“Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion.”
— Genesis 1:26
Fatherhood is a Kingdom principle. God has a reason and a purpose why He designated men to be fathers. No man can measure His life beyond the success of His family. If a man wants to run God’s house, He has to manage His household first. There is no greater responsibility for a man as much as fatherhood, and we need to look at God’s foundation for building the human family.
Unfortunately, many men have never had good fathers who sat with them and taught them biblical family principles that are crucial when raising a child. We need to re-enter the training of God’s foundation for building the human family, and we need to have a better perspective and appreciation of God’s calling to men to become fathers.
Let’s take a look at Genesis 1:26:
“Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion.”
This verse tells us clearly why God made man. When we look at the Bible, the Kingdom of God has always been Jesus’ primary focus. This was why He came. This was His ministry. The Bible is about a King, a Kingdom, and His royal family. A kingdom is the governing influence of a king over a territory.
The Fall of Man and the Loss of His Dominion on Earth
Let’s look first at the word “dominion.” When you read Genesis 1:26, you should read it to understand that God has meant man to govern, rule, control, manage, lead, or master something. God created humans to have dominion and power over the Earth. The first thing that God ever gave mankind was a Kingdom over the Earth.
For the men, you’re not supposed to be a man of God when you get to Heaven. You’re supposed to be a man of God on Earth, and what you do here will qualify you for Heaven. All societies create a culture. The culture reflects the country’s values, morals, standards, and nature. The plan of God was for humanity to look and act like Heaven even without coming to Heaven.
When you become part of the Kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit comes upon you, He will give you Heaven’s language. You can tell where someone is from when you hear their language. Your language gives you away that you are of Heaven. The Bible says you are on the Earth, but you are not of it (John 17:16). Therefore, the gift of speaking in tongues is a sign that you are from another place, another kingdom. So speaking in tongues is not a religious ritual or activity. It is a language.
The fall of man was not a fall from Heaven. Adam did not fall from Heaven. Going to Heaven is not restoration in God’s plan for humanity. We must understand that the fall of man is not a fall from Heaven, but it is a fall from dominion. It is a fall from our Kingdom. God never gave Adam Heaven, so Adam could not lose Heaven. He never got it. God gave him a kingdom. God gave him dominion over the Earth. So the fall of man was a loss of a kingdom.
Understanding the Importance of Fatherhood
Over 30 years ago, a popular magazine released an article saying that fatherlessness is our generation’s most destructive trend. The article said that the absence of fathers is linked to most social nightmares, such as violence among boys and early pregnancy among girls. The sociologists, behavioral scientists, and psychologists who were part of the research concluded that the father’s absence caused these problems. During this time, 49% of all families with children headed by single mothers lived below the poverty line. They were saying that fatherlessness is one of the causes of poverty in America. Another research showed that only 41% of state prison inmates grew up with both their parents, and a missing father is a better indicator and predictor of criminal activity than race or poverty. People are in prison not because of poverty or race as much as they are in jail because of the absence of a father. The statistics today are much worse than 30 years ago.
Social scientists have linked a father’s absence and the likelihood of his children being dropouts, jobless, drug addicts, suicide victims, mentally ill, or targets for sexual abuse. With fathers being absent, only 42% of kids today live with both biological parents across all races. This is why having a father living in the home is very important.
Fatherhood is essential. It has great significance. The absence of fathers leads to societal imbalances. Still, God honors Himself with the title of Father. Therefore, being a father is the ultimate role for males, to nurture and gather.
Fatherhood is the ultimate work of the male. God sees fatherhood as the source and the solution to man’s problems. The Messiah will turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the hearts of the children back to their fathers (Malachi 4:6). When a country is under a curse, it is always because the fathers are out of position. Fathers are the foundation. To be a father, you must become the source of something and sustain it. To be a father, you must sustain what you produce. Fatherhood means the source, the sustainer, the nourisher, the supporter, and the foundation of what comes out of him.
We all have heavenly genetics because we are like our God. When we were born again, we became a new creation. When God calls the male “father,” He tells the male that he is the source of something. Jesus said in John 14:7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” The father is the source. If you knew Jesus, you would know the Source.
To further understand the Kingdom principle of fatherhood, God calls the male father for a purpose. It’s part of His plan. His family’s well-being measures a man’s success. And there’s no greater responsibility for males than fatherhood.
God says the solution the Messiah will bring is that He will turn the hearts of the Father back to the children and the children back to the Father. Go 400 years forward in the New Testament, and we read these beautiful statements in John 20:17 where Jesus says: “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” This will not happen until Jesus returns to the Father because He brought us back to the Father. He has taken the children and returned them to the Father and the Father back to the children in Him.
Now, what does the word father mean? The word father from the Hebrew is the word abba, and the Greek word for father is pater. In the Old Testament, they used abba, and in the New Testament pater, which both mean the same thing. The word in Hebrew and Greek both mean “source.” Secondly, it means “sustainer.” A father is both the source and the sustainer. On top of these two roles, father also means “nourisher” and “supporter.” But it also means “foundation.”
Here’s something we must understand: God was not always a father. To be a father, you have to become the source of something. That means something has to come out of you, and then you have to sustain what comes out of you. So before anything was, God was not a father. He was just God. When God chose to create angels, and they became a part of His household, He became a father. I’ll say that again. To be a father, you must have something come out of you. You have to sustain what you produce. A father is not just responsible for bringing something into existence; he must also provide support, nourishment, and foundation for what he has brought forth.
In the same way, God is not only the source of creation but also the sustainer of all things. He upholds everything by the power of His word. Therefore, He is the true Father, fulfilling the role of both source and sustainer.
It is important to recognize that every human being that has ever existed was once inside of God. Before our physical bodies came into being, we were in God. The Psalms teach us that even before our substances came together, we were not just in the mind of God, but we were in God Himself. This emphasizes the deep connection between humanity and the divine. The vastness of the universe is a testament to the magnitude of what came out of God’s creative power. Even with all our advancements, we can still not measure the universe’s extent.
Understanding our origin in God helps us grasp the significance of His fatherhood. As the Source and Sustainer of creation, He assumes the role of a true Father. Just as a human father releases and sustains his children, God releases and sustains creation. By recognizing this truth, we can appreciate the depth of God’s love and care for His creation, including humanity. As children of God, we don’t have to go to Heaven to see our Father. We have heavenly genetics. We have traits just like our Father. Jesus said that He and the Father are one (John 10:38). In John 8:19, Jesus said, “You do not know me nor do you know my father. If you knew who I was, you would know who he was.”
A Call to Fathers
Men and fathers, married men, you need to learn to say that in front of every good man is a better woman because you are holding her up. And you have been called to be the foundation, to hold up the family. The function of the male is to father the woman. The male is the source because he has seed. Women have no seed. So the male carries seed in his loins, and he carries seed for four generations. Whatever you do, even if you do it in secret, it is never secret; it is always generational. So the male seed determines the quality and the kind of tree that comes out. Therefore, the male must maintain his offspring. Therefore, the male is the source of life.
Men, you are the key to the whole foundation of the family. You are the head just as Christ is the head of every man, and the head of the woman is man. The woman is not the foundation; the male is. The woman was called to be a helpmate, not to hold up the family. The male is called to be the foundation, to carry the load. The male is designed to protect the fruit that comes out of him.
Fathers play a crucial role in the lives of their wives and children. They have the power to protect, guide, and support their children. It is their responsibility to provide for their family and be a source of strength and wisdom. Take pride in being a father and embrace the role that has been entrusted to you. Your love, care, and presence in your wife and children’s lives make a significant difference. Keep carrying the load and fulfilling your purpose as a father. You have been built for it.
God has a purpose for each person. Understand His call to fathers by watching the full video here: https://youtu.be/fVIFQ–g0AY.
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