Good Spaces

Last week we kicked off our What’s Good series by defining the differences in the use of the term Good. We covered the Tobah, Kalos, and Agathos. 2 uses were in adjective form while the 3rd was in noun form. We kicked off our journey to understanding what God considers to be Good. With that we leaned towards aligning our understanding of good with his, why? So that we can begin to accurately identify and express the “good” in our lives. Not for the sake of bragging but to align our perspectives with God’s and the be able to walk and therefore live accordingly.

If we can correctly define the key moments, ideas, relationships and other tangible aspects in our lives the way that God would, we would see what Paul meant in Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”, how? If I know what good is I can truly see the good and how things are working for it. This is important because, if God’s goal is for us to see clearly, with keen spiritual vision, the enemies job would work counter to that and cause us to see, a misconstrued and perverted version of God’s benefits in our lives and bringing us to confusion.

SPACE

In his response to the question, “Where does God come from?”, Dr. Kent Hovind responded by saying

The God of the Bible is not affected by time, space or matter, If He’s affected by time, space or matter then He’s not God.

Time, space and matter are what’s called a continuum; all of them have to come into existence at the same instant, because if there was matter but no space, where would you put it?

If there were matter and space but no time, when would you put it?

You cannot have time, space or matter independently - they have to come into existence simultaneously. The God who created them, has to be outside of them.

If He’s limited by time, He’s not God.

Space- a continuous area or expanse which is free, available or unoccupied; the dimensions of height, depth, and width within which all things exist and move.

So if space is considered free and unoccupied and by definition all things exist and move, as Dr. Hovind stated nothing inside of space could create space, lest the creator be limited by it’s on creation. Therefore God created space and then matter to fill the space and then caused matter to then be affected by his third construct which is time.

With this understanding we can begin to dig out or examine 3 kinds of spaces.

Physical Space

Mental Space

Spiritual Space

Now here’s the thing that all 3 spaces have in common, they are spaces created or manifested by God and given to us to partake in.

Physical Space

Physical Space is the realm in which your body dwells. It is the space that your physical presence operates in from a natural standpoint. Everything that we experience through our 5 senses falls in the realm of physical space. This is the lowest form of spaces that we manage because it was designed from a good but low place. In Genesis the bible says that men was created from the dust of the Earth. A good space but a low place. The dust from the Earth at the time that man was created was Good, how? Because sin was not yet present on the Earth and therefore had not corrupted the soil, so although Adam eventually did disobey God he like Jesus was not created from a corrupted source. (Good space, low place).

Mental Space

The mental space is the realm of natural understanding, it is the space where our will exists. What is our will? It is our desires that are shaped and formed based off of our natural experiences. The memories, good or bad, or encounters that take place in our physical, form a series of thoughts or layers of understanding that exist in our Mental space. After God created Adam he was to tend the Garden of Eden, discover what was good for meat, and name all the creatures that had been created. So Adam was tasked with an assignment that required a functioning space for his understanding.

Spiritual Space

The spiritual space is the realm that allows God to be able to connect with us so that we may be able to function within the physical and the mental, his way. In the spiritual space God, who does not have a physical body, can take his desires, will, plans, understanding and provision, and download it into us. In other words, the spiritual space is the users manual for life. In the user’s manual you get a layout of device, instructions on how to use the device as well as provisions for issues that may arise within the device.

So what is the purpose of our space? God intended for us to use these spaces to show his glory through us.

PRAY

READ

Exodus 3:5–14 KJV 1900

And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Concerning Ex:

Spiritual entering the natural: God when he initially encountered Moses, he’s not seen as a physical being, rather than a miraculous experience. He reveals himself to Moses as a figure of unnatural feasibility, a burning bush, where the bush itself is not being consumed by the fire. In this instance, God’s spirit has preoccupied a space, that Moses has been invited to, yet because the space is occupied by the spirit, the physical must adhere to the standard of the spiritual. What’s the standard? That a piece of you must go in order to encounter me.

I am inviting you to experience me!

Spiritual entering the mental : After hearing God’s plans for Moses concerning the Exodus of his people, Moses, questions God concerning himself. Why? Is it because Moses, though he was born an Israelite, was raised as an Egyptian, so most of his life, he did share in their experiences nor did he understand their struggle, or could it have been that he had murdered a man in defense of an Israelite slave, and ran away a criminal and potential enemy of the Egyptian law? Could it possibly be that he was now just an old man that was shepherding his Father in laws sheep in a foreign land, and that he was not a great orator? So many times we allow are physical experiences to pollute our mental spaces and unintentionally discredit our ability to serve God regardless of his desire to use us.

I am infusing my thoughts with your thoughts

The goal of good spaces: God has now created a space for Moses to experience him, in which he has revealed his purpose for him. After the manner he as ensured him that he will be with him despite his mental uncertainties concerning his qualifications. All this for what though? What is good about God creating a miraculous event only to send an old potentially exiled man into a territory to help a people he has never really tried to help before? To bring them out of their bondage and so his name can reign in a space where it did not reign before! His goal was to duplicate the experience that he had with Moses 1-on-1 to all of his people.

Where they were currently at was a place where God nor his name reigned in the space they were in. So Moses was chosen to make a space devoid of God filled with the power, presence and authority of God.

Although God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent, he made a choice back in the Garden, that choice was that his presence would be where he had a physical body to work through. So in order to deliver the Israelites out he needed a body, someone who would give of themselves and one where he could download his power despite their mental uncertainties.

Good spaces are places where God can use us to bring his name where it does not currently reign!

If your spiritual space leads you away from people you’re operating under the wrong spirit!

2 Corinthians 3:13–17 (NASB 2020)

13 and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was fading away.

14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.

15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts;

16 but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB 2020)

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”