From the beginning, God gave mankind a clear and glorious purpose. In Genesis 1:28, God commands:
“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
This command, often called the creation mandate, is God’s original assignment to humanity: to bear His image, multiply life, and rule over the earth as faithful stewards under His authority. Yet in our day, this mandate is under open assault.
Yet in our present culture, this mandate is increasingly despised. Instead of celebrating life, we terminate it in the womb. Instead of honoring God’s design for man and woman, we redefine it. Instead of stewarding the earth under God, we worship it. These trends, though presented as progress, are in reality a regression into deeper rebellion.
Each represents not just social confusion but spiritual rebellion—a refusal to submit to the order God established. The creation mandate, far from being obsolete, confronts the sins of every generation, calling humanity to return to the design of the Creator and live under His rule.
God’s Design for Life and Dominion
The command to be fruitful and subdue the earth was given by a wise and good Creator. In Genesis 1:27–28, we see that male and female were created with distinct yet complementary roles, united in marriage for the purpose of bearing and raising children. This was not a cultural construct but a creational blessing. Life, family, and fruitfulness are good gifts from God and reflect His own life-giving nature.
Dominion was also entrusted to mankind—not as a license for exploitation, but as a calling to wise governance. Man was to cultivate the garden (Genesis 2:15), naming the animals and bringing creation into order. This was a priestly and kingly task, and it reflected the authority of God, under whose rule man served.
This original design was not burdensome but joyful. Obedience to God’s mandate led to blessing, flourishing, and communion with Him. But when mankind rebelled in the Fall, all aspects of this calling were corrupted. Instead of stewarding, man now exploits or idolizes. Instead of multiplying, he now terminates and withholds life. Still, the mandate remains. It is not voided—it now points forward to the restoration God brings through Christ.
Abortion: Rejecting the Gift of Life
The command to multiply assumes that children are a blessing, not a burden. Psalm 127:3–5 declares that children are “a heritage from the LORD,” a reward and a source of strength. Yet in today’s culture, this view is radically inverted. Children are often seen as hindrances to personal freedom, careers, or convenience. Abortion has become not only accepted but celebrated, a symbol of autonomy.
Abortion is more than a political issue—it is a theological one. It is the deliberate ending of a human life, knit together by God in the womb (Psalm 139:13–16). It does not just prevent multiplication—it destroys it. It is the literal silencing of a future voice, a rejection of God’s life-giving design, and a severing of the natural fruitfulness that He declared “very good” (Genesis 1:31).
Behind the normalization of abortion lies a worldview that sees man as ultimate—free to define morality, identity, and purpose. But God’s Word teaches otherwise. Life is sacred because it is given by God. Every child, no matter how small or vulnerable, bears His image. To reject life is to reject the Giver of life, and to defy the creation mandate at its very foundation.
Homosexuality: A Sterile Union
When God created man and woman, He established the pattern for marriage and sexual union: one man and one woman joined together in covenant. This union was not arbitrary. It was rooted in God’s design for procreation, unity, and the representation of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31–32). Male and female are not interchangeable—they are essential for fulfilling the command to “be fruitful.”
Homosexual relationships, by their very nature, cannot fulfill this design. They are inherently sterile, unable to produce life. This is why Romans 1:26–27 refers to them as “unnatural,” a departure from the created order. The sin is not merely in the physical act but in the rejection of God’s intent for sexuality and marriage.
Culturally, this sin is not only tolerated but affirmed and celebrated. Yet Scripture does not change. God’s design remains fixed, and deviation from that design brings not freedom, but judgment. It also brings barrenness—not just physical, but spiritual. The call to repentance is a call back to God’s good design—a return to the truth that real freedom is found in submission to His will.
Transgenderism: Denying Created Identity
Genesis 1:27 declares, “Male and female He created them.” These are not labels assigned by culture or mutable identities chosen by the self—they are divine designations, sovereignly appointed by the Creator. To reject one’s God-given sex is to say, in effect, “God was wrong.” It is not confusion alone; it is defiance. It is the ancient sin of man exalting himself above his Maker, claiming to be wiser than the One who formed him.
Transgenderism is thus a direct rebellion against God’s authority. By declaring oneself to be a different sex, a person implicitly asserts greater insight than the Creator who intricately knit them together in the womb (Psalm 139:13–14). It is a modern reenactment of Eden’s first lie: “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). The created one insists on the right to rewrite their own design.
But the consequences go deeper than identity. Transgender ideology not only defies God’s sovereignty, it also undermines human fruitfulness. Many so-called “gender-affirming” procedures—such as hormone treatments and surgeries—result in permanent sterilization. Bodies created by God to bring forth life are medically altered to guarantee that life can no longer come from them. In the name of “authenticity”, the ability to fulfill God’s first command—to be fruitful and multiply—is intentionally erased.
The answer to this rebellion is not found in more self-definition, but in repentance and renewal. In Christ, we are not called to remake ourselves but to be remade by Him. The gospel offers a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), a renewed mind (Romans 12:2), and a restored identity grounded not in self-will, but in the wisdom of the God who made us, male and female, for His glory.
Radical Environmentalism: Worshiping the Creature
Creation is good, and mankind is called to steward it. But Scripture warns of a terrible exchange: when man rejects the knowledge of God, he begins to “worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). This is evident today in the extreme branches of environmentalism, where the earth is elevated above human life.
While caring for the environment is commendable, modern eco-extremism often crosses into idolatry. Some activists advocate for the reduction—or even the extinction—of humanity in the name of protecting the planet. Campaigns exist that label mankind as a “virus” or “plague,” and propose policies that prioritize ecosystems over human dignity. This is not stewardship; it is anti-human and anti-God.
God gave man dominion over the earth—not to abuse, but to rule wisely. Creation is not a god to be worshiped, nor is man a threat to be eliminated. The earth exists for man, not man for the earth. When this order is reversed, chaos ensues. The biblical view is clear: the world is God’s, and mankind is His image-bearer, entrusted with care, not condemned to extinction.
The Mandate Remains
The creation mandate is not an outdated relic—it is a living charge that reveals God’s design and man’s purpose. In opposing it, modern culture rebels not only against an old text, but against the living God who made the world and all that is in it. Abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, and radical environmentalism are not isolated errors; they are unified in their rejection of God’s authority and man’s identity.
Yet even in the face of such rebellion, the gospel speaks. Through Christ, sinners are redeemed, minds are renewed, and hearts are transformed. God is still calling men and women back to His design—to multiply, to steward, and to live under His righteous rule. This is the true path to flourishing. And the church must not be silent. In love and courage, we must proclaim: God made us, God commands us, and in Christ, God restores us.
