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by Charlie Wolcott

From the moment of his creation, man was given dominion over the earth, to subdue it and to bring it into subjection, all the while being fruitful and multiplying. These are the first commandments and responsibilities given to mankind. While many sermons have dealt with Genesis 1:28 in numerous different ways, my church’s primary teaching elder made some statements in a recent sermon that triggered me to write this post.

In most sermons I’ve heard, the message from this verse is about man having control over the animals and the power to do science and create technology. Then man is to be productive and have lots of children. But the past couple months, this verse has been gnawing at me. The whole notion of making the home and the family structure to be productive and little self-sustaining “kingdoms” as opposed to mere places for rest and entertainment has gotten my attention. The comments the teaching elder made about man’s role in having dominion over the earth while also being fruitful have magnified my understanding of Scripture to a new level, and I’ve been chewing on how to put these concepts to practice.

First off, man has dominion over the earth. He has the authority to use and control the earth and life and bring it to order. There are a number of people who suggest that this idea of dominion actually means that life outside the garden was actually a wreck, indistinguishable from what sin actually did, and so man was given instructions to “set it in order.” I have serious problems with such ideas. For one, it teaches that God is a lousy creator and needs man to finish the job because God left it messy. It is another ploy to keep man from being responsible from what is wrong with this world.

That’s actually not what “have dominion” actually means in this context, which is pre-sin. It more accurately means that man is to take the creation and put it to good use, and man has done that. We have created technology and built roads and houses and lakes and mountains and done all sorts of good things.

But man in his sinful hubris tries to play the God-role, too. Man is made to be a steward of the earth, but it is God who actually owns and ultimately controls it all. Man thinks he is both the problem with this world (which both Evolution and Creation teach) but also thinks he is the savior of the world (which only Evolution teaches). Just watch the Sci-Fi channel. How many disaster movies are out there that pits man against this insanely big disaster, and yet with our modern technology we have the great ability to solve this disaster that wipes out cities and continents? It’s actually comical when you think about it. Man thinks he can solve the “climate change” issue and as I watch the weather completely confound our “experts,” I can picture God up there saying, “Oh, you think you can control that? Well, try this.” Yes, man has dominion over the earth, but only as stewards or managers, not as owners. Let us not forget our place. While we are indeed the pinnacle of creation, we are still a mere creation. We are not gods and we’ll never be like God.

But in light of my elder’s teachings, namely on how the home turned from a place of production into a place of consumption, he made a comment that I had heard many times but never in the context of this verse. In our day of technology, we are not controlling or having dominion over the technology. Instead, it is having control over us. I have heard many preachers address this issue regarding money and treasures here on earth. John Piper says, “I don’t think it’s wrong to have a lot of money. I just think it’s wrong to want to keep a lot of money.” Voddie Baucham says, “I’m not against you having things. I’m against things having you.” It’s the same issue, but I had never heard it in context of Genesis 1:28. Instead of man having dominion over technology and science, the sinful results we face is this technology and science has us.

It is easy to see this in the context of our TV, games, social media, internet, cell phones, etc. We are addicted to technology, and our lives simply will shut down if we go without it for long. That is one aspect, but the general trend is to overreact to that and want to throw out all technology. Some preachers have thrown out their TVs, smashed their games, and limited their phones to the bare minimum. I won’t say that is wrong, but I won’t say it is right either. That is between each person and God. The issue is not technology; the issue is who has control. If we are ruled by sin and self, technology and science will control us quickly and easily. But if we are ruled by the Holy Spirit, we will be able to use technology to its fullest.

But an angle I will take to this teaching even further is the studies of science itself. I am a physics teacher, and I have seen so many people actually deify science. Where did man come from? Science has the answer. Where are we going? Science has the answer. Why are we here? Science has the answer. Who are we? Science has the answer. Who has the authority? Science does. This is not what God designed us to do. I love science. Don’t read what I am not saying; science is an awesome tool. But it is a tool. So many have made science their entire epistemology. They don’t do science, nor do they have any dominion over science. Science rules them. Nature is their god, and it has led to some of the most stupid and deadly decisions ever made. When science and nature and technology control us, we are actually practicing a form of pantheism, the worship of nature.

Be careful. We are to control science, not let science control us. And science can only be under control when we are under the control of God, submitted and yielded to Him. God will not unlock the deepest secrets of the creation to those who despise His name and seek to steal His glory. He’ll give them to those who love Him, seek to honor Him, and keep both God and nature in their rightful places. May we learn how to put technology under our control as we submit to the rightful rule of God our Master. Next week, I’ll look at the other half of this verse in how to be fruitful and multiply.

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