The Dominion We Had, How We Gave It Up, and How to Get It Back

Just what is dominion? If you ask Webster’s Dictionary, it defines it as supreme authority or absolute ownership. You can go to numerous places on the internet where dominion has been studied and defined in many ways. I like what Biblehub.com says. The definition and scope of dominion are as follows: “Dominion, in a biblical context, refers to the authority and responsibility given by God to humans to govern, manage, and steward His creation. This concept is rooted in the idea of stewardship, where humans are seen as caretakers of the earth, accountable to God for their management of His creation.” In Genesis, God gave Adam and Eve dominion over all the earth, meaning they had stewardship over it. If we ask people on the street whether mankind has dominion over the earth, you might get a wide variety of answers—from “absolutely” to “not at all,” with some lifting up Mother Earth as the one who has dominion. Well then, just what did God give Adam and Eve in the garden? Do we still have this “dominion”? If we lost it, how do we or can we ever get it back?

I was in college, talking about how man has dominion over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all the creatures living on the earth. This is what the Bible tells us in Genesis 1:28. It says, “Then God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.’” I was convinced that this was true until a girl I didn’t know, who was listening to our conversation, spouted off, “Oh yeah? If you have this dominion, then fly around the room like a bird!” It was a fiery dart from the back that hit me in the chest. I could quote this scripture, but I clearly did not understand how to defend it. Was I getting the whole thing wrong, or was she? Did we really have dominion like the verse said, or was it all taken away? I clearly did not have wings, and therefore I could not fly around the room, proving this girl’s point to a certain extent. Apparently, I did not have the dominion I was speaking of—at least in her mind. I was still convinced of it, but how do I defend it, and what does it really mean?

First, let’s start off with the dominion we were given in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 1:28 still stands as the way it was in the garden before Adam and Eve sinned, which changed everything. Before they sinned, the Bible says that God gave all the seed-bearing plants and fruit trees in the garden as food (vs. 29). Yep, it seems as if we were all fruit-loving, veggie-eating people and animals, and that was the way the Lord meant it before they sinned. Also, verse 30 tells us, “And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. So, there were no predators or meat-eating animals; they were all in harmony in God’s creation. Under these conditions, man had complete and total dominion over all of it because that is the way the Lord set it up. One more thing that is revealed is that mankind was not supposed to die. Yes, Genesis 3:19 says, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” God said this to Adam and Eve after they sinned, meaning before this, they were never intended to return to the dust. We are eternal beings by design. Until Adam and Eve sinned, that was the plan. After they sinned, things changed. So, what happened?

Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan posing as a serpent and took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—the very thing, the one thing God told them not to do. A choice was given to stay away from this tree, and Adam and Eve chose to disobey and eat from it. In one quick moment of choice, in one fast stroke of time, the dominion man once had as a gift from God was gone. No longer did man have complete dominion over all the earth as God intended; it had been stolen by Satan. Satan wanted it all for himself—the glory of God, the power, the dominion—all of it. It would seem as if Satan had won that battle, at least in his own eyes. What a crafty move. He could never become God, but he could take the one thing he did not have—dominion over the earth and God’s creation—and he did. We no longer had this dominion; we gave it up when Adam and Eve sinned, choosing to disobey the Lord. As a result, they were kicked out of Eden, and a long list of repercussions followed.

It starts off with the plan of salvation in verse 14 of Genesis 3. I love this because before the Lord goes into what sin will do and look like in the world—which He never intended—He provides a way to get back what Satan stole. The plan for Jesus Christ was in the mix from the very start. It reads, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all the animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Boom. Sealed by the words of God. Coming from the very mouth that created the earth and everything in it. Never to be undone or taken away. Satan’s fate was sealed that very day. He—meaning Jesus—will strike/crush Satan’s head. Don’t let this truth just pass by. God had a plan to restore mankind the very day we, with our free choice, messed things up. A great and gracious God loved His creation so much that He had a plan from the start.

In Christ, we get it all back. It was planned from the beginning; the very day we gave it up, God’s plan was set in motion. Today, you can submit your life to Christ and stop trying to achieve what only Christ can offer—the everlasting dominion Adam and Eve gave away and the relationship with God they had in the garden. They walked in the cool of the morning with God, and you can too. The God of the universe wants you back, and He sent His Son to pave the way. He is waiting for you.