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IMAGES OF GOD A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF LEADERSHIP by Massimo Lorenzini Introduction A standard dictionary definition of a leader is “a person who leads others along a way; a guide.”
Creation The biblical ideal of leadership is related to God’s ultimate sovereignty over all his creation. All authority and leadership outside of God’s immediate rule is derivative of his ultimate power and authority. God’s purpose in history is to establish his kingdom on earth. The heart of the Lord’s prayer is, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). This prayer sums up the central idea of the Bible in a few words and provides a governing motif for identifying a biblical theology of leadership. God’s creative purpose for man was to bear God’s image on earth and rule over it. The fall into sin defaced but did not destroy the image of God in man. In the time since Christ’s resurrection and ascension, God has invested all authority and rulership in Christ. Redeemed men and women, being in union with Christ, are sent in his name to proclaim the gospel until he comes again to establish his kingdom on earth. At the second coming of Christ, all the enemies of God and of his Christ will be destroyed and God in Christ will rule directly over the world in righteousness. The people of God will share in this reign of righteousness for all eternity. In the creation account of Genesis 1, all authority and power centers on God. God almighty is the One with the power to create ex nihilo. He is the uncaused cause and it is by his action that the universe came into being. Most of the verbs in Genesis 1 have God as the subject: “God said,” “God saw,” “God called.” His creative initiative is the ontological basis for the entire created order. Creation of Man Out of the God-centeredness of Genesis, man comes into the picture as the climax and crown of God’s creation (cf. Ps 8:4-6).
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; 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.” So God created man in His
own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and
subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every
living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:26-28).
Man is created in, or better “as,”
The idea of image-bearer also includes the fact that man bears certain qualities that separate him from the rest of the animal kingdom such as the capacity for rationality, morality, and community. Man is unique among the creatures of God in this regard. Man possesses these qualities in order to relate to God and to exercise dominion over the creation as God’s vice-regent. In Genesis 2, God gave the man he created a place to dwell and tend, the Garden of Eden. God exercised leadership over the man by placing him in the garden, giving him work to do, and commanding him not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus the meaning and bounds of man’s existence are determined by his Creator. Before God created the woman as a suitable helper to the man, he first gave the man responsibility to name all the animals. Here the man is told to exercise authority over the animals by naming them. Earlier, God exercised his authority in naming the things he created: “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night” (1:5), “God called the expanse Heaven” (1:8), “God called the dry land Earth” (1:9). At the end of each day of creation, God pronounced his creation “good.” At the end of the
creation of man (male and female), God pronounced it “very good.” In Genesis 2, God declared,
“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (2:18). Before
doing so, God paraded all the animals before Adam that he might come to the realization that
there was “not found a helper fit for him” (2:20). God then made the woman from a rib taken
from Adam’s body. Adam rejoiced when he saw the woman and exclaimed poetically, “This at
last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken
out of Man” (2:23). Both the man and the woman are said to bear God’s image (1:27), but
according to Paul the woman is also identified as the image of the man: “For a man indeed ought
not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man” (1
Cor 11:7). The woman bears God’s image because she was made from man. “As man carries
authority delegated to him by God, so woman carries authority delegated to her by God through
her husband. Man came from God; woman came from man.”
God made Adam the central character. Everything said in Genesis 2:7-25, the detailed account of the creation of man and woman, revolved around the man. The spotlight was upon him and everything else, including the woman, plays a supporting role. The man received the generic name that is used to identify the entire race: Adam, or Man (2:5; see 1:26 and 5:2). The man is the one spoken to by God and the one who received divine revelation and instruction (2:16-17). God brought the animals to the man for naming (2:19-20). God made the man first, then the woman. The woman was made from the man, not the man from the woman (2:22). The woman was also made for the man and was brought to him, not vice versa (2:18, 22). It was the man who commented on the woman’s creation as a fitting counterpart and named her (2:23). From any viewpoint, the whole narrative is centered on the man’s creation and provision by God.God created Adam first then Eve. Genesis chapter two seems to have been written to communicate the idea that Adam was created first to signal that the man has the responsibility to lead in his relationship with the woman. Correspondingly, Eve had the responsibility to follow Adam’s leadership. Before Eve was formed, Adam existed in the garden to care for it, he received instruction from God, and he named the animals. The creation priority of man is not without significance. The New Testament provides a divinely inspired commentary on Genesis 2. The apostle Paul wrote, “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Tim 2:12-13; emphasis added). Thus the New Testament uses Adam’s prior creation to demonstrate God’s design that men are to be the leaders and teachers in the church of God. God formed the woman out of the man. God made the man and the woman in very different ways. God formed the man out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into him (2:7). God formed the woman out of one of Adam’s ribs (2:22). The woman’s derivation from man demonstrates both equality in nature and role distinctions. This is known from the New Testaments use of Genesis 2:22. Paul concluded, based on Genesis 2:22, that “the head of woman is man” (1 Cor. 11:3) and “woman is the glory of man” (1 Cor. 11:7) because “man is not from woman, but woman from man” (1 Cor. 11:8). The doctrine of male headship and female submission finds its source in the creation account of man and woman in Genesis 2. God created the woman for the man. Genesis 2:18 reads: “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’ ” God declared that it was not good for man to be alone. Adam could not find a suitable companion among the animals (2:20), so God made him a “helper.” This helper was not to be another man. God made Adam a helper fit or comparable or suitable to him but not identical to him. The woman was made equal to Adam, yet different enough to complement him in a way nothing else can.
Adam exercised his God-given leadership in naming Eve. Before the fall, Adam named his new companion “woman” (2:23) which is a generic name, not a personal name. After the fall, Adam named his wife “Eve” (3:20) which is a personal name. It is interesting to note that Adam’s naming of God’s creatures is closely related to his search for a suitable helper. It was during the naming of the animals that Adam realized there was not a suitable helper for him (2:20). It was also when he realized that the woman was a suitable helper that he named her (2:23). Adam’s naming of the animals and of the woman was one of the means by which Adam exercised his rule over the creatures God had made according to God’s mandate (1:26, 28). God gave instructions to Adam. God commanded Adam not Eve to refrain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:16-17). There is a hint of Adam’s leadership in that Adam apparently instructed Eve about this command. Closely related is the fact that God gave Adam stewardship over the garden before the creation of Eve and he likely was responsible to explain that stewardship to Eve which included the restriction concerning the forbidden fruit.
The cultural mandate. In addition to the command concerning the forbidden fruit and the stewardship of the garden, God gave the first man and woman a job description: “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’ ” (Gen 1:28). Here are found five commands that reveal our most basic human responsibilities: to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over it. For purposes of simplification, these five can be reduced to two: multiplication and dominion. God wants his image-bearers to proclaim that God is in charge by filling and ruling the world he created. Christians today serve the interests of the King of the universe when they reproduce either biologically (by having children) or spiritually (by evangelizing and discipling others) and exercise godly dominion in their spheres of influence (home, church, work, community). These two aspects of the cultural mandate (multiplication and dominion) are at the very center of God’s purpose for his image-bearers and will be traced throughout the phases of redemptive history (creation, fall, redemption, new creation) in an effort to understand what a biblical theology of leadership is all about. God’s kingdom will come and his will done on earth and the multiplication and dominion of his image-bearers are central to his purpose. God governs man by His Word (revelation). Man was created to live under the authority of God’s Word (Gen 2:15-17). Man’s obedience was tested by God’s commandment (Gen 2:17). After the original creation, God’s moral government of the human race is carried out by means of his powerful Word. The curse came by God’s Word (Gen 3:11, 14-19). The promise of redemption came by Word (Gen 3:15, 21). The human race was preserved by one man’s obedience to God’s Word (Gen 6:9-8:19). The human race was reconstituted by God’s promises (Gen 8:20-9:17, the Noahic Covenant). Abraham was called and given promises (Gen 12:1ff, the Abrahamic Covenant). Israel was told to keep every command of God (Deuteronomy 4:1-14; 5:30-33; 6:1-9; 7:11-16). The Words of Jesus and His apostles are also authoritative as God’s Word (Matt 7:21-29; John 6:63-68; Rom 1:16ff; Gal 1:1, 8ff; 2 Pet 3:16; Rev 1:11). One’s standing with God is directly related to his relation to the Word of God. The one who believes and obeys God’s Word is blessed (Gen 15:6; Deut 28:1-14; Isa 66:1-2; John 3:36a), while the one who does not believe and disobeys God’s Word is cursed (Gen 3:17-19; Deut 28:15-68; John 3:36b). In the Old Testament, leaders were those who received God’s Word and were commanded by God’s to lead others in accord with it. The chief example is Moses who received the law from God and taught it to the people. Failure in biblical leadership stemmed from unfaithfulness to God’s Word. Examples abound from Adam and Eve to the Israelites who perished in the wilderness to King Saul and the rest of the wicked kings of Israel and Judah.
Creation summary. We see, therefore, that God is the source of authority and leadership and he has delegated authority and leadership to mankind (male and female) over the creation as divine image-bearers and to the man over the woman in the marriage relationship. Mankind’s role as image-bearer of God was not lost by the fall into sin. Though tainted by sin, man remains God’s image-bearer in the present fallen condition. For this reason man should not be murdered (Gen 9:6) or cursed (Jas 3:9). God rules over his all creation, especially mankind, by means of his Word. To fulfill God’s purpose as God’s image-bearer in the world, man must believe God and obey his Word. Fall Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s prohibition on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan
avoided the man God placed in charge and aimed his attack on the woman as if to suggest that
she did not need to be under Adam’s headship, she could blaze her own trail. Eve reasoned
independently of God’s revelation and determined to “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen
3:5). Adam was complicit in the rebellion and together plunged the human race into sin. The sin
they committed was more than a mere mistake or error. It was outright rebellion against their
Creator. John Murray stated that the fall was “an assault upon the divine Majesty, repudiation of
his sovereignty and authority, doubt of his goodness, dispute with his wisdom, [and a]
contradiction of his veracity.”
Sin’s Effect on God’s Image Sin has left its mark on man’s calling as God’s image. The curse God placed on Adam and Eve, and subsequently every man and woman, directly relate to the two functions of bearing God’s image: multiplication and dominion. Pain and strife in multiplication. “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you’ ” (Gen 3:16). Man still had the responsibility to multiply and fill the earth. But God declared that the woman would now experience great pain in child birth and hostility in marriage as a result of the fall. The glorious privilege and joy of producing images of God would now take place in the context of suffering. While the suffering in view centers on the physical pain of childbirth, every mother knows that the emotional suffering involved in raising children often follows as children inflict grief on their mothers throughout their lives. Eve certainly experienced this kind of sorrow when her son Cain murdered his own brother. Resistance and difficulty in dominion. “And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, “You shall not eat of it,” cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return’ ” (Gen 3:17-19). Man still had the responsibility for ruling over the earth, but Adam would now face resistance from the earth and his work would be plagued with difficulty. Sin brought immediate spiritual separation between God and man. Also, the curse of sin would eventually result in man’s physical death and the separation of the body and spirit: “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Man was created to be God’s image on the earth, multiplying and ruling as God’s representative. But sin has distorted man’s identity and confused his purpose. Man’s existence would be utter futility if God were to leave him in this condition. Thankfully, God did not. Redemption Though marred by sin, man continues to bear God’s image in his essential nature, however, without God’s intervention, man will never be able to escape the decay and bondage of sin so that he can function in holiness as God’s image. In Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor 5:19). God is working to conform believers into the image of Christ (Rom 8:29; Eph. 4:13; Col. 1:28; Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:2.) He will see to it that his redeemed people are fit to bear his image perfectly in the coming new world for eternity. Jesus Christ as Model Leader For Jesus, people were his method of ministry. “Jesus’ ministry centered around the training and
building of disciples.”
Jesus devoted most of his remaining life on earth to these few disciples. He literally staked his whole ministry on them. The world could be indifferent toward him and still not defeat his strategy. It even caused him no great concern when his followers on the fringes of things gave up their allegiance when confronted with the true meaning of the Kingdom (John 6:66). But he could not bear to have his close disciples miss his purpose. They had to understand the truth and be sanctified by it (John 17:17, else all would be lost. Thus he prayed “not for the world,” but for the few God gave him “out of the world (John 17:6, 9). Everything depended on their faithfulness if the world would believe in him “through their word” (John 17:20). So Jesus’ example was to concentrate on building leaders who could reproduce themselves to eventually fill the earth and have dominion in God’s kingdom. Multiplying God’s Image God’s people exercise godly leadership by multiplying image-bearers and exercising dominion in their homes, churches, vocations, and communities. Two ways Christians multiply are through raising children and evangelism. First, Christians are to multiply by having children and raising them in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4). Arguably, one of the most important biblical passages in the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 6:4-9. This passage contains the most fundamental Jewish creed known as the sh’ma (Hebrew., “hear”) in verse 4: ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This central verse is followed by the Great Commandment in verse 5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” On the heels of the greatest commandment in the Bible comes the instruction for parents to train their children in the Word of God in verses 6-9: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Why is the spiritual training of children given such prominence in the Bible? Simply because passing our spiritual inheritance on to future generations is at the very heart of our job as God’s images. Without spiritual multiplication, we fail to fulfill our basic purpose on earth. A second way Christians multiply is through evangelism. There is a close connection between the
cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28 (filling and ruling the world) and the Great Commission (Matt
28:18-20). We fill the earth with redeemed image bearers as we proclaim the gospel and make
disciples of Christ. “We fulfill the cultural mandate by completing the gospel mandate.”
The heart of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 is to make disciples. Central to this task
is reproduction as Robert Coleman observed, “The word here [“make disciples”] indicates that the
disciples were to go out into the world and win others who would come to be what they
themselves were—disciples of Christ.”
Exercising Redemptive Dominion There is a great diversity among the leaders in the Bible. The great hall of faith in Hebrews 11 is a case in point. It would be very difficult to attempt to catalog and collate all the traits of every person in the Bible that was ever used by God in leadership. A simpler approach would be to focus on an irreducible minimum of three qualities that are shared by every biblical leader. First, faith, in the most basic sense of believing what God has said. “And without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb 11:6). Since God governs man by his word, it is impossible for man to exercise godly leadership without first believing God’s word. Second, obedience. Every one of these hero-leaders in Hebrews 11 did something that they would “normally” not have done. They took risks; they did audacious things, out of sync with prevailing values and political correctness. Finally, they had been called by God, or at least God providentially placed them in position of leadership, to achieve things that reached well beyond their own horizon of personal ambition. This calling was so profoundly compelling that it gave them the ability to suffer and die for it. Biblical examples abound with men like Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, the twelve disciples, and Paul. Women too were called upon to exercise public leadership when circumstances necessitated it (e.g. Deborah and Esther), however most women in the Bible found their role behind the scenes supporting the leadership of men directly or indirectly by ensuring a godly lineage by procreation and nurture (e.g. Hannah and Ruth). Manuals and courses on leadership tend to focus on personality strengths and various skill-sets for leadership. But the biblical narrative focuses on faith, obedience, and calling. The effectiveness of our native gifts and skills as leaders depend on these. Without them kingdom leadership is not to be found. As Jesus demonstrated, men are God’s method. God calls men and women to serve him in extraordinary ways to do things they would not otherwise do. In the Bible, these people are often called “the man of God” or “the servant of God.” God very often in the biblical narratives to limit himself to working through human instruments. The popular author on prayer, E.M. Bounds, recognized this principle in one of his books:
“We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new
organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel.
This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man, or sink the man, in the plan
or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything
else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking
for better men. What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new
organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use—men of
prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not come on machinery but on men.
He does not anoint plans, but men—men of prayer.”
New Creation At the end of the present age, God promises to recreate a new heavens and new earth (Rev 21-22). The renewal of all things is grounded in Christ who is the head of a new, redeemed humanity
and his work extends to include all of creation. Graeme Goldsworthy explained, “We are thus able
to speak of regeneration in three ways: an objective regeneration in Christ, a subjective
regeneration in us, and a comprehensive regeneration in the whole universe.”
As Jesus Christ rose from the dead in a physical body, all the redeemed of the ages will also be physically resurrected to live in a corporeal existence on a new earth (Isa 65:17; Rom 8:11,19-23; 2 Pet 3:13). What was lost in the fall through disobedience of the first Adam, is restored by God through the obedience of the last Adam, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:12-21; 1 Cor 15:20-22,42-49). Jesus Christ, who is now Lord of the cosmos, will initiate his physical rule in the earth (Eph 1:21; Col 2:10; Heb 1:8; Rev 19:15). The kingdom of God which is presently hidden and spiritual will then be revealed and physical (Matt 25:31-34). God’s people will be glorified and perfectly bear God’s image according to the measure of Christ (Rom 8:29; Eph. 4:13; Col. 1:28; Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:2). They will rule with Christ over the new world in righteousness for all eternity declaring the praises and glories of God (1 Pet 2:9; Rev 3:21; 5:6-10). Multiplication and Dominion in the New Creation. In the eternal state there will be no unredeemed people, so multiplication of God’s image through
evangelism will no longer take place. What about child birth? According to Jesus, there would be
no marriage in heaven (Matt 22:30). Since there will be no marriage, and consequently no sex in
heaven, it can be reasonably assumed that there will be no multiplication through child birth in the
new creation. Randy Alcorn says “this appears to be, then, an exception to the principle of
continuity [between the first creation and the new].”
What about dominion? Will the redeemed in the new creation exercise rule over the creation? In the original creation, Adam was given work to do in keeping the garden and ruling over the creatures. With the exception of marriage and procreation, the new creation is a continuation and qualitative increase of the first. Since Adam was given work, we can reasonably assume the redeemed in the new creation will be given work to do. After all, our salvation includes good works that God has prepared for us to accomplish (Eph 2:10). We are told that we will serve God in heaven (Rev 7:15; 22:3). In Jesus’ parable of the ten minas in Luke 19:11-27, the faithful servants are rewarded by being given more responsibility in the future kingdom by ruling over a number of cities. We can reasonably deduce from this parable that part of our reward will be meaningful work in the kingdom. Conclusion A biblical theology of leadership would easily include many more principles than have been considered here. This paper has consciously chosen to limit the scope to basic principles that emerge from creation and are traceable through the phases of redemptive history—namely, that man was created to be God’s image on earth and that the assignment God gave to man included multiplication and dominion. It was demonstrated that multiplication is limited to the present age as marriage and procreation
will not take place in the new creation. With this fact in mind, Christians should be clearly focused
on our present calling to multiply God’s image through child-bearing and evangelism. God’s
objective is to redeem a great multitude of people out of every people group (Rev 5:9) and we
play a crucial role in that purpose. It was stated previously that leadership can be defined as
“taking the initiative to influence people to grow in holiness and to passionately promote the
extension of God’s kingdom in the world.”
Dominion is the other major assignment God gave to man in the Garden. We exercise godly leadership when we manage our affairs, relationships, and resources in a way that maximizes our influence for God. Because of the curse of sin, we all will physically die and our bodies decompose until the future resurrection. This present life is the only one we have to make count for eternity. It is critical that God’s people maintain an eternal perspective and prioritize their lives accordingly. God’s Word provides all the principles and promises we need to live a God-centered and God-glorifying life. We will give an account for how well we rule over the things he has placed under our care. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10). Our success lies in accepting our calling to multiply and rule, believing and obeying all that the Lord our God has commanded us. |
