The Greatest Among You II - Syllabus
Lesson 4
We have a dominion! Were you aware of that?
1. Give the meaning of dominion.
2. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our ______ , according to Our_______ ; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26)
3.
What is man that You are _______ of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
(Psalm 8:4)
4.
For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have
_________ him with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:5)
5.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put
___ ________ under his feet, … (Psalm
8:6)
6. _______ sheep and oxen-- Even the _______ of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:7-8)
7. From the verses above list the areas of man’s dominion.
Man Rules Within His Dominion
From the beginning, God gave mankind dominion over the earth and everything in it. God allows man to make all the decisions concerning the earth and He does not interfere. Some of the areas we find mankind ruling within his dominion today are:
Man mines the earth for gold, iron ore, coal, etc.
He digs wells for water and oil.
He builds damns and highways.
He dynamites through mountains to build highways and tunnels.
He digs ponds and lakes and fills them with water.
He farms and plants vineyards and orchards.
He harnesses the wind and water to make electricity.
Man’s Authority Over the Animal Kingdom
Man rules over the animal kingdom. He kills and eats animals for food. He tames them for pets. He poisons or traps the ones he considers pests. He fences them in or puts them in barns. He makes clothes from their fur. He uses them to do his work. The list is endless.
Man can abuse and mismanage the things of the earth that God has made or he can take the basic supplies God has given and make something wonderful. He can plant a forest and from it he can make pianos and other musical instruments. He can make furniture or houses. He can make paper for books. He can build a fire to warm himself by.
God Made the Earth Resilient
If man mismanages the things of the earth that are under his dominion, he suffers the loss. Yet God has made earth so resilient no one man or no one generation of men can destroy the earth. God built within the earth its own power to heal itself just as he created our bodies to heal themselves. For example, great oil spills clean themselves up over a period of time. A huge forest grows over earth blackened by a careless camper who let his campfire get out of control. Time can heal most any damage man may cause.
Man Has the Power to Create Evil
Man has the power to create great evil within the realm of his dominion. Today debate rages over cloning, stem cell research, using aborted “fetus” for research and other immoral scientific practices. Before he was stopped, Hitler performed horrendous experiments on other human beings.
Man Has the Power To Use His Resources to do Good
On the other hand great good has been done through science. God gave man the knowledge and the power to create and do many wonderful things within the realm of his dominion. Think of all the people who are alive because of bypass surgeries, or premature babies who have been saved. Many of us wear eyeglasses. Can you imagine life if you did not have them? What if there were no dentists?
Think of all the inventions that man has created that have blessed our lives: airplanes, cars, plastic, computers, cell phones, microwave ovens etc…….
God Will Destroy the Earth
Through the years people have feared that man would eventually make a bomb so big that it would destroy the earth. But that is not going to happen because God has not put that power within man’s dominion. That power belongs to God:
8. Heaven and earth will ______ ________ , but My words will by no means pass away. (Mark 13:31)
10. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know _____ the time is. (Mark 13:33)
God allowed man to occupy his dominion immediately after he was created.
11. The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the ____ whom He had formed. (Genesis 2:8)
12. Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to ______ ____ _______ it. (Genesis 2:15)
13. Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would _____ _______ . And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. (Genesis 2:19)
14. So Adam ______ ________ to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. (Gen.2:20)
From the passages below tell what the person did that shows him exercising power within the dominion God gave him:
15. Genesis 4:2
16. Genesis 4:17
17. Genesis 4:21
18. Genesis 4:22
19. Genesis 6:19
20. Genesis 6:21
21. Genesis 25:27
22. Genesis 27:9
23. Ps. 107: 36-37
24. Job 1:3
25. Luke 14:18-20
An interesting passage is Psalm 82. Let’s take a look at it:
26. God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the ______ . (Psalm 82:1)
27. How long will you judge _______ , And show partiality to the wicked? Selah (Psalm 82:2)
28. Defend the poor and fatherless; Do ______ to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:3-4)
29. They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are _______ . (Psalm 82:5)
30. I said, "____ are _____ , And all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes." (Psalm 82:6-7)
You are gods!
In the above passage we see God calling those in positions of authority “gods”. He does not acknowledge them as Supreme, all knowing, all powerful, or all present as He is, but he acknowledges that he put them in their place with authority.
God put them in their place to act in God’s stead and therefore they are as “gods” within their realm of authority. This applies to any position of authority that God has ordained. It should give us a greater respect for all authority when we realize the gravity with which God looks at those who occupy its seat of control.
Woe Be To Those Who Exalt Themselves
On the other hand, woe be to the person who carves for himself a seat of authority in a place God has not ordained:
31. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of _________ ; (2 Thess. 2:3)
32. Who opposeth and __________ himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God…. (2 Thess. 2:4)
33. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall _______ with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (2 Thess. 2:8)
34. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and ______ _________ ,…. (2 Thess. 2:9)
Woe to anyone who follows those who put themselves above God’s authority. Those who exalt themselves will perish along with the ones they deceive because they did not love truth and God’s authority:
35. And with all ____________ of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the _______ of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Thess. 2:10)
36. And for this cause _____ shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (2 Thess. 2:11)
37. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had ________ in unrighteousness. (2 Thess. 2:12)
God has given us dominion over our own bodies and minds. We have the power to decide what we will do with both. God has given us very few rules to follow concerning our bodies. For the most part we can decide pretty much what we want to concerning our bodies. He has given us that authority.
God grants us the right to choose where we will live, who we will marry, what clothing we will wear, what occupation we will have, how many children we will have, whether we will go to a doctor or use natural healing methods..........the list goes on and on. Often governments or society will regulate our lives in these areas, but God gives us freedom to choose in so many, many areas.
However, there are a few areas he has regulated and we must heed His law because it is written in our best interest. One area in which He strictly governs us is in the realm of sex.
One can only have sex with a person of the opposite sex to whom they are legally and scripturally married.
The one area where we do not have power over our own bodies is in the realm of sex. We may choose our sex partner, our scriptural mate, and this person has the sexual power over our body:
38. Let the husband render to his wife the affection ______ her, and ________ also the wife to her husband. (1 Cor.7:3)
39. The wife does not have __________ over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have _________ over his own body, but the wife does. (1 Cor.7:4)
40. Do not __________ one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of _____-________. (1 Cor.7:5)
Reign With Wisdom
God gave us a dominion and the power to rule within its territory. However He instructs us to use wisdom in this reign. He desires that we exercise our senses to discern what is good and what is bad; what is useless and what is profitable.
41. For though by this time you ______to be teachers, you need someone to teach you _______ the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. (Heb. 5:12)
42. For everyone who partakes only of milk is _______in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. (Heb. 5:13)
43. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of _____have their senses ________ to discern both good and evil. (Heb. 5:14)
44. Thought question: Will God punish us if we make poor or bad choices in areas where He has not given specific Laws?
45. Name some areas where people might make some poor or bad choices.
46. From the areas you have listed, tell what you think God thinks of each one. When possible give a scripture that teaches a principle that helps in deciding in each area.
If we exercise our senses to discern good and evil, what do you think our decision will be concerning the following and why do think this:
47. Abortion
48. High School proms
49. Test tube babies
50. Cloning
51. Birth Control
52. Stem cell research
53. Mixed swimming
54. Organ donations
55. Marrying a non Christian
56. Belly button rings
57. tattoos
Let’s Review:
58. What is the realm of man’s dominion?
59. What will happen to those who elevate themselves above God’s authority? Give a verse.
60. What is one area within our personal realm that God strictly regulates?
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."