Z. Chapter 1:28 – And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
1) First command given to man… “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth”
· Replenish? Same word as Fill in v. 22 above, מלא male' fill 107, full 48, fulfill 28, consecrate 15, accomplish 7, replenish 7, wholly 6, set 6, expired 3, fully 2, gather 2, overflow 2, satisfy 2, misc 14
2) Second command “…subdue it: and have dominion over the fish…the fowl…every other living thing that moveth upon the earth”
· Subdue what? It…what is it à the earth
· Why do we need to subdue the earth?
o Subdue = כבש kabash, to subject, subdue, force, keep under, bring into bondage.
o What do we need to do in order to subdue? Requires some sort of action on our part, right? Be fruitful and multiply…subdue the earth with progeny
o God could have said “Rule the earth” but He didn’t He said, “subdue” it, thus territory must be taken as opposed to given
o Who/What are we subduing? The earth, but who are we taking it from? The one whom it had been previously given?
· Why wouldn’t God subdue it himself?
o God had an enemy before the creation of man
o Man is the vessel God has chosen to defeat His enemy
o The defeat of an immortal enemy by weak and helpless mortals would obviously by the hand of God working through us, thus He receives the glory
o God is defining the mission of mankind for his part in the struggle between light and darkness. Good and evil.
- Light – to subdue darkness,
- Darkness – to prevent from being subdued by light
- I Thessalonians 5:5 - Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
· Satan had been given dominion over the earth, God established it
o Ezekiel 28:14 – Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so…
- God gave Lucifer the authority over His creation
- Obviously God did this when Lucifer was still perfect and had not yet fallen
o Romans 11:29 - For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
- God could not just take back this dominion he gave Lucifer or He would be in violation of His own Word
- He enacted His plan
o Luke 4:6 - And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
- Power - ἐξουσία exousia, Authority or delegated power; the liberty and right to put forth power
- Christ never disputes the fact that Satan has this authority
o John 18:36 – Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world…”
- Christ verifies that this world is not His kingdom (at least not yet)
o Matthew 6:9-10 – After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father Which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven…
- This is what we pray every time we pray as the Lord commanded us.
- Do we understand what we are praying for?
· Satan understands what God has done and he responds with his own plan, destroy man in order to preserve his life and also use man to retain dominion.
o I Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
o Ephesians 2:2 - Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
o Matthew 22:44 (Christ quoting Psalm 110:1) – The Lord said said unto my Lord, “Sit Thou at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.”
- The Messiah is sitting at the right hand of God until He makes His enemies His footstool
- How is He going to accomplish this? Continue…
· Christ is establishing His kingdom by converting “children of men” to “children of God” in order to re-establish His Kingdom.
o John 3:5-6 - Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
o Romans 8:19-22 (NASB) - For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
- We see that the creation itself is in bondage
- “because of him who subjected it” - ὑποτάσσω hypotassō , This word was a Greek military term meaning "to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader". In non-military use, it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".
o Revelation 12:10 -11 – And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
- The enemy is overcome by who?
- By God? Yes…but with a twist
- By the blood of the Lamb working through US!
- This is the purpose of man! To establish God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven
o Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.”
- Christ now takes the throne AFTER His enemies are made His footstool
AA. Chapter 1:29 – And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
1) Does it say animals for meat? Did God say we could eat animals? No, we were originally intended to be vegetarian only
2) When did we start eating meat?
BB. Chapter 1:30 – And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so.
1) Not only was man vegetarian, but all animals were vegetarian as well.
2) This would have allowed the Lion to lay next to the Lamb in perfect harmony
3) The later introduction of sin not only changed the nature of mankind, but also the nature of animals as some became predators
4) If this is how things were at the beginning, is this how they will be in the end?
· Revelation 21:5 - And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
· Isaiah 11:16 -19 - The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
· Isaiah 65:25 - The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be] the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
CC. Chapter 1:31 – And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
1) Day 6
2) Everything He had made was very good
3) Not yet corrupted…perfect
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