Based on "Biblical Worldview: Creation, Fall, Redemption" by Dr. Mark L. Ward, et. al., this lesson examines the Creation Mandate given to Adam in the Garden of Eden to be fill the Earth, subdue it, and have dominion over the animals. It examines the value of human life, the creation of culture, obedience to God's command.

1. Based on Biblical Worldview: Creation, Fall, Redemption by Dr.
Mark L. Ward, et. al.
Man and His Mandate

2. • Do you know what the term “homo sapien” means?
• It means “wise man” – a thinking being.
• God’s description is a bit more thorough: we are made in the
image of God.
• Genesis 2:7.
• Image and likeness are synonyms; both point to similarities
between God and humans that no other creatures share, ways
that we reflect God.
• So what are they?
Genesis 1:26-28

3. • The image of God must include the abilities humans need in
order to carry out the jobs assigned to them in Genesis 1:26-28.
• In order to fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over it,
people need to have some of the same capacities God has:
self-consciousness, rationality, language, emotions, and the
ability to form relationships with others.
• No animal has abilities that come close to this. Human
capacities so far outstrip those of animals that people are in a
different category of being than animals.
• The New Testament suggests that man’s moral nature is part of
the image.
• Colossians 3:10
• Ephesians 4:17-18

4. • Sin has damaged that image, but the image is never totally lost,
even in Alzheimer’s sufferers or comatose patients.
• The image of God in you and I can be marred or defaced
because of the moral responsibilities tied to it.
• Luke 12:6-7
• Animals have value to God, but humans are more important to
Him.
• Whatever God loves is valuable; God doesn’t love worthless
things.
• God made you and I more valuable than any other part of His
creation because we are made in His image.

5. • If you’re unsure of your place in the world, don’t base your self-
worth on being athletic, likable, or smart. You will only be
wracked with doubts whenever anyone comes along who
exceeds you.
• The image of God should be the foundation for your self-worth.
Your value is secure in Him.
• Remember last week when we talked about moralistic
therapeutic deism (MTD), the watered-down Christianity in
which God exists to make me happy and nice?
• This is the predominant religion in American teenagers
according to some sociologists.
• Opinion polls (or popular opinion, political correctness) take the
place of God and His commands.

6. • Ignoring Genesis 1:26-28 creates a vacuum, and what typically
rushes into it is the concept of “self-esteem.”
• Without a God to give them value and purpose, people are stuck
creating their own. Despair is the result because we were designed
to be dependent on our Creator.
• Without a God to forgive and pay for their sins, people can never
make up for any personal value they think they’ve lost.
• This is why depression is so common and suicide is one of the top
ten causes of death in America.
• It’s also why many people think of themselves more highly than they
ought to think. They worship themselves rather than the Creator.
(Romans 12:3)
• Christ didn’t die for utterly worthless beings, but for His image-
bearers. (Romans 8:32)

7. • We are made in God’s image. There’s no other lasting means
of finding self-worth and no other way to be truly humble.
• And without the concept of the image of God, there’s no firm
foundation for the worth of others.
• Matthew 22:34-40
• You are not the only image-bearer in existence. We are all
portraits of God.
• Genesis 9:6 and James 3:9 both base moral commands on the
image of God.

8. • Genesis 1 introduces man, describes him as being made in the
image of God, and gives him a job: to fill the earth, subdue it,
and have dominion over it.
• So you really need to get these two ideas: 1. Humans are the
image-bearers of God, and 2. Humans are rulers over God’s
creation.
• Genesis 1:28 is the second part of this idea, the Creation
Mandate. These are foundational divine commands for all
humanity and have never been taken away.
The Creation Mandate

9. • “Be fruitful” means to procreate. Animals do this instinctually,
but men and women are privileged to do it purposefully and
enjoyably.
• The command to “multiply” was given animals, too, but they
aren’t good at math. Humans can count and know we are
increasing in numbers.
• Mankind can navigate. We can know whether or not we are
spreading out to “replenish [fill] the earth.” This is the logical
result of the other two.
Mandate Part 1: Fill

10. • God’s basic intent for mankind is still to increase in number and
fill up he good planet He gave us.
• Some people are called to be single (I Corinthians 7:17, 32-35).
• Some couples are incapable of having kids. (Genesis 29:31).
• This means something for your future and your present:
prepare now to be a good spouse and parent someday. It is
probably what you’re called to, even if it seems far away at the
moment.

11. • Scientist Nina Fedoroff told BBC news “There are probably too
many people on the planet.”
• There are over 7 billion people on this planet. More and more
people seem to agree this is too many people.
• In the same interview, Nina Fedoroff also stated: “We’re going
to need a lot of inventiveness about how we use water and
grow crops.”
• Filling the earth and having dominion over it work in tandem.
• Not all the earth is well suited for human habitation.
Mandate Part 2: Subdue

12. • This is where the second part of the Creation Mandate comes
in: Genesis 1:26
• “All the earth” includes all the animals, but also over the planet
itself.
• Man didn’t fly until 1914, but we were commanded to have
dominion over the birds of the air. We still have not mastered
the ocean depths.
• Subduing the earth means “to bring out the potential of
everything in the earth so that it will be of service to human
beings as they bring glory to God.”
• It’s to press God’s world toward its ideal and to maximize its
usefulness for mankind.

13. • Remember that the command to subdue is NOT a license to
exploit or destroy.
• Yosemite is not a waste of space, and a fetid dump is not a
“subdued” piece of ground.
• We are to develop the world positively. Genesis 2:15
• “Dress it and keep it” means to develop it and preserve it.
• This command seems like a burden to those who don’t want to
sacrifice time and income opportunities to bring children into the
world. They forget what God said in Genesis 1:28.
• God blessed them after giving them this mandate. Everyone is
an image-bearer blessed with the ability to rule over God’s
world – even if they don’t believe in Him!

14. • Did you ever stop to consider that subduing the earth meant we
had to subdue the plants we eat? Someone in the past had to
“subdue” lettuce, potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, corn, etc.
• We had to discover which plants could be grown on purpose
and which were worth growing and how to do so.
• The work of subduing and having dominion is done in groups
we call cultures. We see it in the grocery store as “ethnic
foods.”
• A culture is a group of people who live in the same area and
speak the same language. They take raw materials of the world
and make the same kinds of food, clothes, tools, art, and music.
Creating and Cultivating

15. • They also tend to see the world in the same way. Culture is a
worldview in action within a group.
• Andy Crouch states, “Culture is the name for our relentless, restless
human effort to take the world as it’s given to us and make
something else.”
• The culture you were born into makes some things possible and
others impossible (or nearly so).
• You have the opportunity to write a blog or post something (like I do
these lessons) that is read all over the world. You have the
possibility to reach people all over the world with the Gospel or
anything else.
• On the contrary, it is almost impossible to squelch a rumor.
• Cellphones make it difficult (if not impossible) to work uninterrupted.

16. • The bad part of culture is an accurate definition of what John spoke
of in I John 2:15-17.
• We sinners can always find a way to twist good things for sinful
purposes.
• It is because of the power of culture – good or bad – that Christians
should pay attention to it.
• The way to change culture is to make more of it. Maybe you can
improve your school’s culture by working to eliminate some less-
than-desirable piece of its culture and replace it with something
positive.
• Don’t get impatient or arrogant. The things God has put within your
power to do are important but modest.
• Remember, God gave Adam the Garden to dress and keep, not the
whole planet.

17. • Take away Genesis 1, and we don’t know who we are. We
have no identity or foundation for human rights or justice. We
have no purpose, no job to do, and now way to know if our lives
were spent well or wasted.
• Armed with God’s original marching orders for mankind, you
can know your place in the world.
• Take dominion over your little sector of the world and put all the
gifts of an image-bearer into that daily work.