The Image of God in Mankind: Dominion

[0:00] We won't be singing 7-11s in heaven, I don't think. You know, the seven me-nee-me's 11 times. Brian said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

[0:15] That's a good one. Amen. Well, friends, it's always a privilege and an honor to be in the pulpit and to bring the word of the living God to God's people, that you're built up in your faith and in your trust in the Lord.

[0:31] Today, we're back to our verse-by-verse exposition. I've missed it. I'm sure you have. I hope that what we've done in the last couple of weeks has been helpful to you and encouraging to you.

[0:42] We're dealing with the image of God in mankind. We're taking just one part of that today as we just kind of slow down on this image of God reality, and we're dealing with the biblical concept of dominion.

[0:58] Dominion. And we'll be in Genesis chapter 1, and we will look at particularly verse 26.

[1:09] If you'll go there with me, I'll actually start reading in Genesis 1-24. This is all about day six in creation.

[1:22] Then God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind.

[1:34] And it was so. God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after its kind.

[1:51] And God saw that it was good. We have covered this ground and talked about how important it is for us to understand the after its kind concept from Scripture.

[2:03] This is a direct fly-in-the-face kind of refutation of the evolutionary idea that we evolved from this one cell organism, and everything in earth can be traced back to that one thing.

[2:21] Now, I'm not saying that God wrote it for that specific purpose. He had other purposes in mind. But did our God know that that would one day be a heretical thing that counters the truth of Scripture?

[2:32] Yes. So we have a polemic here, for sure. Although I don't believe that this was written, Genesis was written primarily as a polemic or an argument against, or a refutation against.

[2:45] I think that it's truth. And so anytime the truth butts up against error, it's going to expose error for what it is. And that's what we have as modern-day people battling against this, what, couple hundred-year-old idea of evolution.

[3:01] We have the truth of God about our origins, countering everything that man's wisdom brings down the pike in the way of lies. These satanic schemes to counter the truth about who we are, where we come from, and why we're here.

[3:17] That's what we're dealing with. So after its kind is very important. Then we come to this verse for today, verse 26. Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

[3:52] Now, friends, I have spent some time over the last few weeks, particularly, trying to help us better understand how the truth of, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, is the truth underlying everything about being human, and about living in His world, or this world.

[4:17] The alternative teaching about being human, and about living in this world, especially believed by millions and millions of people, since about the 19th century, is this.

[4:32] Here's the alternative. In the beginning, nothing formed the heavens and the earth, and that's taught as science. In the beginning, bang, and that's taught as science.

[4:45] Those are direct counters invented to speak against the creation account, and there are plenty of evolutionists, over the time, who have stated, we want to provide a scientific alternative to the myth of Genesis chapter 1.

[5:05] That is what's going on, and we know who stands behind that. We might add to that, the in-between alternative, and here it is.

[5:15] In the beginning, God formed the heavens and the earth, over millions of years, using an ape-to-mankind model of human development.

[5:28] Now, while in the beginning, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, is the truth underlying everything about who we are, evolution's counter-doctrines are the lies undermining everything about who we are.

[5:44] Naturalism redefines and replaces God's wisdom with man's wisdom. Now, one of the reasons that I'm rehearsing this with you just about every time we're in this section is because I want us to understand that what we're dealing with here is not science versus scripture.

[6:03] That is not the issue. That is an outworking of the issue. The issue is two competing worldviews about your origins.

[6:16] Where you came from, how you got here, and why you're here. There are two competing worldviews about that reality.

[6:27] That's what we're dealing with. The doctrines of evolution teach us that we are not created and that there is no supreme being behind who we are.

[6:42] They teach us to doubt, they teach us to disbelieve, and even to redefine Genesis 1 through 2 based on what they claim is scientific evidence.

[6:58] Evolution's theologians, and they are, evolution's theologians tell us that what is taught in Genesis 1 through 2 about our origins represents creation thinking.

[7:14] That's right, so far. And that kind of thinking belongs to religious myth. It has no place in the realm of scientific thinking and fact.

[7:28] The truth is, the Bible's account is the only eyewitness testimony we have for our origins. The truth is that the implications and outworkings of evolutionary theory and doctrine are proving and have proven devastating to us and to societies around the world.

[7:53] I am increasingly becoming convinced that this is perhaps the greatest lie ever perpetuated on human beings, save the one that started it all in the garden.

[8:07] There are lots of really bad lies and bad doctrines and bad teaching out there warring against your faith in your creator, against Jesus as your savior.

[8:19] But the damage that this one has done and how many lies have springboarded out of this one particular lie that we were evolved from lower life forms into what we are today.

[8:34] It is doing no small damage to societies around the world. It's at the root of so much of what's destroying these cultures. Now, at this point, some might say this, but what about Christians, true believers, believers, who believe that God is our creator and that there is still room to also believe that God used evolution in the natural processes of hundreds of thousands or even millions of years to bring about who we are and what we are today?

[9:10] What about people who believe that? Who are our brothers and sisters in the Lord? Can't we have it both ways and get along? And the answer is very straightforward from the Bible itself.

[9:22] No, we cannot and we will not surrender one ounce of ground, one inch of territory regarding what the Bible teaches about our origins.

[9:37] Friends, think of it this way when we think about trying to combine man's wisdom with God's wisdom in this arena. Think about what is at stake and what's going to happen and what is happening as we do that.

[9:50] Look at this with me. The doctrines of philosophical naturalism and evolution are the false wisdom of man and they do not and cannot come alongside the biblical doctrines of creation to form some crevolution hybrid about our origins.

[10:09] We cannot do that. We cannot have it both ways. You are intimidated at times, I would imagine, even as I have been in the past and many of our brothers and sisters have been, when the quote unquote scientific community comes along and says, you cannot hold to the Genesis account and make it tenable in light of modern science.

[10:33] That is a lie. Modern science is not the measure of what is true. You hear me? The foundation for truth is scripture.

[10:47] And so we must measure everything that science tells us against the truth of God's word. Everything. And when we do that, we will find that true science will never contradict God's word because the laws of nature are God's laws.

[11:04] They are God's laws. And so anything that comes down the pike that tells us that God did not create the world in six literal days is a lie and it isn't scientific.

[11:16] Now we stand on that unequivocally, unapologetically and with great force. I hope we can be gracious about it but we won't surrender that truth because it has everything to do as I've tried to show you in the past weeks, particularly in the last four messages or so, why standing on that ground has everything to do with standing on the gospel.

[11:38] We can't give up that ground because we will then begin to pull back on the truth of the gospel. You're going to see that as we move deeper into Genesis 2 and Genesis 3.

[11:49] You're going to see why Genesis 1 is the foundation for everything. When we try to hybrid some crevolution, creation and evolution together, when we try to pull those together, we make the same mistake we make when we try to mix the wisdom of man in psychology with the biblical teachings about God's design for soul care.

[12:13] We don't need psychology to come in and define for us how the church takes care of its own in terms of the spiritual well-being of our souls. We don't need psychology, which is man's wisdom, to come in and put labels on you so that then you act under those labels and under the prescriptions of man's wisdom, which in many, if not most cases, counter what God tells you about the care of your soul in the truth of the Lord.

[12:43] Now that is an area I know a little bit about because I've spent most of my adult life studying it. It was arresting to me to graduate from seminary and get out into ministry and find out, excuse me, find out that much of what I had learned using secular textbooks for my education in seminary to minister in the church was nothing but a bunch of lies that went categorically against the truth of God's word.

[13:11] That was a hard moment for me. There was a lot of repenting that I needed to do. And I don't want us to fall into the same trap when it concerns origins, where you came from, who made you, why you're here, that kind of thing.

[13:26] When we use man's wisdom as a starting place to measure what the Bible says about the matters of life, we're on the wrong footing. Should be the other way around where we're measuring everything that's coming at us by measuring it against the truth of scripture.

[13:40] Scripture is the standard. That's what we're using as the tape measure for everything. If it doesn't line up with scripture, then it doesn't line up with how we live our lives.

[13:53] Here's another thing that we need to consider when we think about this blending of creation and evolution. And I say this disappointedly, that even many Christian leaders, several of them whom I've read and respect, want to believe that there's a place for millions of years in all of this.

[14:10] This is another thing we need to think about. Blending two antithetical systems of belief creates a lie. You will always have to compromise the truth of the genuine system to accommodate the wrong of the false system.

[14:24] Why? Because the false system won't tolerate truth. Light exposes darkness, not the other way around. This deception is what Satan excels at.

[14:38] Paul told the Corinthians in 2nd Corinthians 11 3 that I'm afraid for you. lest you be deceived as Eve was deceived and be drawn away from a pure and simple devotion to Jesus Christ.

[14:51] There is no room in evolution for Jesus. None. None. The Bible's account of our origins is God's exclusive eyewitness testimony of what really happened.

[15:08] To bring our world and ourselves into existence. that testimony given to us exclusively in God's word is the foundation for how we know God.

[15:20] Genesis chapter 1 is the foundation for how we know God. And we cannot give it up. We cannot let it be mired in this blending idea as if we can have both of those worlds brought together.

[15:43] Now what I'd like to do for you here is put all of this in terms of what the Bible tells us about being made in the image of God. Let's take all of what I've been saying now this morning.

[15:55] Put it into this idea of being made in the image of God. And here's the way I'm going to approach it today and I'm sure next Sunday and maybe one more.

[16:07] I don't know. I'm pausing on this image of God thing because it's so so critical to what we want to do here. Here's what we're going to do. We can summarize our image bearing from Genesis 1 is what I'm going to call four gifts from God in which are unique to humankind.

[16:26] Now we want to zero in on this idea that God blesses us by making us in his image and that it is unique to humankind and that uniqueness is what should help us draw out who we are.

[16:43] Hear me now in relation to God as his creation. Everything that we want to talk about has to be carefully weighed against the concept the reality that everything is about relating to him.

[16:58] Does his created world relate to him? Yes, it does. And it depends on him to sustain it. We just read a song that talked about God watering the earth.

[17:09] God giving to the earth what it needs. He's taking care of it even in its cursed state. Let me ask you another question. Is the world deteriorating?

[17:21] Is it? According to scripture, the sun is burning out. Now that is a scientific fact that we can measure. We can know that. Well, of course it is.

[17:32] We're not going to need it before long. When he comes back and recreates everything, we're not going to need the sun. The S-O-N is going to be the light that we live by.

[17:43] We're not going to need the S-U-N. That's what the Bible says. The world is deteriorating. It's falling apart. God cursed the earth.

[17:54] And so we see the evidence of that curse and that falling apart and that degeneration all around us. You looking at me today and you see gray hair and wrinkles.

[18:06] I'm not 24 anymore. You should have seen me at 24 now. Come on. It's a different guy in many ways. I wouldn't go back and trade it necessarily because of the way God has grown me in Christ.

[18:19] But nevertheless, we see the evidence of that all around us. I want to zero in on this uniqueness that we hold as human beings being made in the image of God.

[18:31] And so we're deal with versus. Well, we'll deal mostly with 26. I'll just mention 28 a little bit this morning. So there's four points that I want to bring out about this.

[18:43] Four gifts that I want to bring out. We'll deal with just the first one today. And the reason is this, because I don't even know how many of you have heard a sermon on dominion before.

[18:54] You've probably heard some messages on the image of God. But how many of you have heard about dominion as the image of God and how important it is to your life? So we need to pause and talk about that.

[19:07] So here's the first one that we'll deal with. God's gift of ruling or dominion. There. These are all ours. God's gift of ruling. Excuse me from verse 26.

[19:20] Then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness so that they will have dominion or rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

[19:37] And God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him male and female. He created them. God blessed them.

[19:48] 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, over the birds of the sky, over every living thing that creeps on the earth.

[20:01] Folks, you just take those three verses. Twenty six, twenty seven, twenty eight. How many times is he mentioning here that we're made in his image and we're given dominion over the earth? Over and over.

[20:13] That's the theme. That's what he's trying to put across to us in all of this. So one twenty six is where we'll camp out. Genesis one twenty six.

[20:26] Emphasizes the plural nature of God, you see that as we look at let us make man in our image according to our likeness.

[20:40] And it's emphasizing that we are made to you uniquely reflect who God is. And we're going to talk about this concept, God willing, next week as a relational God.

[20:51] But that that aspect of us, our, our emphasizes his relational nature. Your God is relational by nature.

[21:01] That is built into the God head. And so part of us being made in the image of God is reflecting that relational nature of our God.

[21:12] We are relational creatures. That's next week. Boy, it's very rich. But we're building on this idea that there is this plurality in the God head. All right.

[21:23] There's an emphasis there. It's very, very important. We are being made in our likeness, our likeness, in the likeness of us. You also see up here, let us make man in our image according to our likeness.

[21:39] Moses is using this two themed repetition. That is us, our, our and in our image according to our likeness. He's using that to impress on the Hebrews their unique status in creation in distinction to everything else that God's made to this point.

[22:00] Now we're coming to the crowning achievement and the Hebrews would have read this and realized by the grammar, the syntax, all that they were going on in their culture. They would have read this and realized, oh my goodness, this is a pause point right here where God is making a huge point.

[22:14] We are not like the animals. We are not like anything else God created and we're being given something right now in the way of a blessing and a gift from God that no other aspect of creation shares in none.

[22:29] We are able to reflect the image of God in a very special, special, unique way. And with that comes a special and unique responsibility. As his vice regents, as we'll make note of in just a few moments.

[22:45] In our image, according to our likeness. Look. It's a dual emphasis highlighting a single vital defining truth about mankind.

[22:58] What is it? Image bearing. We have been given the gift of image bearing. By God's wise design, no other part of creation shares in this aspect of God's purpose.

[23:11] God's purpose for what he made. Do you understand how evolution destroys everything that I'm talking about right now? Do you see that? How can we talk about this purpose in God's image if we're made in the image of apes?

[23:29] How can we talk about God's image in us if we are born of lower animals? How can that be? It can't be. You cannot put those things together.

[23:42] This is one of the reasons that Genesis 1 walks us into verse 26 repeatedly saying after its kind, after its kind, after its kind. We are not after the kind of apes.

[23:55] We are uniquely made in the image of God. Adam was in every way very much like you and I only without sin originally, right?

[24:08] Some people debate where people back in that time, were they bigger? I don't know. They don't know. It could have been. They could have been a little taller, a little broader, a little more robust.

[24:21] The reason that they say that is because over the years, sin wears us down. You begin to show the effects of a cursed earth and a fallen earth and a fallen people as you age.

[24:35] If God grants you old age, you'll start looking more like this, right? Your body begins to show the signs that it just can't support that uprightness. You know, you're feeling the weight of all of that.

[24:48] It's physically you're being weighed down. It's pushing you down. One day we will get glorious new bodies where none of that will ever be.

[24:59] We I won't have to get up and put the thumper on and go. Right. Just so. Oh, OK. All right. Now I'm going to do what I need to do.

[25:10] Mitch, I don't know how you do it. Pray for Mitch. I don't know how he does what he does, but. Yeah, amen. You hear that? That's good, man.

[25:21] I get people to do it for me. Amen. So we're talking in this particular case about God's design and about his purpose for us.

[25:33] In fact, looking at verse 26 a little more directly, the legacy standard Bible, which I have told you I'm trying now. I've switched over at better work because I like the layout of this thing.

[25:47] The legacy standard Bible translates verse 26. This way toward the bottom of the screen. Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.

[25:58] Notice now. So that they will have dominion over, et cetera. All right. That's good. That's very good. The translators form this as a purpose clause.

[26:11] What does that mean? God made us in his image for the purpose of giving us dominion. Do you see they go together? One flows out of the other being made in the plural image of God.

[26:27] That is in our quote unquote likeness is so that mankind will exercise God's decree for them to rule over what he's made.

[26:42] So we're not just limiting this in scripture to Adam and Eve. And them ruling. No, the them most likely points to those of us who would come after Adam and Eve as mankind.

[26:56] Mankind will have the mandate of dominion over God's creation. Why? Because only mankind was made in God's image.

[27:07] That's why. And that's the purpose clause of this verse. Now, friends, think of it. Originally, dominion image bearing reflected our unity as human beings.

[27:20] How so? It evidenced a like minded obedience in the enterprise of tending God's good creation, our special habitation.

[27:32] Originally, Adam and Eve were on the same page about dominion living and dominion life. It was built into them. You see what I'm talking about?

[27:42] It was a it was a beautiful way of reflecting the harmonious nature of human nature made in the image of God. Ruling over the earth, tending the garden in the responsibilities that they were given working, working together.

[28:02] That work is not a result of sin. That work was a good thing before sin. They were told to work the garden together. And that togetherness in doing that, that was a reflection of God's character as image bearers.

[28:18] Isn't that beautiful? Well, yeah. Well, what messed it up? Well, the same thing that messed the whole enterprise up. Sin. Sin. Rebellion.

[28:29] Moving away from the truth of the Lord did that to these people. God made us in his image for this purpose.

[28:41] Now, originally, as I said, these people were doing this together. They were doing it in a harmonious way because God stamped it good.

[28:52] This is good. This is a good thing. And it was so. Our redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you think about this with me, our redemption in the Lord Jesus, our unity in the bond of peace.

[29:06] We have in Jesus Christ and share with each other. Helps us correct the negative effects of the fall on our dominion responsibilities.

[29:17] There's another way of saying that in the back door. We cannot correct the sinful effects of us doing dominion on this earth apart from Jesus Christ. We cannot.

[29:29] And yet you see the world out there scrambling and chasing its tail trying to do just that. And they're making a mess of it. An absolute mess. They think that science is going to save the world.

[29:43] It ain't science's world to save. Is it? It's God's world. And again, this is this takes us right back to Genesis one.

[29:54] Are we going to plant our feet and our souls in the truths of Genesis one? Or are we going to look somewhere else? Our salvation and our love for Jesus and his truth bring you and I together into a return to like mindedness on dominion issues.

[30:12] You and I need Jesus to put us in the right mind about relating to God's world. You and I don't know how to relate to the world we live in apart from redemption.

[30:25] We don't. We're all messed up about that. I'll give you a couple of illustrations from my life in just a little while just to show you this. What I'm saying is this, friends.

[30:35] Just coming coming out of verse 26, talking about being made in the image of God and being given this dominion mandate to rule and subdue the earth.

[30:45] The fracturing that you and I see about climate change, global warming, deforestation, save the whales, save the dolphins and the like.

[30:57] That fracturing is reflective of the false effects on our hearts. Our hearts obedience to dominion living sin deceives our hearts about subduing the earth.

[31:11] Yes. Are you realizing even that stuff's spiritual issue? That's a spiritual issue. The whole issue of the climate and the eco stuff, the environment.

[31:23] Those are spiritual issues at root. Those are our issues. And Satan will look to deceive us in those issues if we're not careful.

[31:36] Well, what does Satan, what is his objective in deceiving us about all these eco issues out there? Well, it's very straightforward. It's the same goal that he has in every other area of our lives.

[31:49] To make us idol worshipers. To make us worship the earth. To put us in fear. To imprison us in a bondage of fear.

[32:01] That if we don't do these things and do that thing to try to save the earth, it's all going to go away. Overpopulation is going to ruin the earth. That's why we've got to get to Mars. That's what they say.

[32:15] They don't even make a secret of it. We have got to become a spacefaring people if the human race is going to survive the future.

[32:26] And I say, hogwash. Nonsense. That's not what scripture says. It's not because I'm brilliant. It's not because I'm a scientist.

[32:38] It's because the scripture tells us this is God's world. And the way the world is going to go out is up to the Lord. Now stay with me because I need to say some things about what this does and doesn't mean.

[32:52] All right. Now listen to this. This was what I'm saying to you now in the way of sins effects, dominion mandate. What Moses is sharing here. Look, this was a powerful message to the people of Moses's day.

[33:07] I'm talking about God's people, the Hebrews, who are the recipients of this truth. They were literally surrounded by creation, worshiping pagans. That was the world they knew.

[33:19] Where did they just come from? Egypt. Thank you. So they're in the wilderness now getting ready to go into the promised land. Moses is giving them this instruction at some point during that time.

[33:32] And they just came from one of the most powerful nations, if not the most powerful nation on the planet at that time. And what did Egypt worship? Creation. In every way you can think of.

[33:45] That's what they're going to walk into. Pagan's lives were entirely dominated by false worship of the world. With the result.

[33:58] That they're sinfully deceived and sinfully dominated hearts. Apply dominion against each other and their neighbors. They perverted dominion.

[34:10] They weaponized dominion. And turned it on each other. War, conflict, anger, arguing, fighting, quarreling, killing, murdering, exploitation, slavery.

[34:25] All of these are expressions of dominion gone wrong. Sin drives us to dominate and subjugate each other.

[34:36] True. Even the conquering of the promised land. Because you might ask that. Well, wait a minute now. God told the Israelites to dominate and subjugate and rule and all. Yes.

[34:46] But listen. Even the conquering of the promised land was under God's design and direction for heavenly judgment against human evil. This wasn't some carte blanche kind of order for the Israelites to go in there and kill everybody for the fun of it.

[35:04] It was God using human beings to judge evil. And God gets to decide that because he created it all. So that's kind of the end of that argument, isn't it?

[35:19] Well, where does this high view of mankind and this prohibition against exercising sinful dominion against each other come from?

[35:31] Well, friends, you see where it comes from. It comes from God telling us that he made us in his image. And so that that gives intrinsic value to every single human being who's ever lived.

[35:45] And so we're not allowed to just do whatever we want to do to each other. And we sure are not allowed to turn dominion against each other. Moses here is concerned to give the Israelites a true historical account of their origins.

[36:03] So he wanted to ensure that God's people knew their creator and listen, his design of them and his purpose for them.

[36:15] And so Moses is making it very clear that for the Israelites to understand that they need to understand who God is as creator. They need to start right there.

[36:27] That's what he's giving to them. Now, look, God wired us to rule over his world as men and women together.

[36:39] Made in his image. So we are we are actually acting under and as an extension of God's authority.

[36:50] As his managers or stewards of Earth. Dr. MacArthur said it this way, quote, while God is the king, capital K.

[37:01] God created man as a king. Small case, K. A vice regent and mediator over the creation on God's behalf.

[37:18] End quote. We're vice regents. We're little kings representing the great high king in the way that we live on his planet.

[37:29] And go about taking care of his stuff. To include and especially each other.

[37:41] As the crowning achievement in his creation. We ought to have such a high view of the value of human life. As I say that, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?

[37:55] That's right. Abortion. Abortion. And when you give careful thought to the origins of all of that, you're going to see how closely it's tied to the idea that we are nothing more than just a higher form of animal.

[38:09] So that what's forming in the womb is not a human being. It's not a human being until it gets outside the womb and becomes viable. Well, what do they think it is? A dog? A fish?

[38:20] What do they think is forming in that womb? I'm telling you, this lie is devastating our planet.

[38:32] It's devastating societies. And I know that me telling you that isn't news to you. Dominion is actually the word Radah.

[38:47] Radah. It means to rule over, to dominate, or to tread down. And so I've got to do something with that in light of the context that we're dealing with here.

[39:00] If you look at verse 28, the word that you likely have in verse 28, God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. And my Bible says subdue it.

[39:11] Does yours say that? Subdue it. Subdue it. Subdue it. The word subdue has a slightly nuanced, a different meaning, but it's actually being used here as a synonym of dominion.

[39:24] So these words basically mean the same thing and express, and this is the most important part of it. They both express the same emphasis God is making on mankind's obedience.

[39:36] Obedience to what? Obedience in their role to rule over God's earth. Dominion and subduing have everything to do with man being obedient to God.

[39:50] You'll see later in the mandate for going out and multiplying and spreading over the earth, that's tied to dominion. And so what did the people do?

[40:01] They built a tower in Shinar. And God judged them for it, didn't he? Why? Because that was selfish pride that was speaking directly against dominion and multiplication and spreading.

[40:15] And so God said, yeah, we're not going to have that. Did you not hear what I told you? And so he spread them. We'll get to that, Lord willing. But this foundation is going to help you with interpreting all of that and understanding why it was important for God to do those things.

[40:33] Why did the flood come? Et cetera. It all is founded right here. So all of this then that we're talking about in the way of this mandate.

[40:47] Carefully note this now. All of this that we're talking about is prior to sin. Sin has not yet entered the world. So here's what we can say about God giving us this mandate to dominate the world or rule over creation, especially given the idea of tread on.

[41:08] Right. Here's what we can say about that. There is no conflict here. There is no struggle or survival of the fittest in this command.

[41:20] You cannot get that out of doing a careful study of the word and the grammar and syntax here. You can't do it. That is not what this context is speaking to. This is a very strong, clear exposure of evolutionary dogma as false doctrine.

[41:36] Hear what I'm saying now. Evolution's fundamental premise for our evolving over millions of years is that it came from struggle and our desire to survive.

[41:48] No. I will. I will concede that much of that began to come into play after the fall when when man struggled against each other.

[41:59] For sure. I understand that. But listen. Listen. We did not. We did not make ourselves human. We did not do that.

[42:11] We did not fight. We did not struggle to survive and dominate our way into self-made human beings. If evolution's true, we get to take all the credit.

[42:26] I'm here because my ancestors were stronger than the ancestors of those who aren't here. The evidence our world shows of struggle, destruction and death is due to sin and God's judgment.

[42:42] Amen. So do we see the evidence of strife, struggle, destruction? Absolutely. The global flood changed the entire face of the planet.

[42:54] Catastrophically. Does the world show that? Yes, it does. Can't wait to get there. Can't wait to get there. Suzanne and I were watching a docuseries from Answers in Genesis yesterday together on the making of the ark.

[43:12] And I sat there in tears watching that program. Just just the marvel of God's inventive genius to take a man and tell him to build that ship.

[43:24] And save who he saved. It's just a marvel of engineering. Grace, power. You see that thing and just think.

[43:38] Lands end. What a God. What a saving God. Man looks at it and scoffs. Says no way.

[43:52] Listen. God made his world harmonious and good. That's what it says. That's what it says. Isn't it? Over and over. So. The context.

[44:04] The context we're reading in. Helps define the meaning of dominion. Or rule. To be a governing stewardship. Of benevolent rule.

[44:17] Because there's no sin in death. There's no need to strive. There's no curse on the ground. Creation's cooperating. With man's mandate. To dominate it. So this rule.

[44:27] So this rule. Is a God designed. Outworking. Of who we are. As God's image bearers. You see. It's harmonious. It's all connected.

[44:37] It. It. Please do not say. It's a circle of life thing. No. It's a God thing. Right. We don't give the glory to nature. We give it to the God who made it.

[44:49] That's what we're doing here. You and I. You and I. Were made. And we were made by God. To rule his world. And so God put this desire into us.

[45:03] Are you tracking with me now? You have an innate. God created desire. To rule. Inside of you. What do you think sin does with that?

[45:16] Yeah. You could say. That ain't very pretty. No. It's not. When it manifests.

[45:26] It's not very pretty. But the point is. Please. Allow yourself. To understand. The teaching of scripture here. That God made us. And he made us. To rule. And he put the desire.

[45:37] To rule. In us. Men and women. Want to rule. Themselves. Men and women. Want to rule. Others. Why? Because sin. Perverts.

[45:48] The dominion. Desire. God built. Into us. It's just one more proof. That we need. To be redeemed. You see. Even our lack. Of ability.

[45:59] To. Do godly. Dominion. Is proof. Of our need. For redemption. A savior. The gospel. Is at stake. Or.

[46:11] We have to say. We're self-made. And we'll science. Our way. Into saving. In this planet. And that's. Idol worship. And that denies. God. His glory. As our creator.

[46:24] And that's again. Why we won't. Back down. From this. You and I. Need. To be redeemed. We need. God. To free us. From the power. Of sin. By our faith.

[46:35] In the lord. Jesus Christ. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Is God's. God's. Only provision. For us. To receive. The gift. Of his. Forgiveness. For sins. He is. The only way.

[46:46] The truth. And the life. So. This is the gospel. Did you ever believe. That you could hear. The gospel. By talking about. Us. Ruling the world. We need this.

[47:01] Through faith. In Jesus Christ. As our savior. And lord. God works. Into you. And I. A new. Desire. To please. Him. From that.

[47:13] Motivation. You and I. Learn. To apply. Dominion. In God. Honoring. Ways. You with me? But what comes first? Don't get them.

[47:23] Backwards. God puts. Within us. This new. Desire. To honor. And please. Him. And out of. Who we are. In Christ. We then approach.

[47:35] The dominion. Mandate. In God. Honoring. Ways. As God. Teaches us. To do that. And so. We can hear. All of the warnings. About global warming. And all of this.

[47:45] And the ice caps. Melting. And we can say. Okay. If that's what God wants. Not really worried about it. Kind of thing. At the same time.

[47:55] We can be good stewards. And we can let God teach us. And use us. And how to be good stewards. Of the planet. And model that. For unbelievers. And then speak of that.

[48:06] As being. Effective. In the gospel. For us. This is a gospel issue. For us. Dominion. Let me give you a quick illustration. From my life. I'm embarrassed about it.

[48:16] I'm ashamed of it. I'm glad God's forgiven me. For it. Doesn't matter. That at the time. I didn't know better. I knew it was against the law. I was a brand new Christian.

[48:27] And I loved to hunt. Hunting was my idol. When I was a young man. Hunt anything. And when I got into bow hunting. That just changed my life.

[48:38] Right. I was like. Oh now. Now this is. The war paint. And the ghillie suit. And I'm gonna get up on him. And you know. He won't even. And he's going down. Kind of stuff. Well.

[48:49] I was. In this case. I was out with a Christian friend. Who was older than me. And we were dove hunting together. And we stumbled. On this pecan orchard. This is in Arizona.

[49:00] It was irrigated. We went out to this place. And we didn't know what to expect. We went out there on a whim. Just. Let's go see if there's anything out here. Long story short.

[49:11] We encountered dove hunting. Like I had never seen. I'm talking. Thousands. Of dove. Coming in. In flights. That just. Covered the sky.

[49:22] It's like you just. And they fall. Kind of thing. You know. Just about like that. So we hunted. And we hunted. The limit. If I remember. At the time. Was 12.

[49:33] 12 per day. In less than four hours. I killed 72 dove. It's against the law. I shouldn't have done that.

[49:44] Do you know. That even. Even though I knew. The bag limit. I didn't think there was anything wrong. With me killing that mini dove. I didn't.

[49:56] I thought that was perfectly okay. Gets worse. The guy that I was hunting with. And the two other guys.

[50:07] That came with us that day. Those two other guys were pastors. My pastors. Do you know. What they said to me. Nothing.

[50:20] Nothing. They didn't rebuke me. They didn't pull me aside. And say. Young man Jeff. Brand new Christian. Say. Where did all this come from. When I was growing up.

[50:32] My dad used to poach. Deer. Antelope. Whatever. I'd go with him. We were always one step ahead of the game warden. And so.

[50:44] I remember times when. It was just about dark. And dad would go over the hood. And that thing would drop. And off we'd run. To go get it.

[50:55] And get it back in the truck. And get it home. Before the game warden. Showed up. I grew up like that. That's what I knew. I'm not blaming my dad. I'm saying that's what I knew. I was doing what I knew to do.

[51:06] Then the gospel happened. And I remember. The next time we were going to go dove hunting. My friend. Who was older than me. And older in the Lord than me. He said. Hey man listen. So.

[51:18] I'm doing bag limit. Okay. I can't. I can't keep killing all these stuff. And going over the limit. And I said. Why not? You'd think. Jeff. Are you.

[51:29] Are you just. What is wrong with you? I knew. I didn't. I was like. This is what you do. It's. So what? It's. It's a. It's a little law. It's not a big law.

[51:40] Oh yeah. Well you let the warden walk up on you. With 72 dove. And you're. You see what happens bro. And so I remember sitting in the truck with him. That morning. It's still dark. Waiting. Waiting to get out there.

[51:52] And me sitting there thinking. Land's in. You know what? He's right. I had never even thought about. How walking with the Lord. Has anything to do with. The way I hunt. You see what I'm saying?

[52:04] This is where we live. This is how we move and breathe. And there are people out there. They don't. They don't understand. They need us to come alongside of them and help them understand.

[52:15] These are the nitty gritty ways that you and I apply dominion to everyday life. All right. If you don't think that ruling the earth is tough. Talk to Mitch Foose.

[52:27] I've watched his crew work before. And in August heat. It's hard to tame the earth. Ain't it bro? I went on. I went on a trip with Clyde Thompson back there at the back.

[52:39] A couple weeks ago. And drove around on the hundreds of acres that he he looks over and manages. And he's got crews that go out and tame hundreds of acres at a time.

[52:51] And he talked to me about the equipment and the man hours and what goes into all of that. Folks listen. We may not like the laws that come down on us.

[53:03] And we may not like some of the things that people say about global warming and all that kind of stuff. But the laws are the laws. And we need to honor that as Christians.

[53:15] We need to understand that we need to operate in the gospel within the laws that man has created. And we need to be very very careful that we're showing people that they don't have to compete.

[53:29] The laws of man and God's mandates for us in dominion. They don't have to compete. We can be good stewards of the earth and be Christians and not worship the earth.

[53:41] Amen. And this is very important today y'all. If you don't think this eco stuff is important to the world. You watch the news for five minutes. That's why this is so important.

[53:55] Now listen. I'm moving toward a close. The dominion mandate does not apply to marriage. Oh man.

[54:06] Come on Brian. You got to be helping me out up here on the front row bro. No. The dominion mandate does not apply to the church. It is not okay for Greg and I to lord it over you.

[54:21] And it is not okay for you to lord it over each other. The dominion mandate does not apply to the family. It isn't okay for husband and wife to slap each other around.

[54:33] It's not okay for dads and moms to abuse their children or for children to abuse their parents. It doesn't apply to the way societies govern their people.

[54:45] Husbands and wives for example are spiritual equals. Where the husband has spiritual authority over the wife in the Lord for their good and God's glory. And so he's to prefer his wife in honor.

[54:59] Treating her as the weaker vessel. That is the one who's been given the position of submitting. So the husband is told in scripture don't take advantage of your wife's submission.

[55:10] Don't exploit her in her submission. Honor her in it. And be careful. Because your heart is to dominate. The Bible differentiates between authority and dominion.

[55:27] As that dominion is expressed and commanded in the context of Genesis chapter 1. Just need to be careful there. That's all I'm saying. It's God's authority commanding us to rule creation.

[55:39] Now. So what do these terms dominion and subdue involve? Let me quote from Dr. Henry Harris or Morris. And then I'll move to finish this up.

[55:50] Look at this. What does this involve? First. Intense study of the earth. With all of its intricate processes and complex systems.

[56:01] And then. And then. Utilization of this knowledge for the benefit of the earth's inhabitants. Both animal and human. Here's the primeval commission to man authorizing both science and technology.

[56:13] As man's basic enterprises relative to the earth. Science. Is man's disciplined study. And understanding of the phenomena of this world. Technology.

[56:24] Technology. Is the implementation of this knowledge. In the effective ordering and development of the earth and its resources. For the greater good of all. Earth's inhabitants.

[56:36] So this would include fields like human service engineering. Agriculture. Medicine. And a host of other practical technologies. This two-fold commission to subdue.

[56:46] And have dominion. To conquer and rule. Embraces all productive human activities. Science and technology. Research and development. Theory and application. Study and practice.

[56:57] And so forth. Are various ways of expressing these two concepts. Dominion and subdue. So you see science and. What we've been given in this mandate.

[57:09] Don't have to compete. The dominion mandate survived. Mankind's fall into sin. But sin and God's curse on the ground. Make it really difficult for us to fulfill it.

[57:23] Mankind's unbiblical interpretations. That you see out there. And here. And their unbiblical responses. Regarding earth's environment. Those are examples.

[57:34] Of sin's influence on our obedience. To rule over God's creation. As his image bears. It matters guys. It matters how we approach our world. Because it's God's world.

[57:46] And we're his vice regents in it. We're his co-rulers. In this world. Now this is not a sermon. About how we answer all the climate change.

[57:56] And eco issues. Of our day. Here's. So here's what I'm saying. As I close. Here's the bottom line. On all of this. Look. On the positive side. Of Christian action.

[58:07] Is God's mandate. For us to be faithful stewards. Of God's world. As his image bears. Pride. And fear. Those things combine.

[58:17] To powerfully drive. Eco agendas today. Do you understand that? It's the pride of man. And the fear of man. That drive these issues. So we should.

[58:28] Folks. We should. Be concerned. About rivers. That are so polluted. That they are dead to life. And useless to mankind. That goes against the mandate.

[58:39] Okay. We should be concerned. With overfishing. And things like that. We should be concerned. To stay within the bounds. Of the law.

[58:49] And not poach. When we hunt. I'm just using those illustrations. Because we've got folks in here. Hunting fish. Those are just. Basic ways. That we honor the Lord. And the dominion mandate.

[59:00] In the everyday life. So there are many issues today. Which Christians. Can weigh in on. As we act as God's image bearers. To faithfully steward. His earth. So here's the bottom line.

[59:11] As we understand dominion. Biblically. We don't exercise dominion. Out of pride. Or fear. But from hearts. Desiring.

[59:22] To reflect. God's design. And goodness. As we apply God's wisdom. And grace. To caretaking. For his creation. It's about bringing God glory. So this is how you and I do that.

[59:35] As stewards. Of his earth. Will you bow with me. In prayer. Father. Father. This has been. A kind of different sermon.

[59:47] But it. It is very important. To how you. Want us to understand. Image bearing. From verses. 26. 27. And 28. As we. Revisit.

[59:57] These verses. And unpack them. Even more. I pray that your people. Will be blessed. In their hearts. And souls. That what you give us. In the way. Of this gift.

[60:08] Of ruling. The earth. For the sake. Of the gospel. For the sake. Of bringing glory. To you. As the one. Who's made it. Father. Help us. To understand.

[60:19] And apply. The way. That we steward. This earth. Is a reflection. Of you. As creator. It's a testimony. That we believe.

[60:29] That God created. The earth. And has mandated. Us as his image bearers. To caretake. For that earth. We thank you. For this gift. We are greatly.

[60:40] Privileged. In the Lord Jesus. To have our eyes. Open to this reality. So we pray. That you'll help us. To be wise. And discerning. Not prideful. Not fearful. To bring glory.

[60:50] To Jesus. And it may you. Bless your people. As they go about. Their week. May you give us. Great strength. To pray for each other. Especially for those of us. Who are facing. These trials.

[61:02] Even as Mona. As we pray. For our dear sister. Who is still. Facing some of the challenges. Of losing her husband. And adjusting. To being without him.

[61:14] As her spiritual friend. And I pray. Lord God. For Lisa. And for Jeff. And for Jody. As they face. Jody's. Imminent. Passing.

[61:24] To be with you. We rejoice. In the fact. That Jody knows you. As her savior. And has tried to live. Her life faithfully. For you. And even as her mind. Goes. And she begins.

[61:35] To forget. About the people. Who are around her. And certain aspects. Of what the gospel are. We trust you. To hold her soul. In great care. And to bring her. To yourself.

[61:46] Help us. To know how to minister. To Jeff and Lisa. And all of that. And to each other. Lord. As we. Find out from each other. Ways we can pray. And serve. Help us to be the church.

[61:58] For your glory. And for our good. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[62:09] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[62:22] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Christmas. Even Elizabeth. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.