. 43:10).
John 17:5--Jesus prayed, "And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I
ever had with Thee before the world was." Jesus existed before the world was created.
Phil. 2:6-7--"Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the
likeness of men." The Greek word for "form" means nature. Col. 1:16-17--"For by Him (Jesus) all things
were created…all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things…" Heb. 1:8--"But
of the Son (Jesus) He says, 'Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever…" (Quote from Ps. 45:6). This verse
proves that Jesus is God and existed from eternity past.
Heb. 1:10--"Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth…" (Quote from Ps. 102:25).
This verse proves Jesus created the world.
Heb. 7:1-6,17--Melchizedek is used as an illustration of Jesus. Because there were no genealogical
records of his birth or death, Melchizedek is said to have no beginning and no end (v.3,6). On the other
hand, we have genealogical records of Christ's birth and death, yet He has no beginning or end because
He is God.
Heb. 10:5--"Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering Thou has not
desired, but a body Thou hast prepared for Me." For Jesus to come into the world, He had to exist before
He was born. He came from heaven into the body which would be sacrificed (v.10).
Heb. 13:8--"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever." Eternity past is yesterday. 1
John 1:2--Jesus was "with the Father and was manifested to us." Rev. 1:17, 2:8--Jesus is called "the first
and the last." Jehovah God called Himself "the first and the last." (Isa. 41:4, 44:6).
"
Several places in the New Testament explicitly teach Jesus’ pre-existence. Jesus said, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (
John 17:5). This passage alone is sufficient to show that the Scripture supports Jesus’ pre-existence, but it is just one of many such passages. Jesus Himself explicitly taught His own pre-existence (
John 3:13;
6:33,
38,
62;
8:23;
16:28). Christ even said that
He existed prior to Abraham’s birth (
John 8:58–59) even though Abraham’s birth preceded Jesus’ own birth by many centuries! Several texts present Jesus as pre-existing with His Father (
Romans 8:3;
1 John 1:2;
Galatians 4:4). Several passages even identify Jesus as the Creator (
John 1:2–3;
Colossians 1:16–17;
Hebrews 1:2).
Probably the most powerful evidence for the pre-existence of Christ was the very behavior of Jesus Himself. He was often doing and saying things that only the God of Israel had the right or power to do. Jesus’ healing of the paralytic in
Mark 2 was done to demonstrate His authority and His ability to forgive sins (
Mark 2:3–12). Jesus’ Jewish audience was well aware that such actions were reserved only for Yahweh. Jesus’ actions in
Luke 7 drew a similar reaction (
Luke 7:48–50).
That Jesus pre-existed in His divinity is further proven by His being the object of worship repeatedly in the Gospels (
Matthew 28:9,
17;
Luke 24:52;
John 9:38;
20:28). Never did Jesus reject such adoration. He saw such worship as entirely appropriate. Jesus implied that He had authority over the Sabbath (
Mark 2:28) as well as the authority to abolish the Law (
Ephesians 2:14–15). Such behavior is sheer blasphemy coming from anyone short of a divine (and therefore pre-existent) Person.
In addition, Jesus identified Himself as the divine Son of Man (
Mark 14:61–64) and claimed to be able to raise Himself from the dead (
John 10:17–18)! This turned out to be the very miracle that He claimed would authenticate His radical claims and ministry (
Matthew 12:38–40;
16:1–4). Jesus accomplished this grand miracle and gave convincing proof of it (
Luke 24:36–43;
John 20:26;
21:1-14;
Acts 1:3–6). This miracle established Jesus’ claim to deity and thus provides further confirmation of His pre-existence. "
https://www.gotquestions.org/pre-existence-Jesus.html