Credo
17 February 2025
At least one third of our daily schedule consists either of us working or studying. This fact alone should prompt a certain awareness of how we ought to glorify God in an integrated and non-dualistic manner in the very marketplace or school that we have been placed in.
By dualistic, we refer to a view of life that teaches we can only glorify God in the ‘sacred’ sphere—such as serving in the church, attending prayer meetings, or regularly participating in Bible study. Sadly, this perspective often leads to a neglect of living before God in other spheres of life, such as in family, work, study, and state.
It is noteworthy that the Bible does not recognize an opposition between the sacred and secular—this dichotomy is a creation of the modern Enlightenment worldview. The real opposition in the Bible is between true worship and idolatry (cf. Deut. 5:6–10; 6:4–15).
What then are the implications of this concept?
It means that both true worship and idolatry can occur in all spheres of life. The ecclesiastic sphere is not exempt from the danger of idolatry, and non-ecclesiastic spheres can be redeemed by the story of the Gospel and of God’s kingdom.
This is where the cultural mandate applies. In the beginning was the cultural mandate, because before the fall into sin, humanity was given a cultural mandate. “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15). The word “to work” in the original Hebrew is avad (עבד), the same word often translated as worship. This again affirms that there is no dualism between worshiping God and working the garden.
For John Calvin, Adam’s labor to work the garden in the original creation was pleasant and delightful. On the one hand, Adam possessed what God had entrusted to him; on the other, he was required to use it frugally and moderately. This biblical creative tension (possessing and not possessing; cf. 1 Cor. 7:29–31!) informs Calvin’s understanding of stewardship, as shown in his comment on Gen. 2:15:
Let him so feed on its fruits that he neither dissipates it by luxury, nor permits to be marred or ruined by neglect. Moreover, that this economy, and this diligence, with respect to those good things which God has given us to enjoy, may flourish among us; let every one regard himself as the steward of God in all things which he possesses.
Thus, being a good steward consists of both working/cultivating and keeping/safeguarding the garden. One cannot exist without the other. In agreement with Calvin, Herman Bavinck writes:
The first task defines his relationship to the earth, the second his relationship to heaven. Adam had to subdue to earth and have dominion over it, and this he must do in a twofold sense: he must cultivate it, open it up, and so cause to come up out of it all the treasures which God has stored there for man’s use; and he must also watch over it, safeguard it, protect it against all evil that may threaten it, must, in short, secure it against the service of corruption in which the whole of creation now groans.
When Paul wrote that “the whole creation has been groaning together” (Rom. 8:22), he had the eschatological hope for a cosmic redemption in view. This is why the redemption of every sphere of life through the cultural mandate is an important task for Christians.
Christian believers are expected to fulfill the cultural mandate, although God can also use unbelievers to further his plan regarding the coming of his kingdom. Here we see the inseparable relationship between the cultural and evangelistic mandates.
The evangelistic mandate is to proclaim the gospel to all people with the hope that they may know Jesus Christ, who “fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q/A 31). Those who know the will of God through the evangelistic mandate will carry out the cultural mandate according to God’s intention. Thus, the evangelistic mandate precedes the cultural mandate.
Conversely, the coming of God’s kingdom through the cultural mandate may serve as a witness to the kingship and lordship of Christ. In this context, the cultural mandate precedes the evangelistic mandate.
Whether it precedes or follows, the evangelistic mandate should go hand in hand with the cultural mandate. It is unnecessary to rank one as superior to the other, for both can be executed in parallel.
In the evangelistic mandate, we humbly acknowledge our unrighteousness and point to the righteousness of Christ. In the cultural mandate, we imitate the righteousness of Christ while participating in the story of his kingdom.
For the kingdom of God is… of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
Fulfilling the cultural mandate is a call to manifest the embodiment of true righteousness, peace, and joy.
Do we treat every person righteously in our work or show partiality (cf. James 2:1, 9)? So far as it depends on us, do we live peaceably with all (cf. Rom. 12:18)? Are we peacemakers (cf. Matt. 5:9) or instigators who cause divisions (cf. Jude 19)? Do we work joyfully and create a joyful environment around us or cause labor to be hard and burdensome (cf. Luke 11:46)? The former are embodiments of God’s kingdom, while the latter are typical of the worldly kingdom.
Living in a fallen world, we surely recognize the story of the worldly empire which permeates all spheres of life. The Reformation tradition speaks of total depravity. Against this, we must believe in the total or cosmic redemption that God is working in this world.
In the ETHOS Pulse article of September 2020, Dr. Roland Chia warned about the dangerous interpretation of the cultural mandate in dominion theology. The original biblical understanding of having dominion, as commanded by God, was indeed intended to rule over lower creatures and not over fellow human beings.
In his commentary on Genesis 1:26, Calvin had already warned that having dominion was a “very small” portion “of the image of God.” Therefore, a good and sound theology of the cultural mandate should not be developed primarily from the dominion mandate but from the restored image of God.
According to Ephesians 4:23 and Colossians 3:10, the restoration of God’s image consists of the renewal of true righteousness, holiness, and knowledge. Besides practicing righteousness, as mentioned above, the cultural mandate is fulfilled when Christians fully consecrate themselves to live out the story of God’s kingdom, possessing true knowledge of God, themselves, fellow human beings, and lower creatures.
Holy living means that everything we do is done to the glory of God (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31). The deeper we know God, the more eager we become to fulfill his cultural mandate, “knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).
The final comfort for those who faithfully carry out the cultural mandate is “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Rev. 14:13)
Rev Dr Billy Kristanto is a member of the Theological Commission of World Reformed Fellowship. Graduated from Heidelberg University (Ph.D in musicology, Th.D in systematic theology), he currently pastors at International Reformed Evangelical Church in Berlin.