Today, we’re going to look into the unseen Spiritual world.
- Many of us grew up hearing that before the world began, there was only God.
- While that is true in terms of his eternal nature, the Bible actually reveals that God wasn’t “alone”—He had a family.
Ephesians 3:15 NKJV from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
Part 1: Creation of The Earth and Humans
When we think of the beginning, we usually start with Genesis 1:1.
- But have you ever wondered what the atmosphere was like when God actually spoke light into existence?
- Was it silent?
In the book of Job, God challenges Job’s limited human perspective by describing the construction of the universe.
- He uses the imagery of a grand building project, but He mentions something—or rather, some beings—who were watching the foundation being poured.
Job 38:4–7 “Where were you … when the morning stars were singing together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
- Notice that phrase: “the sons of God.”
- These aren’t humans, because humans hadn’t been created yet.
- They are intelligent, non-human, divine beings.
The Bible calls them “morning stars.”
- Think of how a morning star appears just before the sun rises, signaling a new day.
Genesis 1:26 KJV And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
- God was speaking to the elohim class of beings.
The Family Business We often call these beings “angels,” but in the Bible, that’s more of a job description than a species.
- A mal’ak(angel) is a messenger—a courier.
- The “Sons of God” (Benei ha-Elohim) describes a class of non human beings in the Old Testament.
- The “Sons of God” refers to you and me in the New Testament
John 1:12 KJV But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
It’s family language.
- Just as you claim your children because you gave them life, God claims these beings as His “sons” because He created them to inhabit the heavenly realm.
Now, if God has a family of divine sons, how is that family organized?
- To understand that, we have to look at how ancient people understood “Great Houses.”
The Divine Household
In the ancient world, a King didn’t do everything himself.
- If you look at the Pharaohs of Egypt, the title “Pharaoh” is derived from and literally meant “Great House.”
- It wasn’t just one man; it was a vast household of family members who acted as elite administrators, governors, and advisors.
God reveals His own “Great House” in a way that often shocks people who are used to thinking of God as a solitary worker.
- We see this most clearly in the Psalms, where the Bible describes God presiding over a meeting.
Psalm 82:1 “God (elohim) stands in the divine assembly; he administers judgment in the midst of the gods (elohim).”
This verse is a bit of a linguistic puzzle.
- In Hebrew, the word Elohimcan be singular (referring to the one true God) or plural (referring to “gods” or divine beings).
- It’s like the word “sheep”—you have to look at the sentence to know if it’s one or many.
- In this verse, the first “God” is singular (He stands), but He is standing in the middle of a pluralgroup of elohim.
A Heavenly Administration This tells us that God has a Divine Council.
- He isn’t a lonely monarch; He is a Father and a King who has created a tiered system of authority.
- He has elite administrators—His “sons”—who have responsibilities in the unseen realm.
Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Mark 12:29 KJV And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
- There is a huge difference between being an ‘elohim’ and being the Creator.
- Explained in the Orientation Sessions.
Part 2: Understanding the Hierarchy
When we hear the word “gods,” we often think of Greek mythology or polytheism.
- But the biblical writers weren’t polytheists.
- To them, elohimwas a term for any inhabitant of the spiritual world, just as “human” is a term for inhabitants of the physical world.
- There are many “humans,” but only one is your father.
- Similarly, there are many elohim, but only one is the Most High.
Psalm 82:6 “I have said, ‘You are gods [elohim], and sons of the Most High [beney elyon], all of you.'”
This verse clarifies the relationship.
- These beings are real, they are divine, and they have authority, but they are strictly underthe authority of the God of Israel.
Galatians 4:8-9 Voice During the time before you knew God, you were slaves to powers that are not gods at all. [9] But now, when you are just beginning to know the one True God-actually, He is showing how completely He knows you-how can you turn back to weak and worthless idols made by men, icons of these spiritual powers? Haven’t you endured enough bondage to these breathless idols?
Why This Matters
- The eyes of your understanding being enlightened Ephesians 1:17-23 NIV
- Open the eyes of my heart
- That you may know the hope to which he has called you
- “principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,
- not only in this age but also in that which is to come” v21
- God of Hope – Romans 15:13 NLT
- Our struggle not against flesh and blood – Ephesians 6:10-18 NASB
The Bible tells us that God’s “entourage” is his original family.
Colossians 2:8-9 NLT Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. [9] For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
By understanding God’s Entourage, we see a God who is even more magnificent than we imagined—a King of kings, a Lord of lords, and a Father who leads a vast, intelligent, and ancient family.
All this helps us understand the Bible as Jews at the time that Jesus came first did.
This helps os understand the authority He has given to the Church, His body.
We will ne studying more because we need to know the reason that Psalm 91, Psalm 3, Psalm 27, and Psalm 35 function together as psalms of deliverance in the Old Covenant.