Subduing the Earth One Family at a Time
“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 [it].” - Genesis 1:27-28
Do you ever marvel at how chaotic the home lives of our civic rulers are? Our current President has been married three times. The previous President’s children have made a mess of their lives. Multiple Senators and Congressmen's lives are riddled with adultery, drug use, wayward children, financial misconduct, mental health issues, and sexual deviancy.
It’s no wonder our society is crumbling. From the beginning, God’s design was for his righteous and beautiful order to fill the earth starting with the family.
God created Adam and Eve, that diverse unity of male and female in one flesh to be the basic unit of society. The command to subdue the earth and have dominion over it follows the command to be fruitful and multiply. The dominion comes through multiplying the basic unit of the household after first bringing order there.
The repeated problem of the Old Testament was that societies focused more on putting the strongest person in power, instead of seeing God on the throne and making sure every family, every community at the ground level was fulfilling their calling.
So, when Jesus came and defeated sin and death, he both put God (himself) back on the throne and enabled households to flourish again under his order. And from those households, expanding that righteous rule into churches, communities, cities, states, and nations.
People are often confused about whether or not Christians should be involved in anything outside the home or church. It seems the New Testament is strangely silent about Christians engaging in politics. Many argue that this suggests Christians should only focus on the home and church.
But that was not God’s plan from the beginning. His design is to start at home. When you bring order there, take on a little more responsibility in your next nearest area of influence. If you do well there, perhaps you take on more authority.
We see that in the qualifications for being an overseer in the church (1 Tim. 3:4–5). Church leaders are men who lead their homes well. Jesus said, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matt. 25:21), because this is how he designed society to be ordered from the beginning. If you can’t order your own home, how can you order more than that (Matt. 5:19; Luke 16:10; 1 Cor. 4:2; Genesis 39:4).
It’s not that the New Testament teaches that Christians shouldn’t engage the world, or that the patterns of home and church don’t apply to the rest of the world. The New Testament isn’t silent, but it assumes that Jesus has enabled the created order to multiply rightly.
Which means that our communities, cities, counties, states, and nation should be put in order by those who best put in order their homes and churches. We should be training each other up to bring flourishing to our homes and church, and then encourage those who are able to step further out and start the businesses that employ our neighbors and elect politicians that promote right order (Romans 13:3).
Why can’t that be us? We have some of the best, godliest, most gifted men and women I’ve ever met right here in this church.
Brothers and sisters, let us be about the business of multiplying God’s redeemed order for the world in Christ. Build our families, link arms together as a church, and expand the boundaries of the Garden to fill the earth.
Eager to see your homes pour out into your neighbors and beyond,
Adam and the elders