TIMING AND DISTANCE Part Two.

Part Two – The Three Masteries – Domain (Communion)

If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.
- Sun Tzu, 《The Art of War, Chapter 10 – Terrain》

Life, Business, Ministry, or whatever else we participate in is a war. You have a goal you aspire to, forces opposing that, and a field in which this conflict manifests itself. We must be familiar with these three characters if we are going to be able to navigate our way to what counts as success to us. There are three Masteries we must gain. The first is:

1. MASTERY OF DOMAINS
In the Biblical account of the creation of Adam, God gives him what is referred to by some as the fivefold mandate [Genesis 1:28]. He was told to:

i) Be fruitful
ii) Multiply
iii) Replenish the Earth
iv) Subdue it
v) Have dominion over it

The commission to Subdue is of particular interest to us. To subdue means to bring under control by force or authority. That it is included in this mandate implies that there existed, outside of and in contrast to the paradisiacal setting of the Garden of Eden, forces and/or beings that needed subjugating. One of these entities found its way into the Garden and tempted Adam and Eve into disobeying God.

What we can draw from this is a principle about the two domains in which man operates and their function. The first domain was man’s home—Eden—a domain of communion. We can think of Eden as Man’s (military) base. Before an army goes into battle, they first establish bases or camps from which they will launch their attacks and to which they will return after battle. Eden is pictured as a place of safety, a place of fellowship, and a place of rest. The second domain is the domain of conquest, the territory outside of the garden he was commanded to replenish, subdue and rule over.

THE DOMAIN OF COMMUNION

The domain of communion can be thought of as the environment in which we are nurtured, find rest, and experience the fellowship of man and God. The success of our conquest in the second domain depends on the life we experience in this one.
The elements that constitute this domain—of which we are products—include:

i) The company we keep

Whether we like it or not, whether we can admit it or not, we are susceptible to the influence of the company we keep. Author Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” We can think of this as the Law of Association. Proverbs 13:20 tells us that He who walks with the wise will himself grow wise, and the Apostle Paul implores us not to be naïve to the fact that bad company can corrupt good morals [1 Corinthians 15:33]. The company we keep will either derail us, slow us down, or help us fulfil our purpose. We must work to ensure that the people we surround ourselves with align with our identity and our purpose.

ii) The grounds in which we are nurtured

The environments you are found in will make or break you. Certain kinds of trees only grow in certain kinds of soil and climate—if you desire a certain outcome in life, you must join a culture where such an outcome is the norm. You cannot learn to be a great football player in a Bowling Alley. Where are you being fed and mentored? Does that environment produce the kind of outcome you would like to see in your own life? We cannot always immediately remove ourselves from environments that don’t help us cultivate the outcome we want to have, but we can, first and most importantly, emancipate our minds from the limits of the environments.

iii) The fellowship of God

The Lord Jesus refers to Himself as the Vine and we as the branches; He implores us to abide in Him before we can bear fruit [John 15:4]. This abiding refers to, among other things, an intimate fellowship with Him. We must learn to linger with God in His word, in Prayer, and fellowship with His Spirit and to walk with Him in purity, holiness and reverence. No one who walks in fellowship with God is unfruitful. No one. People who walk in fellowship with God also have the benefit of His leading and are safer from their foes than those that don’t.

This is Eden. This is our base/camp. But there is a world outside of this that needs to be subdued. Outside of the Domain of Communion, Eden, there is a Domain of Conquest. We continue in the next part.