“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have Dominion.” (Genesis 1:26.) When this word is uttered by God concerning your destiny, it is not automatic. It is a possibility that has been created, but there is a path God must necessarily cause you to navigate in order to arrive at that experience. When God showed Joseph a picture of the sun, moon and stars, including his brothers and father bowing down to him, it wasn’t automatic, the Bible says the word of the Lord tried him, he went through, the pit and all sorts to arrive at that destination of a prime minister. So, the question is; How is Dominion received? Does Dominion fall upon people like ripe pawpaw because it is God’s intention for man? If process is required, what then are the processes a man must go through in order to receive Dominion? This article is aimed at providing answers to these questions and further give insight as to how to walk in the Dominion mandate or have the experience of it.
Ephesians 5:18 says; “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.” [AMP]
It’s so amazing to discover that God has hidden such a secret in this verse. This is Apostle Paul writing to the Ephesian church and to believers in this contemporary time. He admonished them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and being constantly guided by Him. This means that in order to be led by the Spirit, you must be filled with the Spirit. Jesus was speaking in John 16 from verse 12 to 13, He said; “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.” So, the ultimate reason or purpose why every man must be filled with the Spirit and to be guided by the Spirit is actually to come to the knowledge or the realization of the truth.
This means that the truth is so important that the assignment of the Holy Spirit is to show man the path of truth. This also means that truth is actually a weapon, an asset or the compass for the believer. This also means that Dominion is having and fellowshipping with the knowledge of the truth. Jesus said, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. At a point He said whoever the son of man sets free, is free indeed. So, the Holy Spirit simply helps us to know Jesus the one who is the way, the truth and the life. So, lacking the knowledge of the truth is what has denied a lot of people Dominion. But this is not the intention of God from the beginning.
Having had this background, Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 began to unveil the intention of God for man from the beginning; the Bible says, Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have Dominion.” So, Dominion was not in doubt for man. But God made a very profound statement in this verse; He said let us make man. I want to believe that this is not the first time we have heard this statement. But for the sake of this discuss it is important we consider it again. As far as Dominion is concerned, the making process of a man cannot be over emphasized. When you go to Genesis 2 verse 7, God actually made the man just as He has spoken it and breathed into nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. Having made the man, for the man to have Dominion, the soul of the man must be alive unto God via the filling of the breath of God. In Matthew 28 verse 18 to 19, Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Again, we are seeing the word ‘make’ appearing there. So, the making of a man was exclusive to God and Jesus is saying all authority has been given to you, to do what? To make men. So, if God can make man and give man Dominion, and He has also given the authority to men, it then means that men can also give Dominion in relative to the proportion of the authority that has been handed over to Him by God.
So, God completed the process of making the man by filling him with His own Spirit. This is the pattern Dominion is attained in men. When God needed the seventy elder to function like Moses, He took of his Spirit and distributed among the seventy elders, when Jesus was done forming His disciples, He breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit. when Elijah was taken from Elisha a double portion of his spirit rested on him. When Jesus was about to begin His earthly ministry, the Spirit of God His Father rested upon Him in form of a dove. This is the reason why Jesus said baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. that talks about transference of Spirit. and this process is not possible outside of the unwillingness to submit to the making and the formation process.
But having received the Holy Spirit, having being formed and filled with the Holy Spirit, is Dominion automatic? This is the point I would like us to read the opening text again, it says; Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.
The Holy Spirit began to teach me something in a vision and that vision is what has inspired this article. I saw a picture of a feather being carried by the wind. And as it swayed back and forth, I noticed how weightless the feather is, and how easy it was for the wind to carry the feather about. There was no struggle as it was being carried by the wind. The direction of the wind determined the direction of the feather. Although the wind could not be seen, but the swaying of the feather could easily show or tell the direction of the wind. And I learnt a very profound lesson from this vision; I observed that from the direction of the feather, it was easy to tell the direction of the wind even though it cannot be seen. So, wherever the wind goes the feather will also go.
And the Spirit of wisdom spoke to me, He said; This is the reason why Jesus said in John 3 verse 8, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Wow! What does this mean? Does it mean that a man born of the Spirit, or filled with the Spirit is like the feather? Yes, He answered! If you want to know the direction with which the Holy Spirit wants to flow, be sensitive in the Spirit as you are being carried, it may be a place where you do not intend to go but that is where God wants you to be for the sake of your destiny and for those who God wants you to influence. This is the understanding you must get, how flexible or vulnerable you are to the Holy Spirit determines how much authority and power you will command on the earth. Graces, strength and Dominion is not for the powerful but for those who can be swayed by the Spirit just like the wind and the feather. The bible says in Romans 8 verse 14; “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” If indeed you are a son, don’t be rigid, let My Spirit carry you as it carries the feather. But if you can’t be led by the Spirit of God, you can’t be vulnerable in the hands of God. You need to be filled with the Spirit. John 10 verse 27 says; My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
So, being filled with the Spirit of God brings a man to the consciousness of Dominion and that Dominion is sustained as long as such a man is subject to the authority and leadership of the Spirit; following Him and being led by Him. As the feather is being swayed by the wind, the feather is left to be controlled by the wind. I observed that the feather itself has no capacity to fly on its own, but as high as the feather begins to go, the wind is responsible for it. Jesus said I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. {John 5:30}. The degree to how much you commit yourself to God’s will is the degree to which you will exercise Dominion on the earth. Capacities and gifts, influence and leadership are not attained my man, it is in submission to the Holy Spirit. Zachariah 4 verse 6 says; Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
What does Dominion really mean? And why is it a matter that is so dear to the heart of God? The Bible says the heaven, the highest of heavens belong to God but the earth He has given to the children of men. That was why He said in Genesis chapter 1 verse 6 that let them have Dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. This means that Dominion means to have sovereignty or control over a territory or domain. The question is; what sphere of influence or territory has God given you to dominate? Have you begun to fulfill this mandate of God? Another word for Dominion is authority, command, control, jurisdiction or power. And we have realized from how we began that these experiences cannot be operational outside of God or His will. So, I came to realize that Dominion can be summarized by these two statements:
Number One; Dominion is being conscious of Gods purposes, counsels and intents for the earth and the willingness to obey and to fulfill them. Jesus said I must work the work of the one who sent me while it is day for the night comes when no one can work. At another point He said for this purpose the son of man was manifested, that He may destroy the works of the devil. Again, He said the thief comes not but to kill steal and to destroy but I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly. Finally in Hebrews 10 verse 7 it says; Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God. Such bold statements are not made outside of the Spirit of God. The understanding of who you are, the consciousness of where you are coming from and what you are sent to do on the earth is the secret of your Dominion. And being filled with the Spirit of God after you are formed by God is what guarantees that consciousness.
Number two; Dominion is the ability to live for the pleasure of God or the demonstration of the life and power of God. Jesus said to His disciples, in Acts 1 verse 8; you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me. So, Dominion is not outside God and His Spirit; Dominion is in alignment to the will of God and you can never know the will of God if you are not led by the Spirit of God. Dominion is for those who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Looking at Acts 2 from verse 12 the Bible says; And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, these men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.
According to Joel, God said I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh. Just as He breathed upon the man the breath of life in Genesis 2 verse 7, He did it again in Acts 2 as promised to a people He had made and formed and they being led by the Spirit that had filled them began to dominate, they began to have influence, they began to function like God, they began to turn their world upside down.
This shows us a pattern; that manifestation and Dominion on the earth is according to the kind of spirit that you are filled with and you release yourself to. The Bible says, we have not received the spirit of fear, but we have received the Spirit of love, of power and of a sound mind. This means that who we follow is very important if we will actually receive the Spirit of Dominion. Because you ultimately carry the Spirit of the one whom you follow. If Jesus is the one you follow, it will only be a matter of time, you will begin to manifest the life of Christ via His Spirit. So, Jesus said to a people; if you are sons of Abaraham, do the works of Abraham. Likewise, if you are the disciples of Jesus, let it be said of you that you have been with Jesus.
When Elisha said to Elijah I want the double portion of your Spirit, He was willing to follow Elijah until he catches the spirit of Elijah. And it eventually turned out to be so, because the sons of the prophet testified that truly the spirit of Elijah rest on Elisha. That was why we saw Elisha demonstrating the power of God, we saw how that Joshua was able to lead the Israelites into the promise land because he followed Moses. And until you are willing to be made by God, until you are willing or ready to be built up it will be difficult to contact or be filled with the Spirit of Dominion. And failure to carry the Spirit of Dominion is failure to walk in the experience of the Dominion mandate that God said in Genesis 1 verse 26.
Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!
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