fruitfulness mandate
Definition
The fruitfulness mandate is the first component of God’s commission to humanity at creation: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28a). It is structurally linked to the dominion mandate (Gen. 1:28b) and together with it forms the dual calling of humanity as God’s image-bearer: reproduction and stewardship. In this corpus the fruitfulness mandate appears as a foundational concept for its soteriological extension: earthly fruitfulness is a type of the eschatological generation of sons of God and of the fruitfulness of the spiritual life.
Uses per Author
Stephen Jones
Jones connects the fruitfulness mandate to his number symbolism: the number 22 symbolizes the combined fulfillment of fruitfulness and dominion from Gen. 1:28. The mandate is also the basis of the Jubilee principle: multiplication of people, land, and livestock runs parallel to the multiplication of the Kingdom:
“The number 22 links the fruitfulness commission and the dominion commission of Genesis 1:28. Human fruitfulness is the earthly prototype of the spiritual generation of sons of God — the one prepares for the other.”
(The Biblical Meaning of Numbers, Chapter 22)
George Warnock
Warnock sees the fruitfulness mandate reflected in the creation cycles of nature: the seasons, seedtime and harvest, the growth of the great Sequoia — all illustrate God’s faithfulness to the mandate “Be fruitful”:
“Seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter shall not cease (Gen. 8:22). God maintains His own order of fruitfulness through the seasons — and the same pattern applies to the spiritual harvest He has promised.”
(Evening and Morning, Chapter 2)
Warnock also connects the fruitfulness mandate to the ecclesial calling: the church is called to be spiritually fruitful — not primarily in numbers but in the production of mature, full-grown sons (the manchild motif).
Watchman Nee & Witness Lee
Nee sees the creation fruitfulness as a type of the church as Eve — brought forth from Christ as the second Adam. The church is God’s fruitfulness-response: many sons born from Christ’s side:
“Eve was formed from Adam — not created separately but out of him. In the same way the church is not formed outside Christ but out of Him. This is the fruit of His resurrection.”
(The Economy of God, Chapter 12)
Cees Noordzij
Noordzij connects the fruitfulness mandate with the eschatological expression of the imago Dei: the multitude of sons of God who together bear the one image of Christ is the eschatological fulfillment of “Be fruitful and fill the earth”:
“God’s goal was not one man in His image but a multitude — a creation full of His harvest. The sons of God together fill the earth with His image, each as a unique expression of the same Christ (Rom. 8:29).”
(Moses and the Way to Sonship, Chapter 6)