Educational

1.  The Extent of Man’s ResponsibilityThe Extent of Man’s Responsibility

2. “And 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 fowl of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his
[own] image, in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them. 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.”
Genesis 1:26-28
GOD MADE MAN & GAVE HIM DOMINION

3. This text basically sums up all of man’s responsibility
and authority.
It should be understood that God did not give Adam
dominion over all things as an individual, but as a
race.
Therefore, all other human beings born of Adam
have as much right to the dominion as is Adam.
DOMINION GIVEN TO THE RACE

4. Further, Adam was not given dominion over other
human beings born of him but over all things created
subordinate to man.
Hence, no other human being was subordinated to
Adam, or any another man, in order to prevent the
spirit of lordship and dominion from entering human
relations.
EXTENT OF DOMINION

5. In other words, the sum total of man’s
dominion is that he was to rule over the fish of
the sea, the fowl of the air, the cattle and every
creeping thing.
No place is given for one human being to rule
over another human being so as to dominate
and control him according to will.
To the very least that any man seeks to
domination or control the human will of another
in matters pertaining to his responsibility to God
is a most flagrant usurpation of power and
authority.
THE TOTAL SUM OF MAN’S DOMINION

6. The right for every man to govern himself is among
the most treasured gifts of God to man.
Not even God will, in the slightest degree, seek to
dominate or control our will.
We are free moral agents and that being so are left
to decide our own course of action which inevitably
will bring its corresponding results.
THE RIGHT TO GOVERN SELF

7. The right granted to a man, under God, to govern
himself in matters relating to his responsibility to
God, and the manner in which those responsibilities
are discharged, is freedom.
The right given to one man to govern another in
matters pertaining to his responsibility to God, and
the manner by which this responsibility is
discharged, is tyranny.
WHAT THEN IS FREEDOM

8. “We cannot depend for counsel upon
humanity. The Lord will teach us our duty just
as willingly as He will teach somebody else. If
we come to Him in faith, He will speak His
mysteries to us personally.”
DA 668

9. “The Lord has left every human agent
responsible for his course of action. God's
claims are to be your first
consideration. Obedience to God is your
first duty. You are to leave all the
consequences in His hands.”
EV 243

10. “The Holy Spirit will not compel men to take a
certain course of action. We are free moral
agents; and when sufficient evidence has
been given us as to our duty, it is left with
us to decide our course.”
CE 116.2

11. “The elders which are among you I exhort,
who am also an elder, and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of
the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the
flock of God which is among you, taking
the oversight [thereof], not by constraint,
but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a
ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords
over [God's] heritage, but being
ensamples to the flock. 4 And when the
chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not
away.” 1Peter 5:1-4
WARNING TO CHURCH LEADERS

12. “God could have destroyed Satan and all his
sympathizers as easily as one can pick up a
pebble and cast it to the earth. But by so doing
he would have given a precedent for the
exercise of force. All the compelling power is
found only under Satan's government. The
Lord's principles are not of this order. He would
not work on this line. He would not give
the slightest encouragement for any
human being to set himself up as
God over another human being,
feeling at liberty to cause him
physical or mental suffering. This
principle is wholly of Satan's creation. {RH,
September 7, 1897 par. 7}
GOD SETS NO PRECEDENT FOR FORCE

13. “The principles of the character of God were the
foundation of the education constantly kept before
the heavenly angels. These principles were goodness,
mercy, and love. Self-evidencing light was to be
recognized and freely accepted by all who occupied
positions of trust and power. They must accept
God's principles, and, through the
presentation of truth and righteousness,
convince all who were in his service.
This was the only power to be used.
Force must never come in. All who
thought that their position gave them
power to command their fellow beings,
and control conscience, must be
deprived of their position; for this is not
God's plan. {RH, September 7, 1897 par. 8}
GOD SETS NO PRECEDENT FOR FORCE

14. “These principles are to be the foundation of
education in God's church today. The rules
given by him are to be observed and
respected. God has enjoined this. His
government is moral. Nothing is to be
done by compulsion. Truth is to be
the prevailing power. All service is to be
done willingly, and for the love of God. … Every
heart that is controlled by these principles will
be loyal. But when those who profess to be in
God's service resort to accusation, they are
adopting Satan's principles to cast out Satan;
and this never will work.” {RH, Sep 7, 1897 par.
9} *
GOD SETS NO PRECEDENT FOR FORCE

15. The world and all that in it were created by God.
Therefore, everything belongs to God.
Man was created by God. Therefore, man
belongs to God.
God gave man the right to own everything with
the exception of other men. God has reserved
the right to be the owner of man.
No man can own another man and no man can
be owned by another man.
Hence, slavery is among the most pestilential
evils ever to infect social history.
GOD’S OWNERSHIP OF MAN

16. Man was created from nothing and therefore could
not have created anything. Hence, he rightfully could
not have owned anything.
However, in His love to man, God invested him with
the authority to rule over everything, with the
exception of other human beings, because it became
evident that man himself was under the dominion of
another.
GOD’S OWNERSHIP OF MAN

17. Man was given free access to the earth’s dominion,
with one restriction. This restriction stood as the
right for God to rule over man, and man’s willing
subjection to that rule.
However, God’s right to rule over men had not within
it the poisonous ingredient of force. Consider how
the Majesty of the universe relates to His creatures.
GOD’S OWNERSHIP OF MAN

18. “I call heaven and earth to record
this day against you, [that] I have set
before you life and death, blessing
and cursing: therefore choose
life, that both thou and thy seed
may live:”
DEUT 30:19

19. “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the
LORD, choose you this day whom ye
will serve; whether the gods which your
fathers served that [were] on the other
side of the flood, or the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as
for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD.”
JOSH 24:15

20. God demonstrated His right to rule by giving all men
their full freedom, either to be ruled by Him or to
seek to rule themselves without Him.
He is the only One that rules by giving FREEDOM.
 That wonderful characteristic of governing by giving
the governed full freedom to be governed or not to
be governed is only found under the benign structure
of the eternal government of God.
FREEDOM IN GOD’S RULE

21. “And the LORD God took the man, and
put him into the garden of Eden to dress
it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God
commanded the man, saying, Of every
tree of the garden thou mayest freely
eat: 17 But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it: for in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die.” Gen. 2:15-17
AN EXHIBITION OF GOD’S RULE

22. Man was placed in the Garden of Eden as a steward of that
which belonged to another. The work is the Lord’s and not
man’s.
God Himself gave to man his work – No other man can
assign work to another of his own will.
It will become evident that even the act of one man relating
to another the requirements of God, is in itself God
Personally speaking to the one being instructed as in the
case of Adam and Eve.
POINTS TO NOTE:

23. Freedom was given to man to enjoy righteous living
for there is only freedom in righteousness.
A restriction was given in order to safeguard man’s
freedom and well being.
The opportunity to pervert the gift of freedom and
enter into bondage and death was created by the act
of giving the restriction to safeguard freedom.
POINTS TO NOTE:

24. The king of Israel, in his surrender to Benhadad the
king of Syria yielded all that pertained to life and
existence.
 “And the king of Israel answered and said, My
lord, O king, according to thy saying, I [am]
thine, and all that I have.” 1Kings 20:4
RECOGNITION OF OWNERSHIP

25. Man’s existence is composed of two
dimensions – who he is and what he has.
Who he is relates to the use made of time while
he lived on earth and
 what he has relates to the wealth he
accumulated while he lived on earth.
On these two most important areas in man’s
existence while he lives on earth, God has made
stipulated restrictions so as to keep him
informed that all his time and wealth come as a
direct result of God’s ownership.
TWO DIMENSIONS OF MAN’S
EXISTENCE

26. Since the days in the Garden of Eden, when God
placed upon Adam as the head of the human race
the restrictions relating to time and wealth, until our
own day, He has not changed in one iota.
God still requires man to see his own responsibility
to his Maker in heaven, and the extent of his
delegated authority in matters relating to man on
earth.
THE SABBATH AND THE TITHE

27. His responsibility is to acknowledge God’s ownership
by ceasing from his own labour on the Sabbath and
returning to Him the tithe.
His delegated authority is to govern himself in these
matters and leave all others free to govern
themselves.
To no one is given the delegated authority to dictate
and force another in these two areas that relate to
man’s responsibility to God.
MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY

28. This is God’s instructions to each individual human being.
Each man must hear, receive, believe and willingly respond
motivated by agape love to fulfill these requirements.
No man, body of men, Church or government has the right
to dictate and force any man to fulfill these requirements.

29.  As Adam was the only man when God spoke these
requirements to him in the beginning, so every man
stands before God as an individual as though there
is no other man in existence in relation to these
requirements.
And every man must respond to these requirements
as though there is not another man on the face of
the earth.

30. Happiness eludes many because of a
misguided notion that it can be derived from
disregarding God’s will and way. God wants
for us to be at peace and rest, therefore He
encourages us to be conformed to His will for
only His way can work.

31. “The Lord well knew that the happiness
of his children depends upon their
submission to his authority, and living in
obedience to this holy, just and good rule
of government.
{RH, MARCH 8, 1870}

32. God does not force any one.
He leaves all free to choose.
But he says, "By their fruits ye
shall know them.“ {RH, September
7, 1897}

33. “A great lesson is learned when we understand
our relation to God, and His relation to us. We
have an individuality and an identity that is our
own. No one can submerge his identity in that of
any other. All must act for themselves, according
to the dictates of their own conscience. As
regards our responsibility and influence, we are
amenable to God as deriving our life from Him.
This we do not obtain from humanity, but from
God only. We are His by creation and by
redemption.”
FLB 165