Be Fruitful
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God’s First Command
God’s First Command
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:
Line of thought...
God’s chooses to make man in His image
Man and woman are created
God’s first command is to be fruitful
Therefore, central to the image of God is creation and fruitfulness.
Fruitfulness is not a sort of option
Instructive that God’s first command to humanity is to be fruitful.
In this, we see that the
It is a key part of Who God is, and how we respond.
So, this morning, we will look at three aspects...
Examples of how fruitfulness is central to God’s image
How God calls us to be fruitful as spouses
How we live out family life together
God’s Fruitfulness
God’s Fruitfulness
The first two chapters of Genesis are key in our understanding of the nature of God
The first two chapters of Genesis are key in our understanding of the nature of God
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
The first picture we get of God in the Bible, is a God who creates.
He starts with light, goes to bodies of water, to plants, to animals, and finally…to us
Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Ephesians 2:
Wherever God is, He is creating something new.
Eph 2:
Whether it be physical life, or spiritual life, God is always fruitful, and always creative.
He creates out of nothing, and He raises from the dead.
That is the first theme we get of His image.
Luther on Vocation 1. The Earthly Kingdom
Silver and gold in the earth, growth in the creatures of the forests, the fruitfulness and unquenchable generosity of the soil, all is the ceaseless work of the God of creation, which goes forward through the labors of mankind.21 God creates the babes in the mother’s body—man being only an instrument in God’s hand—and then he sustains them with his gifts, brought to the children through the labors of father and mother in their parental office. “Even though a father is an instrument of procreation, God himself is the source and author of life.”22
So, it is not surprising, therefore, that God’s first command to us is to be fruitful!
Our Fruitfulness
Our Fruitfulness
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Question: Why do you think sexual desire is such a powerful factor in the world?
It’s because God’s first, and most basic call for us, is to create life.
God created these powerful physical and emotional desires, because His first call for humanity was to create more humans!
Be fruitful!
Question: Let’s say you have a presentation. If you really want people to get it, do you lead with the most important thing, or with something that doesn’t matter much?
This about that…The first words that were uttered to Adam and Eve were, essentially…Make babies.
Now, there are some that God have not blessed with this ability, and they should not feel shame for their lack of fruitfulness. It is a reality in a broken and fallen world.
Even so, God’s presumption in marriage is the creation of more life.
We see how the church lived this out, and how the Bible points to fruitfulness as a gift!!!
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Consistently in Scripture, the birth of children is cause for great celebration!
I have a fear that Christians today sound far more like the world around them than the Word of God when it comes to children.
Our ambitions have far less to do with happy homes within which we celebrate children.
We manage them.
We give them a million activities.
We send them away for half the day.
But do we enjoy them?
Do we LOVE the idea of blessing our homes with children!?
Well, God created marriage for children, and if we wish to think like God, we should act like God.
Make some babies, if you are able!
Parents and Children
Parents and Children
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Our number one goal as parents is to love our children in such a way that they are compelled to follow the God we follow.
Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
This is not to say your child won’t turn away from a time. They’re sinners.
It’s not to say you’ll never be saddened.
It’s not to say you’ve had good parents.
It is to say that our mission as parents is to hand to our children the faith once delivered
Characteristics of a Christian Home
Joy (not necessarily happiness)
Order
Grace
Service
Discipline
Purpose
Conclusion: God wants us to create just as He creates, and He wants us to create homes in which the love of Christ is the heartbeat of the household.