THE DOMINION MANDATE IS RESTORED IN CHRIST
“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17 (KJV)
A mandate means a command or authorization to act in a particular way. A command from a superior court. An authoritative order, an order, a decree or charge, an injunction or an instruction. Right from creation, God has always intended that you have dominion mandate over your life. That is why He said in Genesis 1:26, ‘let us make man in our own image and likeness’. Our God himself is the absolute One in charge. He is the beginning that created the beginning. He began the beginning and so He wanted Man to dominate what He did. For Man to dominate, he must be like Him. You can’t effectively dominate when you are not like God.
Now God himself gave this mandate. He said man must have My nature, My character and My life. So the image is you being like God and likeness is you functioning as God. To function is to dominate while image talks about your personality. In order for you to dominate, you must be like Him.
In Genesis 3, Adam disappointed God, he committed what is called high treason and lost his dominion. He did contrary to God’s instruction. The mandate was lost when Adam fell. Adam is the representative of every man born on the surface of this earth, therefore, when Adam fell, Man fell and death set in. Consequently, every one of us born on the surface of this earth is born dead. Death is not just when you close your eyes. When you are separated from God, you are dead. But in Christ we receive life and the mandate that was lost in the Garden of Eden is restored. In Christ, we are destined to reign in life.
Jesus died and rose again to restore man to rule and reign in life. It is, therefore, an insult to the finished work of Calvary if you refuse to reign. God is calling you to occupy your position on earth.
Further Reading: Genesis 1:26-30, 2:15-17, 3:6-7, Romans 5:12-17
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Psalms 81-83; Evening- Romans 11:19-36