Original Mandate

By Joe Keim

November 1, 2018

Here is the original mandate for the human race:

Genesis 1:27–28 says, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them:

* Be fruitful,

* and multiply,

* and replenish the earth,

* and subdue it (tread down, conquer, bring into subjection, as a footstool):

* and have dominion (prevail against, reign, rule) over the fish of the sea,

* and over the fowl of the air,

* and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

In Genesis 3, Adam surrendered his God-given earthly kingdom to Satan. In the New Testament, Satan is portrayed as:

* the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30,  16:11)

* the god of this world (2 Cor.4:4)

* the prince of the devils (Matt. 12:24)

* the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2)

In Luke 4:5–7, we see that Satan offered to give the world’s kingdoms to Jesus:

And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is [Adam] delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Jesus gave in and did things Satan’s way instead of following His Father’s direction? Because, you see, Satan was “tempting” Jesus to bypass the sacrifice on the cross.  He was giving Jesus an easy way out, but Jesus had not only come to take the earthly kingdom back, but He had come to destroy the power of the devil (1 John 3:8).

In Mathew 28:11, Jesus said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (He had fought in life and in death, and took the power away from Satan). Then Jesus turned around and gave the power to the church: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you (Acts 1:8).

Second Corinthians 10:4 says, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.

Revelation 11:15 says, And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.

What does all this mean for the church today?  I believe it means we must get back in the war against evil, including getting involved in all levels of government affairs. The power was given to believers, not unbelievers.

— Joe Keim

« Back to Articles