(Ver 2.0)  This is “Part 1” in a series of very important advanced spiritual Bible lessons that will change your life and outlook on God and His Holy Word if you permit Him to do so.  Do you know what a family is?  How do we define a family in the modern world?  Satan is diligently attempting to pervert the family definition and corrupt God’s original design but these lies still do not take away from God’s truth.  Reading the Bible we can very clearly see that God created a specific family unit system and a very specific designed family structure here on the earth.  Was this family design something brand new or was it patterned after something in heaven that already existed?   Please let me give you a verse of great importance as a foundation to this entire series.  It is found in the Book of Luke and is understood to have been spoken directly by Jesus quoting from an obscure minor prophet name Micah:

Luk 12:53  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 

Ok, this is the mystery verse that initiated this Bible study series.  I have given it to you first to help you anticipate where God is taking us.  When I read this verse a tremendous curiosity to what God was speaking of filled my heart.  I just had a great desire to go and search the Bible to find out the answer to the mystery being spoken of by the Lord Jesus was.  I prayed and asked God to help me to understand and step by step over several years He taught me so very much about His Spiritual Family.  After this study. a lot more of the Bible came into focus and was so much more understandable than before.

God created the first family of our current world system and this event is described to us in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.  Take a moment and read these verses again.  You should be able to observe that this created first family unit only consisted of one man called the husband and one woman called his wife.  It is also important to note where the woman came from.  The woman came from the body of her husband and was not created or formed separately or independently from her husband.  This truth will become more important as you learn what this represents in the family of God.   This earthly created family grew and expanded into numerous children and eventually became very large in numbers.  In the terms of the current estimated human population on the earth today, the family of Adam has now grown to and exceeded nearly 7 billion people.  We must therefore conclude from this very solid scriptural information that a real family by God’s definition and design is comprised of a single man, a solitary woman and at least some children.  Does God have a spiritual family like this?  Did God ever have a spiritual family that was the pattern for this created family of Adam?  Here is a new question to also consider, what will the family of God look like at the end?  Will the ending spiritual family of God in Revelation 22 be the same pattern of what has already come before?  If you did not know it yet, God had a family exactly like this in heaven prior to creation and this is exactly how it will end up in the final chapter of Revelation.  Therefore the original design of God’s family in the spiritual realm will be how the final family of God will also be patterned in the eternal spiritual realm after this world that we live within is completed.

God in the Bible is defined to be an eternal Spirit being but, the natural universe that we are now a part of, it had a created starting origination point also called a beginning (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1).  Therefore, I believe that whatever God created here in the natural realm must have originated from the pre-existing spiritual realm.  I believe from years of Bible study that whatever was made manifest here in the natural realm had to be patterned from that which already existed in the eternal spiritual world.  I know that you may not yet understand patterns  and I will give you a good introduction to pattern concepts before I continue this lesson on the spiritual family of God.  Can we at least begin by agreeing that the spiritual realm existed prior to the physical/natural realm?  Surely we can understand the  concept of patterns by reading Genesis 1.  Lets talk about light in Genesis 1 and where it came from!   God is defined to us in the Bible as “light” where no darkness exists (1 Jn 1:5).  Using this information we can go and look at Genesis 1:2 and see that there was no light found to be present on the earth and darkness covered the face of the deep.  However, remember that the Creator God was called a spiritual light and He definitely pre-existed in heaven before creation took place.  In Genesis 1:3 God said “Light Be” and light then came into existence within the natural realm.   What was this natural light patterned from?  If God was the spiritual light found in heaven, then it must have been patterned after God.  How do I know that?  Well if you read the end of the book you will see in Revelation 22:5 that we will have no need for the sun, moon or stars or even candles because God will be our source for eternal light again.  What I have tried to demonstrate is how light had to exist in the spiritual realm first, and was then made manifest in the natural realm from a pattern of the spiritual dimension and then will again finally be transferred back into the completed spiritual realm of light in the end with no need for the natural anymore.   Did you understand that?  It is so important that you fully grasp these cycles of repeated pattern concepts.

What we are trying to do in this introduction of the subject is to establish that patterns were created by God for us to learn about hidden new spiritual things from the Heavenly.  Spiritual Light had to eternally exist in heaven originating from God prior to the creation of the natural light here in this dimension.  God in heaven had to be their only source for light because that is how it will end up in the end.  Do remember what Jesus said?  Jesus said “I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end” (Rev 1:8).  Jesus was saying that how it was in the beginning is how it will end up at the end because the Lord changes not (Mal 3:6).  We also learn from reading in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that God says “the thing that has been is that which will be again…”  In this verse God claims there are repeated patterns.  Therefore what pre-existed in heaven has now come into existence on the temporary earth in natural terms and after this age is completed the spiritual light of God will again be our only source for light.

I pray that we all understand these essential concepts.  We have just learned based upon the verse in Revelation 1:8, Malachi 3:6 and Ecclesiastes 1:9 that how it was in heaven before the earth’s existence is at the least potentially how it is designed by God to be in the end and if not, then God has changed and must have lied to us in His word.   So let me ask you this “Which came first, the spiritual or the natural”?  If you answered the spiritual you would be correct.  Then let me ask you “How will it end up”?  Do you understand what I am trying to teach here today in this introduction?  It is very much like the old human question which came first the chicken or the egg?  In this classic human debate, people ask how can a chicken arrive on the earth without coming through an egg?  Then the argument goes into a circular debate, how then did the egg get here without a chicken to lay it?   What people fail to understand is that there was a more intelligent God than they are that was also involved in the entire process.  That is a key point to remember in reading the rest of this lesson series.  This more intelligent Creator God has some pretty amazing things hidden in the Bible that reveal many of the answers to the questions that we have all had at one time about things in the Bible and in the world around us.

I hope that you are beginning to see some new patterns revealed in the Bible how God teaches us that certain specific things existed in heaven before they ever existed here on the earth.  Perhaps I should regress and speak briefly about what humans use patterns for in our natural world.  A seamstress will use patterns to create new dresses, shirts, pants, or other pieces of clothing.  Each usage of the pattern replicates the original design using whatever fabric or customizations that are desired to produce the final product.  To the untrained eye it is often difficult to recognize several products that come from the same pattern.  However to the expert it is usually obvious.  This is exactly how the Bible is also, what I see as an obvious pattern will often be overlooked by a novice Bible student.  Where do you think man learned the use of design patterned concepts in what they create in the natural?  Since man was made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26) it is clear to me that what man does that is successful and beneficial here in the natural must have originated from what God has previously done in the spiritual.  People use patterns in almost every manufacturing and building process.  It is a dominant business working model and best practice for success.  Therefore, learn the lesson of patterns because I will be talking about them a lot in this lesson series.

I could give you many other verses to help establish the pattern truth in the Bible, but I am going to skip most of these verses to keep this lesson manageable and give you a couple of examples that are directly related to what I am trying to teach about this subject on the spiritual family of God.  Begin today in this lesson by understanding that God created the natural things found in this world to give us insight into the unseen pre-existing spiritual things.  What God created and how God created it reveal things that have been hidden since the foundation of the world.  Another way to say this is that God created natural things as a vision, or view or a window into the unseen spiritual dimension.  Here is a verse that might help you to better follow what I am saying:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

This is an amazing verse of truth being presented to us from God.  It speaks clearly and directly about the things that God created in the beginning.  God said that the hidden qualities of God can be clearly observed within the views of our current natural creation.  This would include the design, the components, the systems, the laws, the organization and the structure of our planet, the world and the universe around us.   That is some highly informative information.  God says that you can look around you and find the hidden characteristics of God in the things that surround you everywhere.  This of course does not mean that we worship creation and ignore the Creator and that is what many in the government, Hollywood and TV do.   What God is telling us in this verse is that the most isolated men in the darkest, deepest parts of the world who have never heard the Gospel preached are without excuse.  Meaning they could easily find God, if they only looked closely around them and saw Him.  This is technically only possible if the natural realm contains patterns from the spiritual realm.   In the book of Hebrews chapter 11, God speaks to us about Enoch who walked with God and was taken because of his extreme close relationship with God.   Let’s read this verse and then consider what it teaches us:

Heb 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Did you ever think and consider that there were no preachers, no churches, no Bibles, no witnesses to the truth and nobody to talk with to confirm that there was a God when Enoch was alive?  If you do the calculations from the dates and times of birth you will find that even Adam had died when Enoch was taken up to be with God.  Thereofre, even Adam who talked with God in the garden was no longer avaliable to consult on the existence of God.  In fact in John 6:46 Jesus teaches us that no man including Adam and Enoch had ever seen God directly.  How then did Enoch find this God and know Him so very well?  I think that is a really good question to consider.  Is this type of relationship with God still possible today for men to know God in this level of intimacy that God still takes us up?  If you did not know it, it will happen very soon again and you could be possibly left behind like those in Enoch’s day.  I believe it is possible for you to know God exactly like Enoch knew God and even greater!  So let’s get back on the subject of God’s Spiritual Family Structure and prove this concept using the Bible that God had one of these in heaven.

Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Here in this verse in Matthew, Jesus is speaking to the disciples.  This verse has great information within it, as long as you do not overlook what it says.  Jesus is calling himself the Master and the Lord.  He then tells the disciples that if the Jews said that the Master of the House is “Satan”, how much more will the servants and the members of the household be also called “Satan”.  There are two very important key words found in this verse of scripture.  First, is the word “master of the house” and this Greek word means the “Head of the Family”.  Jesus is the Head of a New Family of God.  The next key word is “household”.  This Greek word means “relatives” and those that live in the same “house”.  It implies a close relationship between the “Head of the House” and those who are part of His family.

So apparently God does have a spiritual family, with family members, relatives if you please that live in the same house.  These relatives are us, the church now and here is another important verse that confirms this statement of truth:

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

We can clearly see two contrasting groups of people being spoken of in this verse.  One group of people are called “strangers” and “foreigners”.  Have you ever been to a family reunion and not known some of the people there?  Usually you know everyone that is present at the family reunion.  However, if you come from a really big family you might sometimes not know every new child that is born since the last time you have gotten together.  Then other family members marry new spouses and the family continues to grows and it can be challenging to keep track of everyone all the time.  Nevertheless, what would you call someone who just shows up at your family party that no one there knows?  They would be called a stranger to everyone.  This was the exact way of God’s spiritual family when we were not saved, we were once foreign strangers to God’s spiritual family.  Until we were saved, we were not members of that spiritual family, so something must have occured for us to be known by God’s family.  This verse in Ephesians ends with a statement that we (the church) are now in the “household” of God.  Again this Greek word, means that we are now a member of the family and even a close relative of the same family or household.  Something changed or happened to put you into this family of God.  Do you remember what that was?  If you do not you are in trouble.  If you have not been saved, you are not a member of this spiritual family.  These verses imply that not everyone will be saved, so those that teach Universal Salvation have a major theological problem that they must just ignore.

Now I am going to introduce you to a verse in the Bible that I have already alluded to.   Maybe you did not realize it, but Jesus has establish a New family of God.  Why do I say that?  Because the Bible seems to imply that the Old family of God had some significant problems with it.

Heb 3:6  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Here we have another important verse that has great revelation if we choose to see it.  Jesus Christ the risen Son of God is said to be the head or master of a new spiritual house (family).  Did you know the Hebrew word for Son (H1121) is “ben” and it literally means a builder of the family name?  Therefore, Jesus being a Hebrew walked the face of the planet and called Himself both the Son of God and the Son of Man.  What we discover from this new information is that Jesus is a unique product combination and the manifestation of a son from two separate and distinct dimensions.  One dimension was spiritual (Son of God) and the other dimension was physical (Son of Man) and Jesus embodies both of these realms simultaneously as a qualified Family Builder and name extender.  Wow, I do not really know if you heard  what I said but it was important.   Therefore, only Jesus was capable of rebuilding a new family and restoring the natural family of Adam after he sinned and the spiritual family of God to create a brand new family that consists of chosen select members of each of these previous dimensions, while omitting and leaving out those that God does not desire in.  That is very tricky and extremely intelligent, if you ask me.

Did God have a pre-existing spiritual family before the creation of Adam and Eve?   Did this family have a wife?  Was God her husband?  Who were the spiritual children in the previous Family of God before the creation of Adam?  What we must do is look at Revelation 20, 21, and 22 and see that if God has a bride and children there then He must have had those also before our world began or God has changed and we know that is not possible.  There are so many questions to consider and answer.  The Bible reveals a lot of information on this subject and I will continue it in another future lesson.   Thanks for taking the time to read and study the Bible with me and I pray that I helped you to see a new spiritual perspective of an old familiar subject.  God Bless!

If you would like to continue reading this series, please click here “Part 2“.