Interlocked week 5

Lesson 1 part 2

Last week we discussed 3 main things.

God created alone. No one created God for if they did, He would cease to be God.

God created with order. There was purpose, method, and design to what He spoke into being.

God cannot lie. He is trustworthy for he is infinitely truthful, loving, etc…

Being made in God’s image means we bear parts of God’s characteristics, but we are finite. God is infinite.

We are finitely truthful, but God is infinitely so; therefore, he cannot lie or he would be denying himself.

________________________________

Today I want to talk about 1 of 3 institutions that God established in Genesis 1-3 as well.

The 3 institutions are:

Responsible dominion

Marriage

Family

Next week we will get into Marriage and the Family, But today I want to focus on just Responsible Dominion.

These 3 institutions are given in Genesis 1:28.

Last week we read from Genesis 1-27 and concluded in verse 27

Genesis 1:27 “27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

We learned last week that God has ultimate authority.

Who would have more authority than the one who created by speaking?

Who created out of nothing.

Who told the wind where to blow

the seas where to stop.

As God rules over all of creation, God allows humans to rule over the earth.

This is Responsible Dominion.

Part of Responsible Dominion is:

God’s Authority.

God rules. God allows man to rule over the earth and all that is in it.

Genesis 1:28 “28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.””

, God tells Adam he will give him the authority to reign over creation.

He also tells man to work the garden.

Genesis 2:8 “8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.”

Genesis 2:15 “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

Here is something interesting too, Did God tell Adam specifically what tasks to do to care for the earth?

Did he say ok Step 1, step 2, step 3, etc…?

NO

God modelled it, and then told Adam to do the same.

How did God model this?

Genesis 1:5 “5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

Genesis 1:10 “10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.”

God names his creation.

Giving something a name demonstrates ownership over that thing.

How many of you have a pet dog?

What’s your dogs name?

Can you imagine if you never named your dog? You just called it Dog?

Same with a cat, or even a fish.

Fish are impersonal, we don’t interact with them and play with them. They just exist, but we still name them because they are ours!

The ability to name something demonstrates ownership.

God gave that task to Adam.

Genesis 2:19 “19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”

I find this interesting because much of what we learn in science tries to level the playing field.

Animals are the same as humans.

sure there are predators and the prey, but still, everything is effectively the same.

The prey of one animal is still the predator to another.

But the biblical model, what God established is that man is the top of the food chain.

We are the highest authority on earth under God’s authority.

And God called this good.

Genesis 1:31 “31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”

Brief Application:

At a base level, we should always be cautious not to rebel against God’s order.

Right?

I mean this is an important point this morning. Understanding God created with authority, that there is none like Him, and that he shared authority with us to rule over the earth…

This is important.

We are like God, but he is over us. We are in His creation, but we are also over His creation.

God called that good.

We must always be careful to trust God, relying on Him for all things.

This is where we concluded last week. Trusting God.

But as we will see soon with Adam and Eve, when we lose trust in God, we are susceptible to all kinds of evil.

God cares for you. He trusted us enough to care for all of creation.

DO not think that God is distant or abrasive.

He is near and gentle.

Psalm 8:4-9 “4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

________________________________

2. We can trust Him.

Trust is where Responsible dominion thrives or falls apart.

Illustration:

Name a teacher that you really like.

Name a teacher that you don’t like.

Ok… Now why do you like that teacher or dislike that teacher?

In that situation, 9/10 times I’d say the problem is probably you… ok haha.

I’m always going to side with the teacher 90% of the time.

However, at the same time, we all had good and bad teachers growing up.

Good teachers thrive with the authority they’ve been given.

Bad teachers do not. They use their authority and act on it from a place of insecurity or otherwise.

The point is, we trust teachers that are responsible with their authority.

Even more so, God can be trusted in His authority.

WE CAN TRUST HIM..

___________________________________

3. How we Experience God.

As we’ve already discussed this morning, Adam learned about God by seeing how God interacted with the world and by listening to the Words of God.

For example, God told him which fruit was safe to eat and what was not (the words of God)

God told him and showed him.

Adam needed to experience God’s creation and HEAR God’s word before he could understand.

This is true then and it’s still true today.

Psalms 19:1 “1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

We see God in all of creation. We see the work of his hands.

Last week if you were like me, you saw the foreign object in the sky.

The “chinese spy balloon” as it was called.

Now I’m not about the theorize what in the world all that was about this morning, but let me just say, when I saw it, you knew it was something in the sky that wasn’t God’s creation.

It was man made.

Yet all around that balloon was God’s creation!

At night the sky is filled with stars.

During the day, it’s filled with sunlight and a blue sky.

God makes himself known through His creation.

This is called General Revelation.

But God also has made Himself known through his Word.

God’s Word, the Bible is called Special Revelation.

The last part of Responsible Dominion I want to discuss this morning is about God’s work.

God called us to work! This was not something that was part of the fall.

4. God’s call on us

A good life isn’t just entertainment 24/7

It’s not playing all the time or doing what you want to do.

God started earth by working! And then by calling it good.

There is a sense of joy, satisfaction, and pride that comes when good work is accomplished.

God wanted us to know that was a good thing.

Proverbs 18:9 “9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.”

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 “11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 “11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.”

We all know the truth here.

There are people who work too much and there are people who are lazy.

The truth is in the middle.

Work is more than just what you do to make money.

Work is also far less than sacrificing family and other things so that you can chase your ambitions in your career.

The point is we were designed to be productive.

We were not designed to be stagnant.

You may work a blue collar job one day, amen! Do it for GOd’s glory.

You may work a desk job one day, Amen, do it for God’s glory.

You may be a stay at home mom one day, Amen, that’s a tough job! Do it for God’s glory.

The point is that in whatever we do, do it for God’s glory.

We have an opportunity right where we are every day to point others to Christ.

One of the best ways we can do that is by working hard with the gifts and talents God has given us.

Always giving credit to our creator.

Ultimately it comes down to this.

Responsible Dominion recognizes God is the ultimate authority.

And any authority I have in this life, let me use it to work hard for His glory!

Amen!