28And 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.
Yesterday, I received an email from Leitha Dees with a question that I will start today's discussion with.
Will you be expounding on verse 28 in the future and what that means? We were told to “have dominion over” not destroy, abuse, misuse, manipulate, endanger, deform, pollute, maim, kill, alter… or any other word you can use that defines what has happened to and on this earth at the hands of man.
I too asked God what it was like before Adam ate the fruit and satan took over rule of the earth. Here is the response I got.
We also need to pay close attention to the order of things. God gave Adam a job before HE gave Him a helpmate. God established Himself with Adam. He also gave Him instructions to follow. Think about it. God placed Adam in paradise and said all you need to do is enjoy it, tend to it, and nurture it. Everything that he would ever need had already been given to him. Adam was in direct contact with God. He talked to God and communed with Him. He was at complete peace without even the knowledge of sin. He gave Adam authority to rule. He placed every animal before Adam and told him to name them. Whatever Adam called the animal, it was so. Adam was secure in himself but God wanted him to experience enjoying the garden with someone and let them also experience paradise. I asked the Holy Spirit, “What was paradise ( the Garden of Eden) like?” The Holy Spirit said two words; “without contention.” The word without means:
1. Not having; lacking
The word contention means:
2. A striving to win in competition; rivalry.
3. The act of contending; strife, struggle, controversy, dispute, quarrel.
To put this into perspective, everything the word contention means; paradise was (not having; lacking) all of that. Contention is the complete opposite of what paradise was and the original intent God had for man and woman to experience. The world and all of its inhabitants lived in perfect harmony. Everything that had been created was good and was in the state of “no contention.’ Let’s think about this: All of what God created lived in perfect harmony. Man, the animals, the food that was created, the weather and environment existed in perfect harmony. Imagine what that must have been like. The food that they ate was without pesticides, chemicals, worms, insects, and weeds. Adam and Eve related to each other in harmony. She wasn’t trying to be Adam and Adam wasn’t trying to be Eve. No arguing and feelings being hurt, no bad days when I don’t want to be bothered, no headaches and pain in their bodies. This is a big one, no “Ms. Attitude” and no going to bed mad and when you wake up the next morning you’re angrier than what you were the night before. Everything functioned the way God intended; emotionally, mentally and physically whole. Everything in their bodies functioned the way it was created to function. No cancers, diseases, colds and flu's, no chicken pots and measles. No diarrhea, no constipation, no heartburn. None of it! Think about the weather. There were no storms, no heat waves, no cold fronts, no hurricanes, no tornadoes, no volcanic eruptions, no tsunami waves, no earthquakes, no thunder and lightning, no hail storms, no mudslides, no massive sinkholes, and no rain. It was a perfect mist that kept the fruit growing and flourishing. The animals were not fighting and attacking each other. No animals tore up the garden and attacked Adam and Eve. Adam told the animals what to do. He was in complete dominion. Everything that was created lived in perfect harmony.
God's original plan for us is life without contention! If you get a revelation of what that is it so worth a praise break! If you don't remember anything else this weekend, remember God's original plan and purpose for you is "Life without Contention"!
Have a Blessed Weekend!
Brother Clarence
