BIBLICAL FATHERHOOD -- THE GREAT NEED OF THE WORLD, 1. GOD'S ORIGINAL MANDATE

A true biblical father is a man who seeks to have a vision for God's original mandate. The original mandate was given by God to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the fall.

Genesis 1:26-28 says, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion..."

a) GOD'S IMAGE AND LIKENESS IS SACRED

The first thing we notice In this original mandate is that man was created for the express purpose of the manifestation of the likeness and image of God. It is important to note that God's likeness and image was not mentioned for the purpose of creating any other species in all the myriad of creations in heaven or in earth. This to me is amazing and it makes man's creation very special, and in a very real sense, sacred.

God, in His sovereignty, has honored and blessed mankind with the privilege of bearing and multiplying His likeness and image. This means that man in His creative potential is designed to reveal all of who God is--His love, His peace, His holiness, His mercy, His faithfulness, His power and the list is never ending. It is no wonder that the devil's mindset is to destroy man from the face of the earth for in doing so he potentially destroys God's likeness and image.

Be encouraged. Colin