Series #1, Session 2 – The Creation of the Spiritual World
Greetings and welcome to our First Series on Christian Foundations. So far we looked at the Central Figure in Creation, the One called Jehovah in the Old Testament. We found that not only was He creator of Heaven and Earth and all creation, but He also wants a special relationship with His creation … and with you!
In our second topic of this First Series, we will be discussing Jesus as ‘the Creator’, The Spiritual Dimension and the Spirit Beings around us, the different Heavens, our adversary Satan and his Fall, Spiritual Warfare, Battle Tactics, Weapons and Allies in the Fight of Good and evil.
1. So who is this Jesus Person and how does He fit into Creation?
Who created the Universe? The Bible tells us that God did (Genesis 1:1). If we consider the first three verses of Genesis, we see Father, ‘the Word’ and Holy Spirit were all involved in the creation story. …but how can Jesus be part of this since there is no mention of anyone called Jesus of Nazareth in the Old Testament?
This co-operative effort is again emphasised in the decision to make Mankind in “our” image – Genesis 1:26-27. ……So who does the ‘us’ refer to?
a. The Bible describes ‘the Word of God’ creating the Universe.
It was the spoken Word of God that created all things. It is hard for us to grasp but it was God’s actually words that spoke the world into existence – not the Person Jesus. The Person Jesus is the result of the Word fusing with a human egg in the womb of Mary. In other words Yahweh, Father God, is Jesus’ Father and Mary is Jesus earthly Mother. Jesus is both the ‘Son of God’ and the ‘Son of Man’. He is truly both God and Man.
b. Jesus Christ is the ‘logos’ Word and the Rhema Word.
2. God the Creator also created the spiritual universe.
God created the heavens and the earth. We assume He created the spiritual universe (heavens) first, because it is listed first. See Genesis 1:1.
a. Many people do not believe in a ‘Spirit’ concept.
When we talk to many non-Christians about ‘being a spirit being’, they don’t really know what we are talking about. Worse, many liberal Christians deny that there is even such a thing as a spirit, although God’s Word quite clearly says there is. Let’s consider in more detail what ‘spirit’ is all about.
b. Part of the whole universe is a spiritual dimension
There is another ‘universe’ besides the physical one. This other normally invisible dimension is inhabited by spiritual beings. The word ‘heaven’ is a place name, used by the Bible, of this dimension. Here is what we know about the three ‘heavens’ in the spiritual dimension:
First Heaven – Encompasses the spiritual world closest to the Earth. One way to describe it in physical terms would be the atmosphere surrounding planet Earth that contains our air. This is the area that Satan ‘walks’ over, seeing whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8, Job 2:2). He is called the ‘Prince of the Power of the Air’ (Ephesians 2:2).
Other angels also walk in this first heaven and patrol the Earth (Zech. 1:10-11, 6:7). Many scriptures refer to angels appearing to men at this level (Matthew 1:20, Judges 13:21).
Second Heaven – This part of the heavens encompasses the dimension where angels (both good and evil) and demonic forces dwell. Spiritual warfare between godly and demonic angels apparently happens here.
You might remember the fight over Daniel’s prayer (Dan. 10:12+13) and the argument Satan had with the archangel Michael over Moses’ body (Jude 1:9). These events and the final angelic war in heaven (Revelation 12:7) apparently take place in the Second Heaven.
Third Heaven – This final heavenly realm is apparently furthest removed from the Earth. It seems to be the place where God lives at this point in time. Jesus went there when he died on the Cross (Luke 23:43) and called it ‘Paradise’. Paul visited this third heaven and reported back on it (2 Corinthians 12:2).
This third heaven or paradise seems to contain the heavenly originals of the Tree of Life (Revelation 2:7) and the Temple. God created an earthly copy of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Moses made an earthly copy of the heavenly Temple, as the Tabernacle of Moses (Exodus 25), which was then copied by David for the Solomon’s Temple.
These heavenly realms will be destroyed at some time in the future and a new one created to take their place (Isaiah 65:17, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelations 21:1).
c. The Heavens are populated by spiritual beings.
Spirits are bodiless beings with a will and have a personality. There are at least three kinds of spirits.
Angels and Demons – These spirit beings have spiritual bodies (1 Corinthians 14:40), but they can inhabit physical bodies (both human and animal) when they visit the physical Earth. It is possible that all demons are fallen angels, although there are other theories.
Human Beings – These spirit beings are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26+27). Please note that the angels were not created this way. Human beings are spirits (Job 32:8, Proverbs 18:14, 1 Corinthians 2:11) housed in relatively permanent physical bodies. We give up our human spirit to God when we die. When Jesus comes back, those in Christ will be given an immortal physical body (Romans 8:21, 1 Corinthians 15:42-54)
Jesus, the “Son of Man”, is also a spirit being (John 1:14, 1 Corinthians 15:45) in an immortal physical body (Acts 2:31, Psalm 16:10) and sits next to God in the third heaven as a physical human being. He is the first born from the dead and is our forerunner in heaven (Hebrews 6:20). We will some day have an immortal physical body, but be able to live in the heavenly realm with God.
God is spirit (John 4:24), so was the Word and so is the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Spirit in a physical body.
d. The spiritual dimension consists of two kingdoms.
Just like there is only one physical dimension and light and dark can co-exist in the one physical universe, so there is only one spiritual dimension. The dark represents the forces of Satan; the light represents the forces of God (Matthew 25:30, Romans 13:12, Ephesians 5:8). These two kingdoms are OPPOSED to each other (Galatians 5:17, John 3:6, Luke 11:33-36). Lucifer, who later is called Satan after his rebellion to God, was in existence before Man was created.
It is worth noting that:
The spiritual laws are the same for both Satan’s kingdom and God’s, (Luke 11:18) Satan has counterfeited the principles of God (Exodus 7:9-12). Satan is bound by the laws of the natural world and of the principles of God; he cannot manifacture or create anything.
3. Spiritual Warfare takes place in the heavens and is acted out on Earth.
When we Christian counsel, we are involved in warfare against Satanic forces. Whether we help people to be whole in body, soul or spirit, we are opposing what Satan wants. He is out to kill steal and destroy all human beings (John 10:10).
We are told quite clearly in the Bible that our ‘tussle’ is not with human beings but with demonic forces (2 Corinthians 10:3, Ephesians 6:12).
a. Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan
Part of the reason the Word manifested as Jesus was to destroy the works of Satan (1 John 3:8). Since we are co-workers with Christ (1 Corinthians 3:9) we share in this work (Ephesians 2:10, 2 Corinthians 5:9, Col. 1:29).
In the beginning of Isaiah (61:1-3) we are told what the Messiah came for – to heal the broken hearted.
b. We need to know our enemy.
It pays for us to know what we are doing, when we are involved in spiritual battles. Paul said ‘for we are not unaware of his schemes’ (2 Corinthians 2:11). The Bible tells us enough about Satan to know what he is after and to some extent how he does things. We will look at who Satan is briefly below.
c. Remember when we step into Jesus as His followers, we have spiritual authority
Jesus has given us power over spiritual beings (Matthew 10:1, Acts 6:8, Ephesians 3:20).
In Part Two of ‘The Spiritual World’ in our Series, we shall continue with our discussion with Spiritual Warfare, Battle Tactics, our Weapons and who are our Allies in the Fight.
Please join us, Susanne Fengler, Blog Editor
www.christianfoundations.jesus-treeoflife.info
Tags: Spiritual worlds
Filed under: Series #1: Being a Jesus Follower
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