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Family
God ordained the family (Gen. 2:24), and He did so to multiply His image (1:27-28) into all the earth. In addition, God created humanity with distinction when He made them male and female. Within this family institution, God provided a way for these two distinct beings to thrive. The thriving would come through designating roles and establishing clear boundaries within those roles (Eph. 5). This will be examined in detail in the chapter on the family. Nevertheless, mankind was given the family institution whereby they could take God’s image into all the world.
Church
Just before Christ ascended into heaven—after having spent time with His disciples following His resurrection—He informed them that the Holy Spirit would come upon His followers and empower them to be witnesses starting in Jerusalem and continuing throughout all the earth (Acts 1:8). What followed was exactly what Christ had promised. The Spirit of God descended upon the people of God, and the church was born (Acts 2).
Previously, Christ had made the statement, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). Christ’s departure and the entrance of the Holy Spirit into humanity changed everything. Never had God’s Spirit resided in a community of believers (1 Cor. 12:13), never had a community of people undergone a full recreation (2 Cor. 5:17), and never had the people of God extend from within (Titus 3:5).
Now, the Church is full of born-again Christians who are provided with the opportunity to worship God with one heart, serve others with one love, and reach the lost with one desire. We will examine this in more detail in the chapter on the Church.
Community
God didn’t create mankind to be alone. In fact, we see that in Proverbs 18:1, “He who separates himself seeks his own desire, he quarrels against all sound wisdom.” Man was created to grow and live in community. One question in this regard is, “What sustains community?” There are five elements that provide insight into this question:
- Love…looking beyond the presentation and to the heart of the person (1 Cor. 13).
- Selflessness…looking beyond oneself and to the needs of others (Phil. 2:4).
- Consistency…being present and available for others (1 Thess. 2:8).
- Humility…living within the reality of your continual need to grow (Phil. 3:13-14).
- Confession…recognizing, agreeing, and seeking restoration from the failures and hurts one has caused to self and the community (1 John 1:9).
Workplace
Sin did not create work. In fact, work was never cursed. Sin brought a curse upon humanity and the earth, not the other way around. Thus, work is not only good but godly. God is then not only the source of work, but the example to follow. God’s work never ceases, and man’s work never ceases. Stagnation is part of the curse, and thus understanding what is in fact work is of utmost importance.
This sphere of influence then provides humanity with an opportunity to not only image God, but to do so as He intended. We will explore this in more detail in a later chapter.
Friends
Doug Wilson points out in his book Future Men that, “Friendships grow around common interests, but these interests can be sinful or spiritually unhealthy. In order for the friendship to be healthy, the focal point of the friendship, the point of common interest, needs to be healthy as well.”[1] What Doug Wilson understands is that friends will usually be found; however, if the point of connection isn’t healthy then the friendship will ultimately land in slippery places.
I’ve experienced this. I’m sure you have as well. There’s another point about friends that needs addressing as well. That is to say that friends need to be distinguished between patients and friends. There’s a difference. Tommy Nelson, Senior Pastor of Denton Bible Church remarks, “As a pastor I minister to a lot of fallen people, and I make a distinction between my patients and my friends. The patients are not my friends—not in a true, deep, intimate way. I truly like them and want the best for them. But they don’t get my ear. They don’t get my heart. I don’t live for their pleasure. You have to distinguish between the two.”[2]
The book of Proverbs has a lot to say regarding friends as well. For instance, we learn from Proverbs 18:24 that, “A man of too many friends comes to ruin.” Moreover, a true friend loves at all times (Prov. 17:17), and that whoever walks with the wise will be wise (Prov. 13:20). We see also that a friend doesn’t repeat matters of one friend to another friend (Prov. 17:9), and that a man given to anger is to be avoided as a friend (Prov. 22:24-25). Proverbs goes on to tell us we should not forsake our friends (Prov. 27:10), and that friends are like iron sharpening each other (Prov. 27:17).
Jesus lays out the clearest injunction regarding friends and ultimately how friendship is truly displayed when He said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
Thus, the friendship sphere provides an opportunity to not only be shaped, but to shape others leading to growth and development. It’s a synergistic relationship.
Government
Christians are to influence the government by praying (1 Tim. 2:1-2) for this God-ordained institution (Rom. 13:1-2), as well as submitting to it (1 Pet. 2:13-14) in so far as it doesn’t command and compel evil. At that point, the Christian must yield to God’s will above government in the same way the ancient Egyptian mid-wives did to Pharaoh’s decree to toss Jewish boys into the Nile River. Moreover, Christians are privileged to change the government by their investment of time, talent, and treasure—assuming they live within a governing system allowing such influences. As is commonly known, the easiest and most practical influence upon government is to vote—assuming this is possible.
Nevertheless, government provides a sphere of influence for each of us to influence and change. But, it should always be remembered that, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord;
He turns it wherever He wishes.”[3]
Next time, we’ll examine a biblical vision for Self-Leadership.
[1] Douglas Wilson, Future Men (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2001), 79.
[2] Tommy Nelson, The 12 Essentials of Godly Success: Biblical Steps to a Life Well Lived (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2005), 124.
[3] New American Standard Bible, v. Prov. 21:1.
— November 4, 2021