Last time we addressed the question as to whether man has really a purpose on this earth. And if he does, how can he find this out and through which door can he enter to discover it. Just these previous weeks I have been involved in giving lectures concerning the purpose of man and how he can find this out. When I tried asking the audience if they knew their purposes in this life, most of them would not even raise their hands except for a handful few. If this is the state of the church today, how can it really advance and mature to the level of Christ’s? If we do not know why we are here, who called us and what we are supposed to do, then we are truly confused!

Confusion means chaos, lack of purpose, disorder and disturbance; this is not a fitting description for a child of royalty such as you are. God did not author confusion as the Bible says. Disorder is the result of doing things on our own. It was the result of Adam and Eve settling to do things apart from God. The fruit is death whenever we abide in our own selfish motives. By discovering the original mandate of God for man on the earth, we will also find out our own purposes albeit this could be just the starting point. God’s purposes on earth is not singular, it is plural because He demands fruitfulness in everyone who claims to do His will. Had God wanted otherwise, it could not have been written that the Father is glorified whenever we bear much fruit. In everything that the Lord made, He is looking for His Son in them. Just as the Son was fruitful, always moving and doing things for the Father, He too wants us to be the same, conformed in the image of His Son and doing mighty works that glorifies His name among the nations of the world. It is true that God is the only focus that we need in this life, but to fulfill His calling in our lives, we have to do what He has called us to do. And part of it is to actually fulfill His main purpose for us.

“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: 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 1:27-28 (KJV)

God created man in his own image

The word image here comes from the Hebrew word tselem which means resemblance, figure, likeness and indeed God has made man according to His image bearing semblance of His face, mind, emotions, figure, and spirit. Unlike plants or animals or the inanimate, man was created to be able to consciously fellowship and walk with God, having his own body, soul and spirit. He can communicate with the Lord spiritually as well as physically through his body so that he is told to raise up those hands and praise the Lord. With this mandate, man is supposed to treat his own fellow with the dignity that he or she deserves.

No man is supposed to kill his brother just for the sake of silly talk, coarse joke, argument or any disagreement because each one bears God’s image with him. But because of the fall, many prefer to listen to the voice of the devil in their heads and shoot their victim mercilessly or rape those young innocent girls. How many families have been broken because of lust for fame, women, and selfish ambition? How many children could have grown up enjoying the presence and guidance of their fathers and mothers had it not been for the drive to get more? To be richer and more successful by the last cent or the latest certificate and reward? Yet we curse man who is also made in the image of God and forget that the Lord is Holy, the Father of us all, being our Creator.

The first mandate: be fruitful and multiply

The Lord’s charge of multiplication once decreed cannot be revoked or altered. It can be marred, weakened or limited by sin but God’s decree remains firm to the end, a productive and fruitful life. Every child born in this world is called to lead a productive and fruitful life until his last breath. Just as all of nature’s wonders does not end in a still lake but runs like a river, moves like the wind, and the stars, sweeps like the tide and waves do, man is called to active life from the onset that he is born to this world. This active life revolves around a single unwavering obedience and worship of the Everlasting One, the Creator.

A fruitful life does not only mean having a pile of accomplishments. You can be the CEO of a company but the lack of right attitude to your work can easily disqualify you to becoming the best manager or leader of the company. Those who excel in the workplace credit their success not to discipline but also to their undiluted passion for their work. Those who love what they are doing doesn’t stay on one single position, it won’t be long before they are promoted as leaders themselves. Love is as strong as death, a single minded focus on a project leads to excellent result. As a consequence, this fruitfulness leads to multiplication. People tend not to work with a loser but always want to be identified with a successful person.  Jesus pointed out the solution to long term fruitfulness when He said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5 NLT).

The only secret of the power and wisdom in Adam and Eve’s great abilities to understand animal language and be able to name each one of them is not their very nature but because of their closeness with God. Our ministries will only function as great as our daily relationship with the Lord. Past experiences and blessings are just that, past and we need to keep going to fulfill the upward call of Jesus in our lives. The Apostle Paul likes to say it better, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

The second mandate: replenish the earth

This command is still the consequence of obeying the first one, to be fruitful and multiply. A fruitful and productive life leads to multiplication in gifts, rewards, perks, influence and friends. As you continue to do, you will replenish the earth. The word that was translated as replenish here has a general meaning, that is to fill, to fulfill, overflow, and furnish. Apart from filling the earth with the population of human beings, to replenish also means to fulfill the purpose that God created you e.g. to write books, plant churches, equip people to live productive lives, discover their gifts, defend the widow and the poor, administer justice, bring peace and order. Just as flowers don’t really bloom anytime and anywhere but on a set season and the right place, you can only fulfill your purpose once God places you in the right place, authority, position or location and at the right time.

Mangoes don’t bloom in Germany, neither can bananas live there except in the greenhouse; the same is true with their temperate plants. The main reason the church lacks the productivity it needs and the fire it must have is because many chose to fulfill their ambitions and forget their call. They may call it finding the greener pasture and the better congregation but is this what God really wants for them? You have to ask the Lord. Sadly, many ask the Lord when they are already entrenched in their places and think the Lord has told them already it is the right place for them. Because few discern their place in the Body of Christ, many are asleep, orphans, without fathers and mentors some have gone to perdition choosing the way of Balaam and Gehazi. There is nothing more fulfilling than to work in the vineyard of God, in the garden and place which He has set for us. John gives us discernment how to know those who are true Brethren from those who are false, those who follow the Lamb from those who follow their bellies, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:4-8).

The third mandate: subdue the earth

To subdue the earth means more than conquering the highest peak and lowest depths of the ocean. It is also more than overcoming an adversary such as your political enemy or co-athlete. Rather, to subdue the earth means to overcome our worldly nature by walking with God intimately. Because Abel walked with God closely, he understood the meaning of true sacrifice and the prophetic significance of the blood that Jesus will shed in calvary. As it was written, without the shedding of the blood there will be no forgiveness of sins and without the blood there will be no redemption, sanctification and justification of man.

The word translated as subdue in the King James Bible means to conquer, overcome, subjugate and tread down. We have enemies in this world and we can better understand the way the world works not by denying this spiritual dimension but accepting it. The Bible is clear on this matter, if you are frought with thoughts that denies this aspect of existence you can study the following verses,

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Revelation 12:7-9

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.
No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:4-8

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 1 Peter 5:6-9

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Matthew 16:23

The most successful guise of the devil is to be an accuser of the Brethren by actually using us to accuse each other in the Lord. Though the devil has long been cast out in the heavenlies down to earth, his authority to come before the presence of God such as in Job’s trial suggests that the accusation of his friends was a doorway for this righteous man’s torment. There are literal and spiritual gates of hell just as there are also literal and spiritual gates of heaven. A geographical place can only become satanically infested if offered to the devil, in the same way that God honors our offerings and dedications of babies, tools and implements, places and houses so does God honors the words of men and will not usurp such places given to the devil. This is clearly enunciated by King David saying, “The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, But the earth He has given to the sons of men” (Psalms 115:16). Because He has already given the earth to the sons of men, it is through men that the gates of hell and heaven are made. When a person gives authority to the devil, he opens the wrath of God upon his life just as those who are servants of God are anointed and protected by Him.

Therefore, the biggest gateway of hell on earth in terms of volume is through the spoken curses of men, those who curse others, ridicule them and leave others tormented in their emotions and feelings as well as hurt throughout their lives. The Apostle Peter gives the following remedy, “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For, “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. “He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it. “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:8-12). If you are being mistreated by your husband, or coworkers do not return evil for evil, devote time to soak in the presence of God daily, give them kind words, respect those to whom respect is due and as you do, you are loving your enemies. There is no greater power on earth than love because it disarms every accusation of the devil in your life.

The fourth mandate: take dominion

The principles for success are basic and simple. If you try to make them more complicated than they are you will get tired completely. Once we understand that the Lord has called us to be like Him, in His image and attitude, we will also find out that He has anointed us to lead productive lives, bear much fruit and multiply. After multiplying we will then be able to replenish the earth that is fulfill our purposes by being re-moved to a different geographical location, position of authority, congregation for equipping and training in righteousness and doing His wonderful works. Then we can subdue the world by not returning evil for evil, deceit for deceit and accusation for accusation. This can happen fast such as when God called me to move to Germany from a present position of being a research assistant to being a scholar.

There, He has also increased us without additional torment by giving me and my wife the blessings of children. As I continue to recount this journey, I can say without any regret that the Lord has been good to me and He has called me to testify of His goodness and wondrous works not only in the Philippines but also abroad. Taking dominion means more than enforcing your rule or authority in one place or to a person. It actually means to subjugate, take, overpower and that is related to every creation in this world from those that flies in the air, to those that swim in the oceans and to those that move over the land. In other words God called us to soar high in the heavens, in authority, dignity, love and power. Those who have true authority are recognized by every demons in hell such as Paul and Silas and the apostles. But to think that you are not recognized is to deny the Word of God for He has also written, “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

The shortest route to knowing your purpose and fulfilling it is to do all that you are given to do with all of your heart, as unto the Lord. Whatever you have now been given to do, do it like Michelangelo painted. The world may or may not ever take note of it, but the Lord will. He will trust you with even more talents if you treasure and use well the ones He has already given you. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). May this year be yet the greatest year of your devotion and love for the Lord as we seek His purposes and will to come on earth.