byWhen you hear the word “dominion,” what comes to mind? For some, it’s about being popular. Others think it’s becoming more powerful. But the first time the word “dominion” was used in scripture, God meant it as rulership. If we talk about rulership, hierarchies of authority come into play. Right! In today’s edition of Journey Through the Book of Genesis (JTTBG) article, I will be discussing four phases of godly dominion, all from Genesis 1:28. Let’s look at the scripture first.
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:28 (NKJV)
God has blessed you.
“God blessed them.” The Lord first did that to Adam and Eve after He brought them to life. Come to think of it! Imagine that as the first word a child hears, assuming he was born intelligent enough to fully understand what the parents say. Isn’t that powerful yet very commanding? God has blessed every human being on Earth. That is why, if you have realised it, nobody wants to remain small in this life. Yes, it’s a charge from God.
Unfortunately, not many people experience the manifold blessings of God in their lives because they miss fellowshipping with Him continually, for Him to show them what to do. Let’s look more closely at the theme scripture: Genesis 1:28
Be fruitful
God first said, “Be fruitful.” God did not say “be seed-ful” to humans. Have you thought about it? He knew that He had already placed seeds in humans. At first, I thought what God said was limited to childbearing. However, upon further Bible study, I noticed that it is far beyond that. Look at something! If all that God wants is for humans to keep reproducing, then He wouldn’t have placed restrictions on sexual intimacy, limiting it to (as God-honouring) only married couples. Right?
God has loaded you with more seeds than you can ever imagine. The ideas are seeds, and the creative thinking is also a seed. Whatever skill you have, even if it’s poor in first-hand use, is a seed inside you. And to be fruitful with it, you must place all of them to work, usually harnessing one or two to the best at a time in season. Why do I say that? Sometimes, your seed of creative entrepreneurship thinking will not be needed when you are young. It may come to bear after you start your business. But everything in life is in stages. So, embrace it.
Don’t think of becoming a mere local champion. It is good, but very limiting. God called you to reach high levels of impact. You can start small with what you have but don’t think small. Think big and keep working towards it, not forgetting to involve God every step of the way.
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Multiply
When you study how trees work, you’ll understand the term “multiply” quite well. In one tree are many fruits, each of which bears seeds that can produce other trees too. In fact, you can get a whole forest from one tree with good, viable seeds. But why did God make it this way? It’s because God doesn’t want to limit your impact due to a lack of resources or external reasons. He has enough confidence in you to break all seemingly “impossible” barriers in order to experience abundance in whatever you do.
Are you afraid your business will fail? Do you think you are not good enough for what you are called to do? All those things are not enough excuses before God. You must rise to the occasion to defy all odds because God has marked you to be successful. However, you need to understand this so you can begin to reproduce the product or service you have started out of the seed (skill or idea) you have.
Fill the Earth
A farmer may have enough seeds to plant on a small portion of his farm. With that, he will still make a profit when the harvest season comes. Right? But it will be significantly limiting to him if he keeps doing this for years. Why? Because he has more capacity to expand his farm and even buy more land to plant more. When you settle for “just enough,” you limit yourself to the “multiply” phase of godly dominion. But you need to step up and enter the “fill the earth” phase, where your product starts commanding global influence. It may not be that highly recognisable, but it should be noticed.
Subdue it
That is the last phase of godly dominion. It is the stage where what God has called you to do, either through a product or service, becomes highly recognisable and distinguishable on the global front. To cite a few examples of corporations that have reached this level, name Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Such brands are known almost everywhere in the world. They are not special people. You can also get there with what you have. But you must start small and grow through each dominion phase. Dear small business owners, have a global impact as part of your long-term expansion plan. Don’t think of becoming a mere local champion. It is good, but very limiting. God called you to reach high levels of impact. You can start small with what you have but don’t think small. Think big and keep working towards it, not forgetting to involve God every step of the way.
