Foundational
Principles of
Biblical Earth
Stewardship
By E . Calvin Beisner
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . All creation belongs to Him ( Gen . 1:1 ; Ps . 24:1 ). Though God reveals Himself in creation , the Bible , and His one and only Son , Jesus Christ , He is distinct from and transcendent over creation ( Rom . 1:25 ). Those who deny the Creator / creature distinction become futile in their thinking , and their foolish hearts are darkened ( Rom . 1:21 ).
God made man , male and female , in His own image ( Gen . 1:26 – 27 ). No other terrestrial life form bears the image of God or is of equal value or priority with human beings ( Matt . 10:29 – 31 ). Though the earth is the Lord ’ s , He has also given it to men ( Ps . 115:16 ) and mandated that they be fruitful , multiply , fill the earth , subdue it , and have dominion over everything that lives in it ( Gen . 1:28 ). Therefore , human dominion over the earth is , in principle , not sinful , and the possibility of its abuse does not negate the righteousness of its proper use .
Earth and its physical and biological systems are the “ very good ” effects of God ’ s omniscient design , omnipotent creation , and faithful sustaining ( Gen . 1:31 ). God would not have made the earth susceptible to catastrophic degradation from proportionally small causes . Consequently , wise environmental stewardship will not readily embrace claims of catastrophe stemming from such causes .
Godly human dominion over the earth means men and women , created in the image of God , laboring together to enhance earth ’ s safety , fruitfulness , and beauty to the glory of God and the benefit of our neighbors . It does not mean humans are servants rather than masters of the earth . When God had created Adam , He placed him in the Garden of Eden , which is distinct from the rest of the earth , to cultivate and guard it ( Gen . 2:15 ). The instruction to “ cultivate and guard ” the Garden does not mean , as some modern environmentalists allege , either that man is to “ serve and protect ” or “ worship and protect ” the Garden or the earth , or that man is to “ worship and hear ” God either directly or through the earth or its parts .
A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between God placing Adam in the Garden to cultivate and guard it ( Gen . 2:15 ) and His commanding Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue and rule everything in it ( Gen . 1:28 ) entails a growing population that spreads out from the Garden to transform wilderness into garden and ultimately [ the ] garden city ( Rev . 21:2 ; 22:1 – 3 ). Biblical earth stewardship , or godly dominion , is not limited to keeping the earth in the condition in which we find it . It follows that the common environmentalist belief that “ nature knows best ,” [ and ] that its transformation by humans is in principle wrong or harmful , is false .
God placed minerals , plants , and animals in and on the earth for His pleasure , to reveal His glory and elicit man ’ s praise , and to serve human needs through godly use ( Gen . 2:5 – 16 ; 4:22 ; Num . 31:21 – 23 ; Job 38 – 41 ; Ps . 19:1 – 6 ; Ps . 104 ). One way of exercising godly dominion is by transforming raw materials into resources and using them to meet human needs .
18 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW