God at Work, Part 1

Work is at the very core of who we are and what we were always meant to do. It is among our first and highest callings–to bear the image of God by becoming His partners, by stewarding creation for His glory and for the good of others.

We Praise You
Bethel Music

Firm Foundation (He Won’t)
The Belonging Co.

A Thousand Hallelujahs
Brooke Ligertwood

Our Perception
Job/Work = Money

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Genesis 1:27-28
So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

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Genesis 2:8
The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

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Genesis 2:15
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

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Our “God-Given” Jobs
Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion, and work and keep the garden.

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Tselem – “Image” or “Idol” or “The visible representation of an invisible being.”

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Genesis 1:28
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion…”

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Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth
“’Be fruitful and multiply’ means to develop the social world: build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws . . . ‘subdue the earth,’ means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, compose music.”

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Tim Keller
“We are to actively partner with God in taking the world somewhere.”

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Genesis 1:28
“…work the keep the garden…”

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Avad – “Labor” or “Service” or “Worship”

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Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth
The lesson of the Cultural Mandate is that our sense of fulfillment depends on engaging in creative, constructive work. The ideal human existence is not eternal leisure or an endless vacation – or even a monastic retreat into prayer and meditation – but creative effort expended for the glory of God and the benefit of others. Our calling is not just to “go to heaven” but also to cultivate the earth, not just to “save souls” but also to serve God through our work. For God himself is engaged not only in the work of salvation but also in the work of preserving and developing His creation.

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Psalm 115:16
The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man.

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