Titus Ten: Dominion

Titus Ten

Chapter 1 - Dominion

DOMINION

Every man was created by God to take dominion. (Dig a hole illustration)

Modern distortions versus original intentions (Jesus, Pharisees & Marriage)

Although deeply distorted by sin, the original mandate for men to take dominion is still a mandate. It is a part of God’s original intention. Everything we are trying to do, by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is to get back to God’s original intention for our lives. God has created men, under His authority, on His behalf, as His representatives, manifesting His character, to take dominion.

There are two words in Genesis 2 that give clarity on the meaning of dominion: work and keep (Gen. 2:15).

The primary role of every man, in every area of his life, is summarized in those two words.

When you think about “work,” think about a plow.

A plow is used to cultivate the earth. It is used to turn up the soil and prepare the ground for seed. You can think of a hand-held instrument like a hoe, a large metal mold-board pulled behind an animal, or a 400-horse power, 8-Series John Deere tractor. Either way, the idea is to cultivate the earth so that what is planted will grow.

Plowing is a selfless and thankless task. It’s hard work. It’s sweaty work (unless you get that 8-Series John Deere.) Yet, plowing is the work to which every man should be devoted. Not to tend a garden, but to sacrificially work hard for the sake of others. To sweat and toil, to cultivate and nurture everything and everyone God has put under his charge. As a man, you were created to work this way.

Every man should wake up every morning and imagine a plow in his hand and be ready to work. This is God’s calling. And under your leadership, things should grow and thrive.

When you think about “keeping,” think about a sword.

To keep is to watch, guard, and protect. That which God has put under your charge should not only grow and thrive; it should be cared for and protected.

God has created every man to be a guardian, a protector, a defender. He is called not only to stand in the watchtower and watch but to take up his sword and fight. You can see this tendency even in little boys as they play with each other. There’s an ingrained instinct to fight and defend what is theirs and what is right.

DOMAINS

The areas in which men exercise dominion are called “Domains” You cannot give men dominion without also giving them a domain.

In Genesis 2:15 the domain was the Garden. God didn’t just give Adam an assignment he gave him a domain in which to achieve it.

The book of Titus is often broken down into three major sections: the church, the home and the world. That’s actually a great starting place for thinking about our domains as men. It’s missing one crucial domain, however, and that is the FLESH.

The flesh, the family, the church & the world.

DOMAIN 1: The Flesh

Our ability to take dominion over our flesh will directly determine our ability to take dominion in every area of our life. The first battle in every man’s life is the battle with his sinful nature. If we lose that one, we can’t win any other one.

When was the last time you had a story of successfully bringing your flesh into alignment with God’s will?

After Paul tells Titus to find good men and put them in leadership, he tells Titus what to look for. We read it last week. One of the key qualifications not just for pastors but every man is self-control.

There are multiple references to things that demand self-control. A man must be able to control his pride, his temper, his drinking, and his flesh. A man cannot be a leader until he learns to take dominion over himself.

This is why Paul said, “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27). Paul was very aware that after a lifetime of gospel preaching he could be completely disqualified if he did not take dominion over his flesh. I don’t need to illustrate this. You have seen countless men undermine a lifetime of good with a momentary failure to control the lust of the flesh.

We often talk about men having a “moral fall.” We say “moral fall” as if to say that a man was doing great, walking with Jesus, fighting sin, overcoming his flesh, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he fell into sin. This is never the case. Men do not have quick moral falls; they have slow moral slides. Behind every moral fall is years of failure to control the flesh.

Taking dominion over your flesh is not just about fighting against sin. We will never gain any victory over sin unless we truly believe that walking with Jesus is better than living in sin.

The foundation of our lives will always crumble if we do not begin with working and keeping our flesh. No matter what else you build, the foundation of self-control must be laid. If it is not, the building will ultimately fall.

DOMAIN 2: Church

The second domain is the church. What I am going to say right now might seem completely foreign, and even wrong to many of you, but I am convinced it is true. Before your family or your work, your greatest areas of sacrificial and loving leadership should be in the local church to which you have committed yourself.

This is where you learn to use your plow and sword in the home and workplace.

Paul was writing Titus to help him fix a church in turmoil (Titus 1:5). The primary cause of turmoil was the presence of useless, ungodly, and rebellious men (1:10–16). The first thing Paul tells Titus to do is find godly men (men who have cultivated self-control) and put them in leadership in the church. The first place he calls godly men into action is the church.

The church is the body of Christ. The church is the bride of Christ. The church is the house of God. The church is the family of God. God uses those metaphors so we might understand His love for the church.

And “church” is not just a reference to all believers, but to local assemblies in which the body, bride, house, and family are manifested.

You cannot say you love Christ if you do not love His bride. You cannot say you are serving Christ if you are not an active part of His body. If you are not sacrificially attending, serving, and supporting a local church, you cannot become the man God wants you to be. God has set His church as the primary place in which He works in and through men. You cannot expect God to bless your life if you reject His means of doing so! And, if you are unwilling to commit yourself to a church, you are undermining all the good work God wants to do in you.

The local church is not only the primary place in which a man learns to be a Christian; it is the primary place in which a man learns to be a man. It is there, surrounded by generations of godly men, that he learns about himself and his God. Find a church and make it a priority. Give it your greatest effort. Serve it, love it, and protect it. Work and keep it.

Domain 3: Family

Your next domain is your family. The reason marriage comes after the church is that the family exists to point to the relationship between Christ and His church. The church is the greater of the two.

But these things do not conflict; they both thrive when they are given their proper place in a man’s life. A healthy church is made up of healthy families.

One of the reasons a young man must learn to take dominion over his flesh and then must learn how to sacrificially love and lead in the church is because both of those things prepare him to take dominion in the home.

I want you to think about this. When a father allows his family to make other things more important than the church, the father undermines the primary training ground for his family. God has given us the local church as the means to train us in how to love those in our family (this is the point of Titus 2).

One of the most important pieces of advice I give to husbands regularly is simply this: go home and work. God has entrusted you with that family. It is your domain. It is your responsibility. It demands the constant use of the plow and the sword.

Serve your wife. Serve your children. Be the hardest worker at home. Give yourself sacrificially every single day for the good of your family. And it’s not just about working hard and providing. It’s about doing the hard work of loving and leading and helping at home. A woman will not despise the idea of godly dominion if she sees this manifested in the way you love, serve, and help at home.

This is not just for husbands and fathers. I had a middle school boy ask me recently, “Why is it so hard to be nice to my mom?” I loved the honesty of that question. I think most middle school boys, if they were honest, would ask the same question. My answer was simple. God is teaching you how to be a man by teaching you how to love, serve, and respect your mom, even when you don’t feel like it.

The home is the training ground for godly, sacrificial, servant-hearted dominion. And learning to take dominion as a young man, looks like working and keeping in your home in a way that honors Jesus.

Domain 4: Work

Finally, we take dominion in the workplace. Titus transitions from life in the church (chapter 1) to life in the home (chapter 2), to life in the workplace (chapter 3).

Titus 3 begins with these words to employees: “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.”

Notice that to be a godly man at work, you must learn through the ministry of the local church and the ministry in the home how to obey, work, deal with conflict, and be kind. Part of using your plow and sword in the workplace means working hard and providing for those under your care.

Without question, every husband has been given the primary role of financial provision. First Timothy 5:8 says that a man who does not provide for his family is worse than an unbeliever. Every man should carry the primary weight for financial provision. But a man’s responsibility in the workplace does not end with provision.

The workplace is where a man displays to a lost world what self-sacrificing, loving, and godly dominion looks like. It is where a man shows the world God’s original intention. Paul says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:23).

No one should be a harder worker, a better employee, or a better boss than a man who follows Jesus. You should work harder, sacrifice more, and lead more graciously than anyone else. In so doing, you are not only seeking your good and the good of those under your charge; you are seeking to glorify God through your work ethic.

The Wisdom of God in Domains

Do you see the wisdom of God in our domains? Do you see the wisdom of God in the order of our domains? At a young age, a man should be learning how to control his flesh. And in the local church, he is seeing how to love and serve and give of himself sacrificially for the good of others. And then in the home, he is applying what he sees in the church and learns how to work hard, love well, be kind, and be submissive to authority. Then, from his dominion in those three areas, he learns how to be a successful man in the workplace.

God knows what He is doing when He clarifies those domains and tells us the proper order.

The only reason the world has a problem with the idea of manly dominion is that they have not seen dominion as God intended it. To use your plow and sword in your domains is to work hard, sweat, toil, and sacrifice for the good of those under your charge.

It is about manifesting the very death of Christ for the good of others. Taking dominion is about displaying the gospel. It’s about seeing the way sin has distorted God’s original intention. It is about manifesting the glory of God. It is about God’s original intention. It is about having our manhood redeemed. And that is where we go next.

Discussion Questions

1. How does the idea of dominion resonate with you? Do you sense that God has created you to work and keep?

2. What are the negative effects of men not taking dominion in our day? How are people suffering by the lack of godly dominion? Think about it in all four primary areas: flesh, church, family, and work.

3. Personally, in which of the four areas do you find it most difficult to walk in dominion? Why?

4. In what area do you feel like you need to be walking in more dominion right now? Be specific. [J. Josh Smith (2022). (p. 35). The Titus Ten. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]