𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• What is one thing you were always told to do growing up? Why?
• Tell us the plot of your favorite movie. Why do you like it?
• What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “politics”? Why?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟭

In the beginning, politics.

To some people, that sentence sounds almost heretical. The phrase “in the beginning” has always been heavily associated with the biblical creation story; the word “politics,” on the other hand, belongs to the contentious, dog-eat-dog realm of human power plays. These two concepts don’t go together; they shouldn’t belong in the same sentence. Or so we think.

When we ask the question “What does the Bible say about politics?” most Christians jump to a few choice verses in the New Testament and build their theology from there. But if we do that, our perspective will be fragmented and incoherent. Instead of picking and choosing our favorite verses, it is helpful to ask what the Bible says as a whole about politics.

The concepts of governance and politics are actually embedded in the creation story itself. As the Bible’s main storyline unfolds, we get to see the full picture of politics and governance that reflects God’s good structural design for the world. One way to tell that story is to divide the biblical narrative into four acts—Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. In this lesson, we will learn about politics as part of God’s good creation.

In Act One, God created a good world and made human beings to reflect His goodness as they live in His good world. Adam and Eve flourished in the Garden of Eden. Their world was characterized by unbroken justice and universal peace.

As Lord over all creation and ruler of the whole earth, God gave Adam and Eve a set of divine instructions for the ordering of the world.

𝟭. 𝗔 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘦.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟮:𝟭𝟲–𝟭𝟳

God wanted Adam and Eve to rely upon Him for knowledge of good and evil. They were not to determine for themselves what they might call good and evil, moral or immoral, right or wrong. That prerogative belongs to God alone. How do you think the world would be different if Adam and Eve had listened to and obeyed God?

𝟮. 𝗔 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “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 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟴

God mandated Adam and Eve to build strong families, communities, and, by implication, societies. From the beginning, God instituted marriage and family and wanted human beings to flourish in direct relationship with Himself. Since God’s original design included and valued marriage and family, how are we supposed to live in light of this?

𝟯. 𝗔 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘉𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘵 . . .” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟴

The “filling of the earth” refers to the spreading out of human families to different parts of the land. “Subduing” refers to the tilling of the soil, the working of the ground, and taking from God’s created world and making something out of it. This is a command to bring out the hidden potential of the world. How have you learned to value work and fulfill this cultural mandate?

𝟰. 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

“. . . 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟴

God mandated Adam and Eve to rule over the animal kingdom. To “rule” here means that humans are to promote the well-being of animals and protect them. This is not a license to abuse and kill, but a mandate to preserve and protect. Based on this passage, what was the scope of mankind’s dominion?

All of these combined form God’s mandate for Adam and Eve to build a human society that:
• is in close relationship with God (a blessing to 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺),
• goes far and wide to work the ground and build culture (𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘵), and
• is in a benevolent relationship with the rest of the created order (𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 the animal kingdom).

Politics, defined as the theory and practice of governing a society, is deeply embedded and heavily implied in these mandates. “Politics” is derived from the Greek words for citizen (𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦̄𝘴) and city (𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴). Though the Bible doesn’t use the term explicitly, the mandate to build society, govern it, and put order into it has been there from the very start.

Had this world remained untainted by sin, it would have blossomed into a society of people who loved God and each other. Humankind would have developed art, science, education, sports, business, and politics in justice and peace. There would be no wars, no world hunger, no dirty politics, no leadership scandals. The political realm might have just involved leaders deciding relatively simple things together, such as whether to drive on the left or right side of the road, or when to start the academic year. Sadly, Act Two—the Fall—happened, and that idyllic world quickly unravelled.

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• If politics is part of God’s good creation, why do many people today think it is a necessary evil? What did you learn today, and how will you apply it in your life?
• God created humans to work the earth. What does this say about our jobs and businesses?
• The regal mandate tells us that we are stewards of God’s creation, not mere users. How does this affect your identity and the way you view yourself?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for making the world the way He did. Pray that you will have a biblical understanding of every aspect of the world.
• Pray that God’s design for our society would be followed. Ask Him for wisdom for our leaders and order in our land.
• Pray for God’s grace to obey the commands He gave you. Pray for His strength to do your part in building our society and nation.