By Caro November 7, 2025
This was one of the first things God said to Adam and Eve: Have dominion! Yet, many Christians are only trying to survive their daily lives. Where has our heritage gone? It is not beyond our reach, thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus.
This was God’s original plan. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” (Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV). God did not tell us to dominate one another. This desire to dominate one another in a marriage arose after sin (Genesis 3:16), but through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we have repaired this discord (Ephesians 5:20-21), and we can now reclaim our authority over our resources. Because that is what the original mandate is about. Dominion over fish, livestock, and land was a way of saying dominion over our resources.
Too many Christians are merely “surviving” their daily lives. They follow trends, complain about the same problems as the world, as if they had no other choice but to do the same. They buy a 4K television because everyone else is buying one. They criticize governments because everyone else is criticizing them. They are worried about their finances because everyone is worried about the global economy. Some even expect to develop some kind of illness because their whole family has suffered from it. We are far from being in control of our resources and circumstances!
We must remember that when we give our lives to Jesus, we are no longer slaves to societal trends. “Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:34-36 NKJV). Therefore, thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we can now have dominion. When we become children of God, we also regain our authority. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19 NKJV).
Canadians should easily understand this principle. For many years, we have called this country “Canada.” But at its founding, the full name was “Dominion of Canada”. It was Sir Leonard Tilley, one of the Fathers of Confederation, who proposed this name because the word “dominion” means to be self-reliant, responsible for one’s own resources. Its success is not dependent on another kingdom. And this name was inspired by Psalm 72:8, which says (in the NKJV): “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” This is an interesting fact that helps us remember the mandate God gave to His children from the beginning of the world.
To remain in control, we must not fall back into slavery (Galatians 4:9). We can easily be distracted by what we hear and see. It’s easy to get drawn into the conversations of those around us. That’s why it’s so vital to nourish our inner selves. It is in the Word of God that we remember our inheritance, the promises God has made to us. So if we feel that our lives aren’t moving forward, that we’re only in “survival” mode, it’s because we’ve stopped exercising our dominion. Let’s return to the Word of God and reclaim our authority right now.