WORD From The Woods
Genesis 1:26-28
“Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
If you haven’t noticed, we keep returning to the same passage in Genesis. That’s because I really want everyone to get their minds around the concept of taking dominion in the world or what’s been called the “Dominion Mandate” It’s what God was saying when He commanded Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion.” Last week we looked at why we’re able to have dominion. Because, Christ is ruling and reigning as the King of kings and Lord of lords, in authority over all things in heaven and on earth. (See Ephesians 1) I’m not going to quote the whole chapter here, just go read it! Please read it, and shout it out in the most victorious way you can muster! Anyway, today I want to look at what it means to subdue the earth. Webster's Dictionary defines it this way: 1. “to conquer or bring into subjection” 2. “To bring under control, especially by an exertion of the will” That is exactly what’s in view when God said to subdue the earth! And to tie it to a New Testament context, it’s exactly what’s in view in the great commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 when Jesus commanded his disciples to go disciple the nations and teach them to obey all that He had commanded. That great commission was to go conquer the world with the gospel, and bring it into subjection under the will of Christ by teaching them to obey Him! The great commission wasn’t to just go sing Jesus loves me and be nice to everyone so they want to join our nice club. And, notice that Jesus said to disciple the nations, not just make individual disciples. He was talking about calling entire nations to obey Him! Jesus actually commanded His disciples, which should include us, to go out into the world and call all people everywhere to follow him and obey all that He commanded. If that’s not a commission to a conquering, victorious advance of Christ’s kingdom, I don’t know what is! That’s why all throughout the gospels, Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom. Because it was all about His Kingdom! And we can embark on this great and glorious mission because we know that our King, Jesus Christ, sits on His heavenly throne at the right hand of the Father and that all authority has been given to Him in every realm, in heaven, and on earth, and that all things are being brought into subjection under His feet! So, with all of this in mind, we should be able to share the gospel with an outlook of victory and confidence that the advance of the Kingdom can and will conquer and subdue the darkness that is at work in the world. It’s really all about the Gospel. It’s not a battle that we fight with weapons of war. It’s a battle we fight by going out into a lost and hurting world, enslaved to sin, and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ! He was crucified for our sin, raised again on the third day and now sits enthroned on His glorious throne in heaven above all things. And remember, it’s not just about telling people about Jesus. When God saves them out of darkness and redeems them through what Christ has done, we are commanded to disciple them and teach them to obey Him! That’s where this mission has failed. That’s where the church has failed. We have stopped preaching repentance, or turning from sin and darkness to obey and serve the King! We’ve stopped discipling people. As more and more people turn to Christ and learn to obey Him, the more the world becomes subdued according to His will. That mindset of gospel conquest and Kingdom advance was the common Christian worldview in generations past, but it’s been mostly abandoned by today’s self-focused, weak, and ineffective version of Christianity. We desperately need to get back to a victorious Christian life and start being faithful to Christ’s great commission to go out and change the world with the power of the gospel of His kingdom! Look around folks, it’s messed up out there. So let’s get to work!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Genesis 1:26-28
“Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
If you haven’t noticed, we keep returning to the same passage in Genesis. That’s because I really want everyone to get their minds around the concept of taking dominion in the world or what’s been called the “Dominion Mandate” It’s what God was saying when He commanded Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion.” Last week we looked at why we’re able to have dominion. Because, Christ is ruling and reigning as the King of kings and Lord of lords, in authority over all things in heaven and on earth. (See Ephesians 1) I’m not going to quote the whole chapter here, just go read it! Please read it, and shout it out in the most victorious way you can muster! Anyway, today I want to look at what it means to subdue the earth. Webster's Dictionary defines it this way: 1. “to conquer or bring into subjection” 2. “To bring under control, especially by an exertion of the will” That is exactly what’s in view when God said to subdue the earth! And to tie it to a New Testament context, it’s exactly what’s in view in the great commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 when Jesus commanded his disciples to go disciple the nations and teach them to obey all that He had commanded. That great commission was to go conquer the world with the gospel, and bring it into subjection under the will of Christ by teaching them to obey Him! The great commission wasn’t to just go sing Jesus loves me and be nice to everyone so they want to join our nice club. And, notice that Jesus said to disciple the nations, not just make individual disciples. He was talking about calling entire nations to obey Him! Jesus actually commanded His disciples, which should include us, to go out into the world and call all people everywhere to follow him and obey all that He commanded. If that’s not a commission to a conquering, victorious advance of Christ’s kingdom, I don’t know what is! That’s why all throughout the gospels, Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom. Because it was all about His Kingdom! And we can embark on this great and glorious mission because we know that our King, Jesus Christ, sits on His heavenly throne at the right hand of the Father and that all authority has been given to Him in every realm, in heaven, and on earth, and that all things are being brought into subjection under His feet! So, with all of this in mind, we should be able to share the gospel with an outlook of victory and confidence that the advance of the Kingdom can and will conquer and subdue the darkness that is at work in the world. It’s really all about the Gospel. It’s not a battle that we fight with weapons of war. It’s a battle we fight by going out into a lost and hurting world, enslaved to sin, and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ! He was crucified for our sin, raised again on the third day and now sits enthroned on His glorious throne in heaven above all things. And remember, it’s not just about telling people about Jesus. When God saves them out of darkness and redeems them through what Christ has done, we are commanded to disciple them and teach them to obey Him! That’s where this mission has failed. That’s where the church has failed. We have stopped preaching repentance, or turning from sin and darkness to obey and serve the King! We’ve stopped discipling people. As more and more people turn to Christ and learn to obey Him, the more the world becomes subdued according to His will. That mindset of gospel conquest and Kingdom advance was the common Christian worldview in generations past, but it’s been mostly abandoned by today’s self-focused, weak, and ineffective version of Christianity. We desperately need to get back to a victorious Christian life and start being faithful to Christ’s great commission to go out and change the world with the power of the gospel of His kingdom! Look around folks, it’s messed up out there. So let’s get to work!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-