REPLENISH AND SUBDUE
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 (Genesis 1:28).
God made this world, and gave Adam the authority to run it. He placed all things under him, and gave him dominion, to be in charge of everything, living and non-living (Genesis 1:26). When He said to man, “Replenish the earth,” the word “replenish” brings to mind some very important thoughts. The beautiful world God created had become a chaotic mass, and He blessed man and charged him to replenish it. To replenish means to refill, refurbish, replace, repair, or restore.
That means something had gone wrong; there was a devil out there who had ruined things, and man was given the opportunity and responsibility to fix it. That’s the beautiful life to which we’ve been called in Christ: a life of dominion, authority, blessings, and control over the world in which we live. We’re to tame this world and subdue it.
However, God didn’t charge us to subdue one another, in the earth. What He wants from us concerning one another is to walk in love. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
As you walk in dominion and authority over the world and its elements, over the vagaries of nature, He says, “Love one another.” Don’t exert undue dominion over others because each one of us is made in the image and likeness of our heavenly Father.