Starfield – The Kingdom
Dallas Willard would say that a kingdom is the range of my effective will – my kingdom is my little world where things happen just because I want them to happen. This just might be the core of what it means to be made in the image of God.
Then God said, “Let us make man[a] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” – Genesis 1:26 ESV
Dominion would be a kingdom word. To exercise dominion means I understand that my will is effective, I can actually make things happen.
Psalm 8 could be a reflection of Genesis.
What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[b] and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet – Psalm 8:4-6 ESV
Jesus Himself states that He has all authority in the Great Commission. In that position, He tells me to disciple the nations.
Discipleship is therefore transformative. We do not just teach, we obey. If I bring Genesis back into the picture, we are to be a perfect reality as we were before the fall. The aim of knowing Jesus is becoming like Him. This is a little different from what I hear in the easy-believism of our church today.
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession” – Bonhoeffer
To be a disciple of Jesus I am subduing rebellion, and creating a new humanity that have made a decision to live under God’s word so that I/we can reflect His glorious image throughout creation.
Disciple 