Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
The Bible is full of parables and allegories. The word “replenish” means to be full and have abundance. And the word “subdue” means to bring into subjection or control. And the fish, fowl, things that move on the earth are to be controlled. These all represent things (thoughts, emotions, intentions, desires, fears, battles) within man.
John 16:24-25 “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.”
The Bible speaks in proverbs, but it clearly says God wants and needs man to be full of abundance. But abundant in what exactly?
Genesis 2:4-7 “These [are] the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
The “earth” [and the heavens] represents something that man comes from and is a part of. And before it can rain on the “earth”, which in turn sprouts and grows the seeds, there needs to be a man who will “till his ground”.
Luke 8:10-15 “And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with patience.”
The parable of how the earth and the seeds interact with man is somewhat explained here in Luke 8. The parable says that the seed of the word can be planted within man, but if man is not good ground, which represents patience through a pure sincere heart, then the earth will not be replenished nor be filled with an abundance of “fruit”.
And it also says that this “fruit” will not come with having cares and concerns of getting the needs and pleasures of “life”.
Luke 4:3-4 “And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
Having a need fulfilled is not the same as planting the seeds of the word of God.
John 12:24-25 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
The seed that man plants in his earth must first die before it will produce fruit, and this comes with patience, where patience is a continual effort and constant battle of accepting the present. When man gives up his cares, the obsession for a need dies. The need may not die, but the seeds of concern (worries and frustrations) die. And it is not that man is no longer passionate about life, it is just that the focus of his passion changes. Man’s initial intention is to strive for the goal of obtaining a passionate need (i.e. cares and pleasures of life spoken of in Luke 8 above). This is what can die and man then instead enters a state of patience where he no longer obsesses over anything but instead becomes patient in everything (“good ground” that allows the seeds of worry to die and the fruit of contentment to grow). The definition of patient is: “able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious…”. Patience is what is spoken of in Genesis 1 when it says man needs to have dominion and subdue the earth. Where being fruitful has more to do with being full of peace than having an immediate physical need fulfilled. The death of the obsession to obtain what one needs translates man to a state of living in the moment (abundant peace) rather than striving for a future moment that man thinks he needs. Enjoy the present because IT is a “present” from God, and that is the patience spoken of in the Bible.
Matthew 13:8 “But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.”
“Good ground” causes one to be fruitful and multiply, and this does not have much to do with producing more human children on the planet, which is simply fruit of the human body (flesh). Not to say that having physical children can’t encourage spiritual growth.
Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Fruit of the Spirit is the same fruit spoken of in Genesis 1:28 that replenishes the earth [and man]. But man must first crucify (stake down, subdue, control, let die) his anxious cares of getting the so called needed or wanted pleasures of life. And allow the spirit of patience (tolerant peace and calm in the moment or in other words dominion of all things within) to live. And this patience will allow the fruit of the Spirit to flourish.
James 5:7 “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.”
Fruit from the early and latter “rain” follows temperance (self-control – dominion over those things).
But how does this make man happy?
1 Corinthians 15:35-38 “But some [man] will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? [Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other [grain]: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.”
1 Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
The seed that is planted produces fruit that looks different from the seed that is planted. This is because the seed dies (i.e. gives up its own life) in itself in order to give life to the new growth. Man can realize that his life (his passions, his worries, his cares, his-self) are not what they seem. They are of the corruptible seed. They are not his real life and he can lose it to gain something else.
Romans 5:3-4 “And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:”
Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,…”
It is during tribulations that man can allow the seeds of doubt, anger, frustrations, and longing desires to die, and with patience hope will sprout. Tribulation exercises man’s patience muscle. And this helps make man happy because when he is in need, he is in pain. When he learns to let go of need, anger, frustrations, and longing desires, he then lets go of suffering. And this also goes in line with allowing what the spirit will bring rather than demanding what man wants, knowing the present from the LORD is better (higher and more powerful) than what man could ask for anyway. And receiving the blessing that the highest God has to offer creates happiness in man.
Romans 8:25 “But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for [it].”
Because remember, when man plants a seed he cannot know exactly when it will bear fruit until patience has endured for the time of harvest.
Hebrews 10:36 “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”
James 1:3-4 “Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
When the earth is replenished, man is wanting nothing and perfectly content as is in the present. And this contentment is the gift of abundance in itself (lacking nothing – fruit of the Spirit).
James 5:10-11 “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”
Happiness comes from taking control (i.e. having dominion) over worries, longing desires (lusts), frustrations, anger, anxieties, criticisms, etc. and allowing them to die (crucify), so the seeds of the Sprit can rather grow fruit of happiness (real life). But how does man take control of all of these things and allow them to die to obtain real life?
Revelation 14:12-13 “Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”
The “dead” are those who have faith that doing the commandments of God will produce happiness and real life abundantly (i.e. “born gain”). But what are those commandments?
Philippians 4:6-9 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
The commandments are that simple. Don’t worry, be happy…
Acts 12:24 “But the word of God grew and multiplied.”
To be fruitful and multiply involves planting the seeds of the “word of God” and allowing all of the corruptible seeds to die and the fruit of the Spirit to grow.