Solid, biblical churches today, in one way or another, teach or mention the first three of our four pillars in our “Theology for Dummies” course of study—1.) “God is absolutely sovereign,” 2.) “Man is absolutely sinful,” and 3.) “God relates to man absolutely by grace alone.” 
However, today’s churches are generally silent about the fourth—4.) ”Now what do I do?” This seems strange, since the Bible’s very first mention of man at all (Genesis 1:26-28) was at his creation when God declared WHY HE WAS CREATING HIM! It was to 1.) bear God’s image, 2.) to rule over all the earth and all it contained, and 3.) to reproduce and fill the earth with offspring! Why wouldn’t the church teach its members God’s reason for their very existence?
We saw last week that the Fall, the Cross, Christ’s Ascension, and Pentecost were all a part of that original master plan. As God was in the process of implementing this plan, early 16th century reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin played foundational and pivotal roles. Our nation, the United States of America, is a direct result of their influence and teaching. One of my son’s non-Christian professors in graduate school told him that “The real Father of our Country is not George Washington but John Calvin,” implying that we need to counteract that unfortunate fact!
However, being a mature Christian is not, as some think, simply learning and believing what Calvin and Luther believed! No, as long as we are alive in these earthly bodies we are ALL “little children,” as were Calvin and Luther, and those of us still living are all still learning!
One of those “still-learning” little children, was Abraham Kuyper, a pastor-politician in the Netherlands, who became Prime Minister of that country in 1901. He is credited with one of those “still learning” adjustments to John Calvin’s teaching on the Kingdom of God. With his insights on “sphere sovereignty” Kuyper clarified what, why, and how God will use me, in this life today, to fulfill my “Eternal Purpose” of ruling over the earth.
Hebrews 11:1 says “Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see”. I am learning that fully trusting what our Heavenly Father tells us makes that truth a reality RIGHT NOW! Yes, ruling over the earth will be a reality for us, in the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21, 22 RIGHT NOW, as we learn to trust our Daddy fully. The leaves of the Tree of Life in the middle of the City are for the “healing of the nations,” who are still in the process of being healed (Revelation 22:2)!
It is Kuyper’s teaching, along with the creative inspiration of my book-cover designer, Jeff Flynn, that are fully responsible for my Ship of the Kingdom diagram. I have introduced this diagram frequently in my postings, and it is pictured here. There is a treasure-trove of information in Kuyper’s teaching, and this picture makes it easily accessible to our understanding.
Next week I want to begin to dissect it in some detail. This diagram answers beautifully the question posed in the title of today’s blog posting, the most basic and important question a committed, led-by-the-Spirit, walking-by-faith believer can ask: “What, Where, and How Do I Rule Over the Earth?”.