Genesis 1:28 King James Version (KJV) “28 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.”

Jumping right in as this is more or less a continuation of the last post.   Keeping always in mind that God equips us, strengthens us, renews our minds, gives us wisdom, imparts knowledge to us through His Word and as we cry out to Him and spend regular times in fellowship and prayer with Him.   Our part is to faithfully do these things and then He faithfully does  the rest including givine us the desire and ability to do what pleases Him.   Our part is always the doable part…  Mind you, I am constantly crying out for help with my part too.  Blessings as you consider these verses.  As always, be Berean.             

This goes right back to the very beginning.   Adam not only had authority over the serpent who came and tempted Eve in the garden, he had a responsibility and a direct command from God to take dominion over him  and subdue him.     The serpent was the craftiest/subtlest creature… and is still whispering to the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve today.   If he can convince us that we are subject to the powers of darkness, to sickness, to sin, to the begarly elements of this world, we are easy prey.    If we understand what Jesus has done and restored to us, that we are now free from the dominion of darkness and the begarly elemental powers of this world, and have once again been given power over all the power of the enemy, then we are truly free and positioned to help others be set free as well.    This original command stands today, and those who submit to God (accept Him as Lord and hearken to and obey His commands)  are called just as Adam and Eve were called to have dominion over every living thing and subdue the earth.   We cannot subdue that which we subject ourselves to.   One might be thinking, I don’t choose to subject myself to these things, I am simply powerless to prevent them.   The question becomes what does scripture say about this.  Let’s see.

 

Luke 10:19 King James Version (KJV) “19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Galatians 4 ” ³ Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: ⁴ But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,  ⁵ To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.  ⁶ And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.  ⁷ Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.  ⁸ Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.  ⁹ ?  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage”

                 Paul asks a tough question.   Why are you making yourselves subject again to the things from which Jesus has set us free?    His question confronts us with the scriptural reality that God has put it within out power to decide to whomand what  we subject ourselves and put ourselves in bondage to.    These verses also indicate that it was predominantly through false teachings that the people believed these lies and were deceived back into bondage in spite of the freedoms obtained for them by Christ.

Colossians 1:12-13 King James Version (KJV)  “12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

2 Corinthians 10:5 King James Version (KJV) “5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Colossians 2:10-23 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) “10 And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need. Christ is ruler over every other power and authority.  11 In Christ you had a different kind of circumcision, one that was not done by human hands. That is, you were made free from the power of your sinful self. That is the kind of circumcision Christ does. 12 When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him because of your faith in God’s power. God’s power was shown when he raised Christ from death.  13 You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14 Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. 15 He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.

16 So don’t let anyone make rules for you about eating and drinking or about Jewish customs (festivals, New Moon celebrations, or Sabbath days). 17 In the past these things were like a shadow that showed what was coming. But the new things that were coming are found in Christ. 18 Some people enjoy acting as if they are humble and love to worship angels.[a] They always talk about the visions they have seen. Don’t listen to them when they say you are wrong because you don’t do these things. It is so foolish for them to feel such pride, because it is all based on their own human ideas. 19 They don’t keep themselves under the control of the head. Christ is the head, and the whole body depends on him. Because of Christ all the parts of the body care for each other and help each other. So the body is made stronger and held together as God causes it to grow.

20 You died with Christ and were made free from the powers that influence this world. So why do you act as if you still belong to the world? I mean, why do you follow rules like these: 21 “Don’t eat this,” “Don’t taste that,” “Don’t touch that”? 22 These rules are talking about earthly things that are gone after they are used. They are only human commands and teachings. 23 These rules may seem to be wise as part of a made-up religion in which people pretend to be humble and punish their bodies. But they don’t help people stop doing the evil that the sinful self wants to do.”

              We see here again that the people are being deceived by human ideas, teachings and traditions, to the point where they are no longer being lead by/controlled by Christ.    When we submit to others, we are no longer submitted to Christ.

Putting Physical Death In Perspective:

Luke 17 NLT “³³ If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it”

Romans 8:35-39 King James Version (KJV) “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Seeing things through the lens of scriptures can change everything.    Our flesh cries out that the big deal is to be comfortable, pain free, happy and alive, our words, actions and lives speak to this perspective.   We spend most of our days working hard to establish these ends.    Scripture record that the central goal of our lives is to know God and live in fellowship with Him.   Eternal life is knowing Him and living in fellowship with Him.    The big deal according to scripture is living in God’s presence. 

The world sees physical death as the final blow, the scripture records that separation from God is the very worst thing for a man to experience.  From the one perspective, in many ways death represents the end of all thing.   From the perspective of scripture,  death is talked about in the same terms as taking off a garment.  Physical death  releases a person into even greater intimacy and union with the Father.

Philippians 1:20-22 King James Version (KJV) “20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.”

2 Corinthians 5 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
“5 Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever. 2 While we are here on earth, we sigh because we want to live in that heavenly home. 3 We want to put it on like clothes and not be naked.  4 These tents we now live in are like a heavy burden, and we groan. But we don’t do this just because we want to leave these bodies that will die. It is because we want to change them for bodies that will never die. 5 God is the one who makes all of this possible. He has given us his Spirit to make us certain that he will do it. 6 So always be cheerful!  As long as we are in these bodies, we are away from the Lord. 7 But we live by faith, not by what we see. 8 We should be cheerful, because we would rather leave these bodies and be at home with the Lord. 9 But whether we are at home with the Lord or away from him, we still try our best to please him. 10 After all, Christ will judge each of us for the good or the bad that we do while living in these bodies.”

Give No Place to the Devil

Ephesians 4:27-30 King James Version (KJV)
“27 Neither give place to the devil.  28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.   29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.  30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

John 10:10 King James Version (KJV) “10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

If it is killing from us, stealing from us or destroying us, who is the author?   If we are commanded to give no place to the devil, then what must we do when we spot his handywork in our lives?

Luke 6 KJV “6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.  7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.  8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.  9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?  10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”

To leave infirmity, even something like a withered hand unhealed, Jesus equated with doing evil and destroying life.    The thing that strikes me every time I read this passage is that sometime doing nothing is equivalent to agreeing with the destruction of life and doing evil.  Is it within our power to heal the sick and set the captives free?   What does scripture say.  This also reminds me of Proverbs 3:28.     

Proverbs 3:28 NLT  “If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”

Luke 13 KJV  “¹⁶ And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?”

Acts 10:38 King James Version (KJV) “38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”

Mark 16:17-19 King James Version (KJV)”17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;  18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”

John 14:12 King James Version (KJV)  “12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”