Principle #4
God originally delegated to mankind full governmental authority over His creation
When the U.S. Supreme Court reviews a case, the judges deliberate the merits of the arguments through the lens of our Constitution. Some jurists attempt to discern the “original intent” of our founding fathers while others allow for fresh interpretation. Whether we agree with the decision or not, the Court uses its best judgment to ascertain the legitimacy of governmental laws in light of constitutional requirements.
To the believer, God is the first, and only, Founding Father of His own unique government. Many of us also believe that He designed everything in this universe with a purpose. In the previous chapter, we realized that this faith finds tremendous support in scientific discovery. An honest observer sees ingenious creativity, design and intent behind such things as genetics and celestial mechanics. But did God also have an original intent for how we should govern, or were we left alone after Creation to devise our own approach?
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28 KJV
Has the Lord left clues, or even straightforward commands, as to His plans and our responsibilities for Creation? If so, are they still applicable, or even possible, given how man’s rampant sin disrupted those plans?
The Heavenly Strategic Plan
At the end of the first chapter of Genesis, we see God delivering to Adam an executive summary of His governmental and economic plan, including:
Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Genesis 2:15 NKJV
But, in Genesis 2:15, we learn of an extraordinary strategic warning, a threat of capital punishment, intended as a firewall against one particular act of treason against the government:
After these decrees, the Lord did not leave the man to his own devices. He continued His involvement with Adam:
Out of the ground, the Lord formed, every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and gave them to Adam to see what he would call them and whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
Genesis 2:19
This is prima facie evidence for Kingdom Principle #4 that from the very beginning, starting in Eden, God originally delegated to mankind full governmental authority over His creation.
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV
The Loss of Governing Authority
If we believe this strategic analysis of Genesis accurately describes God’s original intent, then something terrible occurred. In light of the pain and anguish of human history, of course the utopian Garden of Eden now seems mythical and incomprehensible. Given the incessant chaos threading through human history, where is the evidence of the heaven-sent, governmental plan described in Genesis?
Clearly, this original Kingdom strategy has never been fully implemented. Why is that? Did the Lord establish the magnificent tapestry of life on Earth yet neglect to give us the strength and guidance for running the place in an orderly manner? You know the story, in the Garden of Eden, Adam had free access to operate how he chose, but again, he had one clear warning:
“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16b-17 NKJV
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:4-5 NKJV
God desired our will to be submitted to His own, not elevated to a position of prominence. We already had delegated authority over all of creation. But Adam, God’s handmade son, rebelled, yielding authority over the earth to God’s enemy, the devil. We were never intended to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, because the Lord knew that once man activated a moral sense, he would falsely believe that he knew right from wrong.
Therefore, know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God Who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations for those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Deuteronomy 7:9
The fruit of that tree would activate a distorted, selfish, self-referential morality created by, and implemented through, man’s own willpower. Man’s soul would mimic God just enough to make him trust his ability to make wise decisions apart from the Lord. By this one act, Adam would set himself up as a judge of right and wrong.
The result of Adam’s disobedience is that God was displaced as the arbiter of good and evil. Not only did Adam violate the limits of his governing authority through this action, but he also elevated man’s reasoning ability to a place of prominence. He expelled God as the only source of guidance. Man became uncanny at self-deception. When our decisions filter through our logical faculties, we rationalize our behavior. When those decisions are attached to our emotions, we justify our actions by saying “it can’t be wrong if it feels so right.” The will of man is the enemy of God.
Satan told Eve, “eat the fruit and you’ll be as wise as God.” That’s the big lie! It’s pure deception! We sincerely think we’re as smart as God, as evidenced by how rarely we consult him. Instead of freeing mankind as the lie implied, Adam enslaved us to the irrational dictates of sin. Faith in a loving God was replaced by the self-deprecating avoidance of His holiness. Our deep hunger for relationship with the Creator was transformed into fear of His righteous judgment.
For although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans 1: 21 NKJV
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” Therefore, the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
Genesis 3:22-23 NKJV
We feel naked before God. Sin strips a man bare and helpless, frightened and alone, conscious of his insecurity. No wonder Adam replied: “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:10 The cloaking, protective light of God, which surrounded the first couple, was now withdrawn. Adam expelled the Holy Spirit through insubordination and now sensed his spiritual nakedness before God. What a terrible condition he created for us all simply by refusing to obey His Heavenly Father.
The Birth of the Orphan Spirit
The sin of Eden also gave birth to man’s orphan spirit. Adam’s heart was irretrievably separated from His Maker. He was no longer a son who takes counsel solely from His Father God, but a rebel. Rebels lose their authority, so Adam lost the right to govern the colony in Eden. In this one impulsive, monumental stroke of foolishness, the man:
Looking back to the original intent, we see that man was created by God with a vast capacity for worship. He was engineered for a relationship with his Creator. Man’s spirit still strives to reconnect with the giver of life; we require a source of identity, an object of worship. When God evicted Adam from Eden, the first man lost a blissful life, and he lost direct, internal contact with God. Adam lost love; God is love. God built and planned to eternally fill that cavernous need for love and identity in the human heart. Once sin entered into man, it displaced and repelled God’s holiness.
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Genesis 6:5-6 NKJV
Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God…
Matthew 19:17b NKJV
The two simply cannot coexist. Adam’s disobedience to God automatically placed him in service to the enemy and severed the relationship between the Lord and His greatest creation – mankind.
Despite his best attempts, man has never developed an ideology or system for civic government that duplicates the glory of God’s original Kingdom, or dominion, model. Although we’ve seen glimpses throughout history, we have yet to truly witness the full outworking of this ingenious system of spiritual governance. Our institutions may approximate or imitate the original, but devastating evidence exists throughout all cultures and nations that something profound is missing from our rational, human approach.
We pass laws in a search for justice that only the Lord’s Kingdom provides. We build jails to house outlaws, yet iniquity, risky behaviors and systematic abuse multiplies. As orphans, we spend enormous wealth in an endless pursuit of entertaining distractions to fill the enormous hole in our hearts. We worship celebrity, power and money – temporary earthly rewards that eventually characterize the wasteland of countless lives.
And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 NKJV
Foolishness and corruption fills the human heart when the yearning for worship can’t find satisfaction from the one, true God. The simultaneous hunger for, and lack of, authentic love, joy and lasting peace indicts the entire human race.
The original plan for Kingdom government was lost in the Garden of Eden when the governor, Adam, sold us into the slavery of sin. However, even as the relationship with man disintegrated, God stayed involved. He didn’t leave the scene like a capricious deity. When evil grew past the tipping point, it broke His heart, but He orchestrated a monumental, worldwide flood, choosing to save Noah’s family of eight people. After the deluge, the Bible records God’s continuing, deep, fatherly interest in the affairs of men.
I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 NKJV
We can retain hope because the Lord doesn’t change; He remains faithful and true. Eager to restore what was lost, He initiated a new plan whereby He eventually sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to redeem us from sin, reconstitute the beloved family of man and resurrect the lost Kingdom.
AN ENCOUNTER WITH GOD
Mighty God, Your original intent, and the elegant design of Your means of governing, inspires me to new levels of faith. But I confess that I am grieved by my sins and those of my forefather, Adam. By defying Your will and by activating mine, he made me Your enemy. Adam and I have transgressed against you; I repent of our collective sin.
I have come to accept the redeeming power of Your Son, Jesus, who graciously accepted the full measure of Your wrath and blessedly died to restore my relationship with You and the family of man. Lord, instruct me in the ways of Your Kingdom government. Allow me to serve You as a Spirit-led son. I hereby submit my will to Yours. Provide me with Your loving guidance.
I stand in full agreement with Jesus when He says, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Share
Explore Other Topics
About 60 times, the Bible uses the term “inherit” and about 190 times it mentions “inheritance.” That’s pretty significant. The topic immediately reminds us of what an older, loving family member leaves to the children in a will. When God uses those words, He wants us to take them seriously.
Remember — Lucifer’s goal is to interfere with our Kingdom influence because it will accelerate his ultimate condemnation. Believe it or not, every Christian has a vital purpose in the Lord’s strategic plans. He is eager to see His kingdom grow and His influence reach into new territories. Lucifer is
Early in the Gospel of Luke we find a familiar story where Mary and Joseph are frantically searching in Jerusalem for three days, looking for their 12-year-old son Jesus. Finally finding Him in the Temple, speaking with the elders, the boy asks his parents, “Why did you seek Me? Did
All of human history has been witness to man’s vain attempt to set up civil, economic and religious power centers to satiate an unyielding hunger to rule — to fulfill the original Dominion Mandate by perverse means. Without acknowledging God, man is still compelled by this invisible and ancient motivation
God is a totally pre-existent, self-sufficient Being. Psalm 90:2 – “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God.”
(3/3) In the fifth chapter of Mark’s gospel, we read his report of a fascinating interaction between Jesus and a horde of demons. The Lord has just cast these evil spirits out of a severely tormented man. That alone would be a remarkable story of the Lord’s spiritual power. Just
