1. INTRODUCTION

This article is a critique of Peter Orr’s position on how to teach about faith and work, based on an interview by Nancy Guthrie in September 20171. Sections 1 to 4 are the author’s summary of Orr’s responses, while sections 5 to 7 present a critique of these responses.
Peter Orr’s perspective on faith and work is primarily based on his interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:582, where Paul talks about what he calls, “The work of the Lord.”

This article is a critique of Peter Orr’s position on how to teach about faith and work, based on an interview by Nancy Guthrie in September 20171. Sections 1 to 4 are the author’s summary of Orr’s responses, while sections 5 to 7 present a critique of these responses.
Peter Orr’s perspective on faith and work is primarily based on his interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:582, where Paul talks about what he calls, “The work of the Lord.”

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

His basic contention is that while the believer must understand that his or her work is important, it must not be confused with “the work of the Lord” which, from the context of 1 Corinthians 15, he argues is “edification and evangelism.” His conclusion is that we must give ourselves to both, without confusing them.

2. CREATION & FALL

Orr begins in the book of Genesis by pointing out that work preceded the Fall (Gen 1:26-28) and therefore work is fundamentally good. The first question he deals with pertains to the so-called cultural mandate, and whether or not it is legitimate to apply it to a present-day theology of work.

The cultural mandate can be defined as the command to exercise dominion over the earth, subdue it, and develop its latent potential (Gen. 1:26-28; cf. Gen 2:15). God calls all humans, as those made in his image, to fill the earth with his glory through creating what we commonly call culture.3

Orr points out that with the Fall (Genesis 3), the world is “changed – broken;” and based on that, his answer to the applicability of the cultural mandate to Christians is, “yes and no.” He contends that it applies to us in a different way than it did to Adam and Eve before the Fall, because, “with the Fall, we can’t just go back to Genesis 1 and 2.”

He develops this argument by referring to the account of Noah in Genesis 6, in which he describes the “de-creation and re-creation” of the earth at the time of the flood. He observes that after the waters subsided, Noah was given a similar mandate to Adam, with one critical distinction – subduing the earth (which in his understanding, is the cultural mandate) was not included.

Genesis 9:7 reads, “As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” Orr contends that “subduing” is left out of Noah’s mandate because sin had made it impossible for humankind to achieve this. He argues that the language of subduing through the Old Testament is used only of God, not of human beings. He goes on to say that where Adam and Eve failed to subdue the earth, the promised Seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) is the One who was now going to do that work (A reference to Christ).

Orr’s position is that applying the cultural mandate directly to Christians essentially amounts to reading Genesis 1 and 2 as if the rest of the Bible doesn’t exist (in other words, ignoring the consequences of the Fall, and subsequent New Testament revelation about the centrality of Christ in our understanding of God’s work). He contends that the work of the Christian is now “fundamentally about Jesus and his Lordship.”

So, to the question, “Am I still under the cultural mandate?” Orr responds, “Yes, you are, but as a Christian – so you want to see the world subdued for God, which means people coming under the Lordship of Christ.”
This leads to a discussion on the relationship between the cultural mandate and the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Orr points out that it is, “not right to see them in parallel,” but that rather, “Genesis 1:28 is fulfilled by Matthew 28:18-20.” He contends that when Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” he was talking about subduing the world to the Lordship of Christ – in fulfilment of the cultural mandate.
Orr states that the language of a cultural mandate is, “quite generic and vague” – and that in the Great Commission, the specific intent of that mandate is clearly and fully expressed; namely, to bring people under the Lordship of Christ.

This leads to a discussion on the relationship between the cultural mandate and the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Orr points out that it is, “not right to see them in parallel,” but that rather, “Genesis 1:28 is fulfilled by Matthew 28:18-20.” He contends that when Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” he was talking about subduing the world to the Lordship of Christ – in fulfilment of the cultural mandate.
Orr states that the language of a cultural mandate is, “quite generic and vague” – and that in the Great Commission, the specific intent of that mandate is clearly and fully expressed; namely, to bring people under the Lordship of Christ.

On the question of the impact of the curse on work (Gen. 3:15-19), Orr states that because, “work is not separate to relationship,” the cursing of relationships is essentially what makes work so difficult. He asks the question, “If the most intimate relationship is cursed, then what does that say about other relationships?”

He concludes this section on the implication of the Fall by saying, “We can’t work our way back into the garden, we cannot create a better world apart from God… the idea of our work as part of God’s redeeming all things is not wrong, but is incomplete.”

3. REDEMPTION

Orr then turns his attention to how we are to understand work in light of Christ’s redemption. He refers to Ephesians 1, and asks the question, “What is God’s plan?” to which he answers, “It is not just a simple restoration of all things – it’s a restoration of all things to Christ; into right relationship with him. To see people rightly related to Christ; that’s God’s plan for the universe.”

He backs this up with Romans 8:29 by saying that God’s purpose is that people be, “conformed to the image of his Son.” And with that, he reveals what appears to be his biggest concern with a lot of Christian teaching on work; namely that, “the Christological dimension is often missing.”

Building on this, Orr restates an understanding of faith and work that he hears quite often, whereby Christians will say, “If God is going to restore all things, I can work now in a way that reflects that restoration – and in a sense, I’m anticipating the new creation… perhaps my music (etc) will carry through to the new creation.”

Orr responds to this perspective as follows: “This is arguing not from Genesis, but from eschatology… The problem is people then take ethical steps drawn from that truth that the New Testament doesn’t do…The mistake is to make a correct scriptural observation… such as the fact that there is continuity4… and then say “therefore it makes sense to live this way… The question however is, ‘does the New Testament make the same argument?’’” He argues that any idea of continuity in the created order is linked to the anticipation of the return of Christ.

Orr then deals with four important questions/matters that arise from the application of Christ’s redemption to work.

3.1. HOW SIN INFECTS THE HUMAN ENDEAVOUR

Orr states that the effect of sin on human beings is that it causes us to, “value the wrong thing.” He points out the danger in separating work from the rest of life. “Jesus begins his ministry by announcing that the kingdom of God has come. Sometimes ‘kingdom’ is tied to work – but Jesus ties it to himself… And what should our response be? Repent and believe in the gospel (John 6:9).”

He then anticipates the objection, “But that doesn’t speak to my everyday work,” and responds by saying, “That’s the point; we can’t elevate our everyday work to define us. We’re defined by how we relate to Christ. Whether you’re a neurosurgeon or stacking shelves, you are defined by your relationship with Christ.”

3.2. SO, DOES MY WORK MATTER?

Orr answers: “It matters because you matter. As a child of God everything you do matters.”

He refers to Colossians 3:23 where Paul says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not human masters.” From this, Orr observes that Paul does not motivate Christians to work wholeheartedly because their work is anticipating the new creation, but rather because it is for the Lord. He concludes, “Your work matters because you matter to the Lord, and everything you do is for Him. If that’s not enough for us, that’s a problem.”

3.3. THE PRIORITY OF GOSPEL WORK

Orr then points out that since God’s plan is to bring everything under Christ (not just to be creative or restorative), the work of gospel proclamation may not necessarily be more valuable, as “that would be the wrong word,” but is certainly, “more important than any other work.” For example, stacking shelves may be valuable and significant, but it is not, “as important as proclaiming the gospel.” As such, according to Orr, all Christians – “regardless of their professions, need to ask what they are doing with their time, gifts and money to join in God’s work of bringing all things under Christ, because just doing your ordinary work well is not the same as being on mission.”

3.4. TWO ASPECTS TO WORK

By way of summary, Orr suggests that there are two aspects to a Christian’s work. The first, he calls “secular” – for example, one’s work as a nurse. “This is valuable, it is not a waste of your time, and God takes pleasure in it. But there is another work that we are all called to; the ‘work of the Lord.’” According to Orr, we must not confuse the two, and we must give ourselves wholeheartedly to both. He does concede that the gospel should impact how we go about our “secular” work; but stresses yet again that journalism per se (as an example), is not, “the work of the Lord.”

Coming specifically to his main text (1 Cor 15:58), Orr points out that some have taken “the work of the Lord” in a “maximal way,” which is to say that everything we do as Christians is the work of the Lord (painting, teaching, praying etc). The problem, he contends, is that Paul has something specific in mind (evangelism and edification) when he uses this phrase. He cites the following other references in 1 Corinthians to make his point:

15:10 “I worked harder than any of them” – the context here is gospel work
16:10 “For he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am”
16:15 “to the service of the Lord”
14:12 “Strive to excel in building up the church”

4. NEW CREATION/CONSUMMATION

Asked about what we can learn from the ‘consummation/new creation’ part of the biblical narrative, Orr points out that the language we are given about the new creation is highly symbolic. He concedes that there is a clear indication that, “the garden” (in Genesis 1 and 2) is not just restored but surpassed, and that yes, “there will be work for redeemed humanity,” but is also adamant that we cannot draw implications that go beyond Scripture and that it is not helpful or biblical to over-emphasize the importance of our present vocations on eschatological grounds.

4.1. WHAT ABOUT REVELATION 21?

Revelation 21:10, 24, 26 “…and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… the kings of the earth bringing their splendour into it… The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it.”

Asked what he thinks about the idea that this verse is talking about the cultural achievements of human beings being brought into the new creation, Orr responds, “It makes sense, but it is resting an awful lot on one verse.” He goes on to ask the question of why anyone would be looking to “separate the glory and honour of the nations from Christ” – and rather choose to link it to human achievements.

5. RESPONSE TO PETER ORR’S POSITION

5.1 WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘SECULAR?’

It is important to define what we mean by the word ‘secular.’ When Orr uses the phrase “secular work,” his reference is to all work that is not paid, full-time Christian ministry. However, unless one makes this qualification every time the phrase is used, it can be easily misunderstood, and at worst, it can reinforce a dualistic5 worldview that is not at all biblical.

The word ‘secular’ is derived from the Latin saeculum, meaning the present world, generation or age. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary adds the following understanding:

a: of or relating to the worldly or temporal
b: not overtly or specifically religious
c: not ecclesiastical or clerical

Thus, in a purely grammatical sense, ‘secular work’ would refer to work that is purely of this world and having no spiritual significance – and by inference, work that does not matter to God. Nothing Orr says in his interview suggests that he believes that “secular work” is not spiritual – however, this terminology leaves him open to this speculation.

The compound word ‘marketplace’ is grammatically limiting because it implies commercial activity, which does not capture the full breadth of human creative expression (work). However, as a more worldview-neutral concept, it is perhaps more helpful than ‘secular’ in describing unpaid/non-vocational church work (The Lord’s work). It can be used both as a noun (the marketplace), or as an adjective (marketplace work).

5.2 THE WORK OF THE LORD

The backbone of Orr’s perspective is his interpretation of what Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15:58 as the “work of the Lord,” which Orr understands to be evangelism and edification. He then infers from this observation, that all meaningful Christian work is related to evangelism and edification, which does not include the jobs that people spend most of their lives doing. There are several challenges for this position – I’ll mention three.

The first is that respected Bible scholars such as Gordon Fee, do not interpret this text as tying down Paul’s phrase exclusively to evangelism and edification. Fee says:

“It is not absolutely certain what kind of activity Paul had in mind by the phrase “the work of the Lord.” Minimally, it may refer more broadly to whatever one does as a Christian, both toward outsiders and fellow believers; but along with the next word, “labor,” Paul frequently uses it to refer to the actual ministry of the gospel. Probably in their case it covers the range but leans more toward the former. That is, there are those kinds of activities in which believers engage that are specifically Christian, or specifically in the interest of the gospel. This seems to be what Paul has in mind here.”

The second challenge is that, even if Paul has evangelism and edification in mind here, this verse alone does not establish a universal principle that all Christian work is limited to those activities. Orr takes a big interpretive step from a specific instance to a general principle, which is not sound biblical hermeneutics.

And thirdly, even if one concedes that Paul primarily has evangelism and edification in mind, drawing a hard line between these activities and other facets of life such as marketplace work seems to go beyond the scope of Paul’s teaching – and in fact, it fuels a dualistic worldview where some things are seen as inherently spiritual, and others not. In other words, it fuels the perception that some things matter to God, while others do not.

That being said, we cannot escape the fact that marketplace work on its own – without the Great Commission at its core, cannot be called the ‘work of the Lord.’ And so, by necessity we must find a way to distinguish between gospel proclamation and marketplace work per se, while at the same time avoiding the trap of dualism. A possible solution is to refer to the former as, ‘The work of Lord,’ as in 1 Corinthians 15:58, and the latter as ‘The Lord’s work.’ This approach simultaneously honours the bias towards evangelism and edification in 1 Corinthians 15:58, and recognizes marketplace work as being inherently spiritual – or, to put it another way; done as unto the Lord (Col. 3:23). With these definitions in place, we can say that every believer must attend to both the work of the Lord, and the Lord’s work. This will be discussed further in a later section.

There is another good reason for the appropriateness of referring to marketplace work as ‘The Lord’s work.’ In his book, ‘Every Good Endeavor,’ Tim Keller refers to Martin Luther’s exposition of Psalm 147, which in verse 13 assures a city that “God strengthens the bars of your gates.” Luther asks how God actually goes about providing for the security and safety of a city. He answers,

“By the word ‘bars’ we must understand not only the iron bar that a smith can make, but… everything else that helps to protect us, such as good government, good city ordinances, good order… and wise rulers… This is a gift of God.”

In other words, God protects a city in ways we cannot understand through his sovereign hand, but he also uses ‘extensions’ of his hands through lawmakers, police officers, government officials and so on. Thus, every time a police officer puts on his uniform to go to work, he is in a very real sense, doing God’s work of protecting the city.

5.3 THE CULTURAL MANDATE

It is true that the Fall had far-reaching consequences which cannot be ignored – we do not live in a perfect world, and we cannot by our work, bring about perfection. However, we do need to be aware of the limitations of these consequences. For example, while Adam’s sin corrupted the image of God in man, it did not revoke or annul this image. The implication is that while restoration of the fullness of God’s image in human beings can only be realised through Christ, even those who do not acknowledge Christ as Lord are God’s image-bearers.

I would argue that the same is true for the cultural mandate. Did sin compromise humanity’s ability to ‘subdue’ the earth? Yes, certainly. Did God, on account of sin, revoke or nullify this mandate? We might think that He would have or perhaps should have, but the Bible simply does not teach this.

The fact that Noah’s mandate, as recorded in Genesis 9, omits the instruction to subdue the earth – while noteworthy, is not sufficient evidence that God revoked it after the flood. More importantly however, Orr’s argument suggests that he believes that cultural mandate is entirely contained in that single instruction. However, a careful comparison shows that common to both Adam and Noah are three other instructions; namely, to “be fruitful,” to, “increase in number,” and, “to multiply” (NIV). On what grounds are these to be excluded from our understanding of the cultural mandate? What did God have in mind when He spoke of fruitfulness, increase and multiplication, if not the development of human society and culture?

In her acclaimed book, Total Truth, Nancy Pearcey (2008) offers the following breakdown of the instructions given to Adam in Genesis 1:28

“The first phrase, ‘be fruitful and multiply,’ means to develop the social world: build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws. The second phrase, ‘subdue the earth,’ means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, and compose music. This passage is sometimes called the Cultural Mandate because it tells us that our original purpose was to create cultures, build civilizations—nothing less.”

By this definition the cultural mandate involves, but is not limited to the act of, “subduing” the earth. It also includes the instructions repeated to Noah; namely to be fruitful, to increase, and to multiply. It is also clear that although the effects of sin compromised our ability to harness the natural world, reduced the ‘co-operation’ of the earth in this endeavour, and removed all desire to ascribe glory to God for our achievements – the tasks of planting crops, building bridges, designing computers, composing music and so on, are still part of God’s intent for human beings; and are nothing less than a reflection of His image in us.

Which brings us to another observation; namely that there is an inextricable link between God’s image in man and the cultural mandate, as Doug Kelly (2017) writes in Creation and Change.

“Only because mankind was created in the image of God was it appropriate to grant him the awesome responsibility of dominion over the entire created order.”

If the cultural mandate was given because of the image of God in man, and sin corrupted – but did not nullify this image, on what grounds can we say that the mandate was revoked?

In his book All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes (1989), Kenneth Myers shares a similar thought:

“Man was fit for the cultural mandate. As the bearer of his Creator-God’s image, he could not be satisfied apart from cultural activity.”

What then can we say is a biblical understanding of the cultural mandate and its applicability to Christians today? Here are four helpful points taken from an online article by “9Marks”6

1. The cultural mandate is the command to exercise dominion over the earth, subdue it, and develop its latent potential (Gen. 1:26-28; cf. Gen 2:15). God calls all humans, as those made in His image, to fill the earth with his glory through creating what we commonly call culture.

2. The cultural mandate is given to all people. In Genesis 1:26-28, it’s given to Adam and Eve as the only people, and as representatives of all humanity. In Genesis 9:1 it’s given to Noah as the representative of all humanity.

3. Therefore, the cultural mandate is not just for the people of God. Moreover, it’s not uniquely tied to the gospel or the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), which is a distinct mandate given to the people of God alone.

4. Having said that, only the true people of God (the Church) will be able to fulfil the cultural mandate as it was intended—according to the desire to give glory to God.

In summary, while sin compromised humanity’s ability to fulfil the cultural mandate – and corrupted our motive from glorifying God to self-glorification (as was the case in Genesis 11, with the building of the Tower of Babel), the calling of God upon all human beings to develop the latent possibilities of the earth (and indeed our own), and contribute meaningfully towards the flourishing of creation remains unchanged. This is why we cannot and should not separate the cultural mandate from a present-day theology of work.

5.4 THE GREAT COMMISSION

Orr suggests that the cultural mandate is “fully expressed” in the Great Commission. While there is some theological debate on their exact relationship, it seems clear such a relationship does indeed exist. Paul’s reference to Christ as the “second man” and the “last Adam,” in contrast to the “first man” and the “first Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45–49), at the very least compels us to consider the similarities between the mandate given by God to Adam, and the commission given by Christ to his disciples. The idea we get from the New Testament is that where Adam (and later Israel) failed to carry out God’s will, Jesus proved faithful in every way. So, a good question might be, “What is the essence of God’s instruction to Adam (humankind) – as described by the cultural mandate – and is it repeated in Jesus’ instruction to his disciples (the church)?”

Theologian John Frame points out in his book, ‘The Doctrine of the Word of God’ that when God instructed Adam to fill the earth, his intent was the multiplication of humankind – at that time, the perfect image-bearers of God who would fill the whole earth with the glory of God. As such, what we call the cultural mandate is, “not purely cultural, but spiritual.” Adam’s commission was to fill the earth with human beings who would reflect God’s image in every human endeavour, and by so doing would glorify God in all things.

Seen in this light, we could say that Adam’s disobedience led to a catastrophic separation of the spiritual aspect of this mandate from the purely cultural aspect. In other words, while the increase of humankind and the creative development of the earth continued unabated – it was no longer done with reference to the Creator, or with any desire to glorify Him; it was no longer a spiritual endeavour. The building of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 is a case in point. The inhabitants of the earth decided to build a great tower (the cultural aspect of the mandate), but they did it, as verse 4 says, “so that we may make a name for ourselves” (the lost/distorted spiritual aspect of the mandate). They developed civilization, but had completely lost all reference as to why they were doing it; namely, to fill the earth with the glory of God. At this point, the outworking of cultural mandate had become like a runaway freight train – making hasty progress, but not accomplishing its intended purpose.

Is this not a direct parallel to humanity’s view of life today? We maintain the cultural aspect of God’s first mandate to humankind (we go to work, build bridges, create music etc.), but we don’t see these things (or to use Paul’s language from the first chapter of Romans, we refuse to see these things) as essentially spiritual acts. We refuse to acknowledge God as Creator and – going back to Romans 1 – we “choose to worship created things,” including the fruit of our cultural achievements.

What then was the purpose of the Great Commission? It must surely have been to restore what God originally intended; human beings reconciled to Him and living for His glory in all things – just as it was in the Garden of Eden (obviously we will not attain perfection on this side of eternity). And how does this happen? It can only happen as each person chooses to die to their old life in the first Adam, and is resurrected into a new life in the last Adam. That’s the gospel; that’s the symbolism behind Christian baptism.

And here is where these two great streams flow as one mighty river: The Great Commission is not simply about getting people to pray the “sinner’s prayer,” and start going to church; it’s a call to bring humankind back to God’s original design and purpose; to reconcile us back to Him and to tear down that false divide between cultural activity and spiritual worship that was erected at the Fall. John Frame expresses a similar view in these words:

“Of course, it is not possible for people to subdue the earth for God until their hearts are changed by the Holy Spirit. So ‘taking dominion,’ following the Resurrection, begins with evangelism and baptism. But baptism is not the end, and evangelism is not simply bringing people to an initial profession of faith. It is making disciples and teaching them to observe comprehensively all that Jesus has commanded, with the assurance of Jesus’ continuing presence. Jesus’ commands deal not only with repentance, faith, and worship. They also concern our treatment of the poor, our sexual ethics, marriage and divorce, anger, love of enemies, fasting, anxiety, hypocrisy, and many other subjects. When we through faith embrace Christ, we should also be led to embrace the cultural mandate. We should all bring our faith and a desire to obey Christ into our daily work.”

Matt Rusten7 gives a useful example of this from the account in Luke 3:1-20, when tax collectors and soldiers asked John the Baptist what they should do if they wanted to repent.

And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

He points out that repentance had profound implications for work. It wasn’t that they were to leave their current work for the “work of the Lord”, but rather that collecting taxes and being a soldier should be done in a new sort of way.

I would therefore agree with Orr’s position that the Great Commission fully expresses the intent of the cultural mandate. It seems, however, that he needlessly downplays the cultural mandate for fear that we would be distracted from the Great Commission. The fear is justified, but this approach has significant negative implications that will be discussed in a later section.

5.5 TWO ASPECTS TO WORK?

So, are there two aspects to work as Orr suggests? Yes. The cultural mandate speaks to what we have defined as ‘marketplace’ activity, whereas the Great Commission speaks to gospel proclamation – what Orr refers to as “the work of the Lord”. It’s

For those who earn a living through some form of gospel ministry (e.g. pastors), their call to creative expression (cultural mandate) is directed fully towards a particular aspect of the Great Commission – whether by leading a church or Christian organisation, preaching, evangelising, volunteering with a Christian mission etc. Those in the marketplace, must seek to outwork the Great Commission within the specific context of their day to day expression of the cultural mandate (their work and public life). As Orr says, both aspects of Christian work must be valued without being confused; but also, neither must be minimized – because both are to be done to the glory of God!

5.6 THE PRIORITY OF GOSPEL WORK

Does gospel work (the direct outworking of the Great Commission through gospel proclamation) have priority over marketplace work? In making his case for the priority of gospel work, Orr compares the work of stacking shelves to that of proclaiming the gospel, say by a pastor or evangelist. His proposition is that the work of the ‘shelf-stacker’ is not as important as that of the pastor. While this may be true, I fear that stated in this way, there is the danger of burying an even greater truth – that both the person pastoring and the person stacking shelves are called to ‘gospel work;’ and that in fact, according to Ephesians 4:11-12, the role of what we might call ‘full-time vocational ministers’ (like pastors) is to equip ‘shelf-stackers’ to do the work of ministry in the marketplace – where most people spend most of their time. In other words, while the pastor’s vocational work is to proclaim the gospel, he has an even greater task in equipping his congregation to proclaim the gospel to their colleagues, associates, clients, suppliers etc – the people the pastor himself has no direct access to.

So then, when can Christian journalists (to use Orr’s example) be said to be doing the Lord’s work? It is when they are taking seriously both aspects of their work. Not, on the one hand, seeing their job or position purely as a preaching platform to reach their colleagues for Christ, with no regard for how the gospel should be shaping both their conduct at work and the perspective from which they write their articles. And not, on the other hand, seeing their job or position purely as a means to express their God-given creativity to improve and reform their industry. The two must work seamlessly together – with one complementing, and indeed commending the other.

Orr is right when he says that we can so easily lose the Christological emphasis in the ‘theology of work,’ but it’s also true that when Christians fail to see how this Christ they are meant to (and often want to!) proclaim is relevant to all of life (especially their work), there will generally be a lack of the conviction to do so. Christ is the centre, but He’s not just the centre of the Church – He’s the centre of human history! God’s wisdom and plan are not limited to religious matters; He is sovereign (has a design for, cares about, and has full control) over farming, mining, education, economics, politics, science, art, entertainment – and everything else. So, let us proclaim Christ! But let us proclaim Him truly, and not reduce to personal piety his plan of cosmic redemption.

The biblical view of life is that it is integrated whole, and not compartmentalized. As such, both ‘gospel work’ and market place activity should radiate from the central cog of Christ crucified and resurrected. As the wheel turns, all facets of life touch the ground a world in dire need of redemption, to the glory of God.

5.7 DOES YOUR WORK MATTER TO GOD?

Orr’s answer is, “Your work matters because you matter.” He appears to be saying that your work matters only because you matter to God. He further adds, “if that’s not enough, then there’s a problem.” But it cannot be enough for us, because it’s not enough for God! God doesn’t care about human creativity and labour just because he cares about the humans who create and labour – God cares about the work itself! He cares about what work we do, how we do it, and why we do it.

He cares about how we express our love for Him and for our ‘neighbour’ in and through our work. It matters to Him that we apply a redemptive lens to our work relationships, processes, strategies and structures. He cares about how faithfully we steward the environment while we produce goods and services. He cares about how our faith and our actions shape our industries, and how those industries in turn shape society! Yes, our work matters because we matter – but that’s only part of the truth. The work itself matters to God – this is a necessary implication of his sovereignty.

As human beings, our work matters because by it, we develop the latent potential of the earth, and make it possible for humanity to “be fruitful, increase and multiply” – just as God intended us to. In his article, The Biblical Creation in its Near Eastern Context, Joseph Lam points out that the Hebrew phraseology in Genesis 1:26 concerning the creation of humankind in God’s image “denotes not so much the manner of the creation of the human being (i.e., the “mould” out of which humans are created), but rather the intended function of the human being in the world. It is best to understand the statement in Genesis 1:26 as meaning that human beings are fashioned in order to function as God’s image in the world. Humans aren’t just made in God’s image; they are called to be his image in the world.” As we spend most of our waking hours at work, it is important to understand how our work reflects God’s image – and that this really does matter to God.

As Christians, our work matters further because we understand that since God is the Creator, He has a perfect blueprint of how every sphere of human life and endeavour should function – family, agriculture, mining, politics, technology, art etc. It is theologically incoherent that an all-wise, all loving God would have instructed Adam and Eve to multiply and subdue the earth with no perfect design for human civilization. This design has been corrupted by sin, and will only be fully manifested when Christ returns – but for now, glorifying God must involve recognizing His design for society and the natural world, and working towards a return to that design (minimizing deviations from the design). It should be clear that this is not arguing from eschatology (which Orr rightly cautioned against) – it’s arguing from creation; arguing for the Intelligent Designer whose interests do not just lie in the size and shape of cathedrals, but also in environmental protection and fair labour practice – to give but two examples.

This point is worthy of far greater attention, but suffice to say that Orr may have stepped into the trap that he set for himself by downplaying the cultural mandate. God does not just value people, he values the work they do – why? Because all of creation belongs to Him, and though for a while it suffers under the bondage of decay (Romans 8), it was created good and will one day be restored. This makes everything sacred, because we are God’s creatures attending to God’s creation for God’s glory and love for our neighbour – that’s why our work matters!

5.8 CONSUMMATION/NEW CREATION

This part of the biblical narrative answers the all-important questions: “How does the story8 end, and why does that matter to us right now?” Orr’s description of eschatological language as highly symbolic cannot be disputed, and his caution not to draw conclusions that the Scripture writers themselves did not, is noteworthy. The temptation is real to make the ending of the story more concrete – more tangible so that we in our fallen humanness can understand it; and perhaps in that way, find purpose, direction and motivation for our day to day lives.

Orr’s caution is to be heeded by all; we are not to find our identity or (ultimate) purpose in our work. As Christians, our identity is rooted in Christ and He alone is our hope. The most important eschatological fact is not that we will be working in the new creation, but that Christ himself will be there in all his glory – and we, having been made perfect forever, will see him face to face!

Will we work in the new creation? There is every indication in Scripture that we will – consider after all, how the story began. In God’s perfect creation back in Genesis, there were essentially two activities taking place; God was working and human beings were working! Sin corrupted this perfect order, but one day sin will be no more and the story will end as it began – only this time not in a garden, but in a city; and not with one man, but with multitudes from every nation, tribe and tongue! (Revelation 7:9)

Beyond this, we simply do not know. Does the glory and honour of the nations in Revelation 21:26 refer to our sanctified cultural achievements? Perhaps. Would that affirm the value God places in his creation and in our work? Yes, absolutely – which is why we can remain open to such an interpretation. However, coming back to Orr’s caution; the purpose, meaning and value of our present work cannot rest purely on the hope that something of that work will endure into the new creation, nor on the idea that there will somehow be a correlation between what we’re doing now and what we’ll be doing then. The Bible simply does not give us enough to go on to make such conclusions – nor does it need to do so.

We know that as Christians we will be like Christ and will see him face to face (1 John 3:2); surely nothing could be more important. Anyone who has ever truly fallen in love will understand this. When you love someone, where you go and what you do matters, but what matters most is just being together! So it is with those who believe in Christ; we long for his appearing, and trust that he has in store for us much more than we can presently imagine!

6. CONCLUSION

The subject of faith and work (and indeed, all of life) is an important one for every Christian because in it we plumb the depths of both the Great Commandment, to love God with all our heart, mind and strength (Matthew 22:37), and the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18). In his interview, Peter Orr makes a valuable contribution to this subject by reminding us of the centrality of Christ in the message of the Bible, and the need for every Christian to engage wholeheartedly in the work of the Lord by sharing the gospel and building up the Church. He cautions us against over-interpreting Scripture in a bid to highlight the importance of our ‘marketplace’ work to God, while at the same time encouraging us to value such work.

However, Orr’s understanding of the present-day applicability of the cultural mandate leaves him little room to manoeuvre when it comes to explaining why the ‘marketplace’ work of Christians matters to God. His explanation that our work matters because we matter to God is certainly true, but not complete. The cultural mandate is a clear indication that God cares not just about people, but about the work that he created them to do. Sin corrupted humanity’s motives and methods, but it did not nullify God’s image in humanity nor his mandate to us to care for the creation and develop human civilization. Christ’s redemption offers us more than just personal salvation; it’s also a call to demonstrate the wisdom and power of his Kingdom in every heart and sphere of society, because everything belongs to Him. We cannot by our work make things perfect, but we can proclaim the gospel, minimize the effects of sin, extend the rule of God in all things – and by so doing, bring glory to God.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sibs Sibanda is the Executive Director of the Faith & Work Alliance (FWA) and the Lead Elder of City Hill Church in Johannesburg, South Africa. The FWA (www.faithandwork.co.za) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to equip Christians in churches, schools, businesses and other organisations across South Africa with the tools, resources and interventions that will enable them to be effective agents of redemption at work and in public life. All enquiries can be sent to info@faithandwork.co.za

WORKS CITED

Fee GD 1978. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B.Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Frame JM 2010. The Doctrine of the World of God, in The Cultural Mandate and your Work today. Online article. Accessed from http://theresurgencereport.com/resurgence/2013/10/08/the-cultural-mandate-and-your-work-today, 2018/12/12
Keller TJ 2016. Every Good Endeavor. Riverhead, New York: Penguin Random House LLC
Kelly DA 2017. Creation and Change. Fearn, Highland, in Our Job Description from the beginning. Online article. Accessed from https://tifwe.org/our-job-description-from-the-beginning-the-cultural-mandate-part-2/, 2018/10/29
Lam J. The Biblical Creation in its Near Ancient Eastern Context. Online article. Access from https://biologos.org/uploads/projects/lam_scholarly_essay.pdf, 2018/12/12
Myers KA 1989. All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes, in Our Job Description from the beginning. Online article. Accessed from https://tifwe.org/our-job-description-from-the-beginning-the-cultural-mandate-part-2/, 2018/10/29
Merriam-Webster 2003. Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Pearcey NR 2008. Total Truth: Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway

FOOT NOTES

  1. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/help-me-teach-the-bible-peter-orr-on-teaching-about-work/
  2. Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture references are taken from the NIV (2011)
  3. https://www.9marks.org/answer/what-cultural-mandate-who-it-given/
  4. Continuity between this present age and the next, with a specific emphasis on a renewed creation
  5. In this context, dualism refers to the belief that some things (“spiritual things” like the spirit and soul, salvation,prayer etc) matter to God, and other things (“secular things” like the body, work, entertainment etc) don’t.
  6. https://www.9marks.org/answer/what-cultural-mandate-who-it-given/
  7. Executive Director: Made to Flourish. https://www.madetoflourish.org/
  8. The Bible story/the story of human history.