What is the creation mandate?
This is the command or mandate God gave to humans after He created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.” (Gen 1:28)
What is God commanding here?
There are two parts to this mandate; first, the procreation mandate and second the dominion mandate.
What is the procreation mandate?
This is God’s command to His created humans that they are to bear children and to promote the value of family and multiplication.
Did the Old Testament saints fulfill this mandate?
Yes, they did. It is repeated for each of the patriarchs:
- Abraham Gen 17:2; 20;
- Isaac Gen 28:3;
- Jacob Gen. 35:11
What is the dominion mandate?
This is God’s command that the persons He created are to take hold of this earth and to make the earth serve His needs.