Presence Weekly 2/20/2024

The DEVO - God's Word for Our Lives

²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 

²⁶ 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.” 

²⁷ So God created man in his own image, 
in the image of God he created him; 
male and female he created them. 

²⁸ 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.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:24-31

What, exactly, is the mission of Christians in this world? That’s the topic we will discuss over the coming weeks. In many circles, verse 28 is referred to as the Creation Mandate. These are the first words that God is recorded as speaking to human creation, but they are certainly not the last. 

Here, God is putting mankind in charge of creation. There are a couple of important elements to note:

First, the Creation Mandate is given to both Adam and Eve, not just Adam. The discerning reader will notice that there is not economy of labor between the couple. They are both charged equally with the mission of, “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.”  In other words, this is not a man’s world, it is God’s world and he has appointed mankind as its stewards. 

It is only in the Fall that the differentiation occurs. When the LORD says in Genesis 3, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you,” he is not announcing a blessing but a curse! Unpacking this fully requires more time than this devotional allows, but essentially, despite the man being the covenant head of the relationship, the woman will endeavor to usurp that position, and he will abuse his role.

What this means is that in fulfilling our joint mission to “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,” we will fight amongst ourselves and abuse power rather than work together in harmony. 

Second, the disharmony that we experience with each other in pursuing our God given mission is indicative of a bigger problem - our disharmony with God. In the garden, before the fall, mankind lived in harmony with the creator. In fact, he dwelt with them.  Further, mankind's relation with God begins before the garden of Eden. In the retelling fo the creation narrative, Genesis 2 informs us that "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." (Genesis 2:15). Mankind entered into our relationship in a state of grace without merit.

What’s amazing is that after Adam and Eve sinned, it does not say that God rushed angrily into the garden. Instead, we have this story, 

⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:8–13

Notice that the LORD God came walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and spoke gently to Adam. Then notice that Adam now makes two moves that highlight the rupture of his relationship with the LORD. First, he is hiding out of fear and shame. Second, he blames God for giving him the woman. 

As we participate in God mission for us to, ““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,” we do so outside of the intended harmony of our relationship with God. As is evident in their sin that mankind seeks not just to usurp each other’s power, but God’s. Since the Fall, we have moved in the direction of “this is our world and God’s mission is too restrictive!” We want to define the terms of our relationship not just with each other and God’s creation, but with our Creator. 

Third, the Creation Mandate makes clear that we are, from the beginning, to participate in the mission of God in cultivating the world towards flourishing. What is perfect in the garden is mankind's relationship with God, but the earth requires cultivation. Mankind's job is to increase the bounty of the earth through their work. God did not imagine mankind living forever in a subsistence agrarian economy. Rather, in the command to be fruitful and multiply, the subduing and working of the earth would necessarily involve man building upon the initial work of the LORD. Diverse and robust economies are envisioned that build upon each other are not just anticipated but intended.

In the garden, mankind's only questions of faithful presence in participating in God's mission are, "What is good that requires encouragement?" and "What is missing the awaits creation?" The answer is to the first is, "Everything!" The answer to the second reveals that part being made in the image of God is our creativity. After the Fall, what changes is not the mission but the difficulty of it. The Fall introduces two new questions.

What is broken that needs restoration?

What is evil that demands opposition?

The history of Scripture reveals the complexity and frustration that come from the combination of all four questions.

All that said, we are the heirs of the Creation Mandate - which is still in force. We know that it’s still in force because it is repeated in Genesis 9 (to Noah AFTER the Fall and the Flood) and in Genesis 35 to Jacob. It’s also important that this aspect of the Creation Mandate is applied to Ishmael (the illegitimate son of Abraham) in Genesis 17. That means that it’s not only the job of Christians to rule and subdue, but mankind’s. It is the purpose of this mandate that God further clarifies and unfolds over time as he makes it clear that he does have a special purpose for his chosen people. 

For those serving and leading in the public square, the Creation Mandate is good news! We have been invited to participate in God's mission of cultivating all things towards the flourishing of the world. This not only provides the meaning we search for, but also the purpose we seek.

Application Questions

1. Looking back at the four questions, how does the post-Fall introduction of two new questions apply not only to the material creation, but also our relationships?
2. How does understanding that the Creation Mandate is common to all people inform how you view others in your workplace? What about those of the "other" party?

Last Things...

Look for our first podcast of 2024 later this week, featuring Dr. Justin Bailey, author of "Interpreting Your World: Five Lens for Interpreting Theology and Culture." We also have a Presence Journal article on engaging unemployment insurance fraud through a pasture of faithful presence.

Pray for one another!