Q: Was Jesus created by God in the distant past before he became man? Or was he always with God and always existent? Is Jesus the Eternal Son?

A: In a sense, Jesus was created in the distant past, in that Jesus is of origin in the Eternal Son, but Jesus is not the second person of the Trinity. This is a confusion that still exists here on earth, because most of us have been taught that Jesus was God’s “only-begotten” son—the Eternal Son.

The Urantia Book explains:

33:1.1Our Creator Son is the personification of the 611, 121st original concept of infinite identity of simultaneous origin in the Universal Father and the Eternal Son. The Michael of Nebadon is the “only-begotten Son” personalizing this 611, 121st universal concept of divinity and infinity…Because of the name associated with his seventh and final bestowal on Urantia, he is sometimes spoken of as Christ Michael.

6:1.5 The Eternal Son is known by different names in various universes…On your world, but not in your system of inhabited spheres, this Original Son has been confused with a co-ordinate Creator Son, Michael of Nebadon, who bestowed himself upon the mortal races of Urantia.

Please see our study about Michael of Nebadon for a greater understanding of the relation between Jesus of Nazareth, Michael of Nebadon, and the Eternal Son

Jesus is a Paradise Creator Son. See The Paradise Sons of God, where we read in Section 5:

20:5.1The Eternal Son is the eternal Word of God. The Eternal Son is the perfect expression of the “first” absolute and infinite thought of his eternal Father. When a personal duplication or divine extension of this Original Son starts on a bestowal mission of mortal incarnation, it becomes literally true that the divine “Word is made flesh, ” and that the Word thus dwells among the lowly beings of animal origin.

It is very difficult for us to understand this concept of God’s first thought—the revelators tell us that “no time creature can ever fully comprehend this mystery of a Son who is derived from the Father, and yet who is co-ordinately eternal with the Father himself.” So, if it seems too deep for complete understanding, you’re not alone in your inability to really grasp this idea. Any time-bound mortal will find these concepts difficult to actually understand, although having the information is quite helpful when trying to sort out who Jesus actually was in relation to the Eternal Son.

Jesus, as a Paradise Creator Son, is “a personal duplication or divine extension of this Original Son”—the eternal Word of God.

This is a description of part of Jesus’ mission to our world:

7:5.4…the Eternal Son did come to mortal man on Urantia when the divine personality of his Son, Michael of Nebadon, incarnated in the human nature of Jesus of Nazareth. To share the experience of created personalities, the Paradise Sons of God must assume the very natures of such creatures and incarnate their divine personalities as the actual creatures themselves. Incarnation, the secret of Sonarington, is the technique of the Son’s escape from the otherwise all-encompassing fetters of personality absolutism.

7:5.11In spirit and nature, if not in all attributes, each Paradise Son is a divinely perfect portraiture of the Original Son. It is literally true, whosoever has seen a Paradise Son has seen the Eternal Son of God.

Read more about The Eternal Son

In the end, we know that Jesus is as close to the Eternal Son as he can be, but he is one of many Creator Sons of origin in the Eternal Son who create the universes of space and time throughout God’s vast universe, and who bring personality to lowly worlds such as ours in order to upstep us and bring us ever closer to God.

Thanks so much for this interesting question. These are very important ideas, and the revelation of The Urantia Book is such a great help to us in understanding the actual relationships of the Father, Son and Spirit, and of Jesus’ relation to them, and us. I hope my reply has been helpful. I suggest you follow the underlined links so that you can expand your understanding even more.