A Christian Theology of Business Ownership

By Bill English and Bible and Business

A Christian Theology of Business Ownership offers a fresh perspective for business owners who are serious about aligning their role as an owner with Biblical theology. Written by a business owner for business owners, this book focuses on connecting our core Christian theologies with business ownership and includes practical applications which you can implement the moment you get to the office. If you're a Christian who owns a business or you're an entrepreneur considering starting your own business and you're serious about honoring God in your role as a business owner, then this book is for you.

This book will also be helpful to those who work or interact with Christian business owners, such as pastors, ministry leaders, college and MBA professors, trusted advisors (accountants, attorneys, financial planners, bankers and so forth), media personnel, civic leaders, elected officials and spouses of those who own a business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bible and Business
• Release date: Apr 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637957684

Bill English

Bill English is an experienced entrepreneur, author, speaker and advisor specializing in small business ownership issues.  As a Partner in the Platinum Group, Bill draws on his experience in leading companies to help other business owners. Bill led his own national training company for 12 years. He has also served as an interim CEO for a $2M firearm company and a $23M warehouse/distribution company. He now serves as the CEO for a $24M company. Bill holds two masters degrees – one in Divinity and the other in Counseling Psychology, both from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He holds to post-graduate certificate from Villanova University, one in Strategic Organizational Leadership and the other in Business Process Management. He holds a third post-graduate certificate from the University of Notre Dame in Negotiations. Currently, he is working on his third master’s degree in Management and Leadership at Western Governors University.  Bill has written 14 technical books for publishers like Addison Wesley, Sybex, Osbone McGraw Hill and Microsoft Press. Bill was named a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for eleven years and is a Minnesota Licensed Psychologist. Bill has appeared weekly on Faith Radio (myfaithradio.com) for seven years as a guest to discuss the integration of faith and business ownership. He is the publisher of Bible and Business and has served as a high school basketball official for over 10 years. Bill is also an NRA firearms instructor. He has been married to Kathy for twenty-seven years. They have two adult children, David and Anna, and live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he describes summer as the best eleven days of the year!

Book preview

Introduction

The opportunity for Christian business owners to influence this country toward the Lord is ripe, mostly unexplored and seldom discussed in our homes, churches, colleges, MBA³ programs or seminaries.

Most Christians attend churches whose pastors never talk about money, generosity, or stewardship, so it is not surprising that most Christian business owners lack a strong understanding of what the Bible has to say about these topics.

In our Evangelical subculture, there exists, at best, a dotted line between what a Christian business owner does Monday through Friday and what she hears from the pulpit on Sunday. In my sixty-plus years of going to church, I’ve never heard even one part of one sermon, let alone a full sermon, focus on the possibility that God could call one to own a business and serve Him in the marketplace.

In working at Faith Radio⁴ as a volunteer for more than seven years, I’ve been given access to the books publishers send in the hopes that someone will interview their author on-air and thus drive sales for the new book as well as expanding the ministry of that author. Countless books talk about prayer, holiness, family, parenting, healing marriages, recovery, discovering the secrets of this or that—all of which are good and necessary topics. A few discuss the integration of business and faith, and of those that do, the focus is usually on faith and work in general. It is rare to find a book that focuses on any aspect of business ownership or God’s purposes for business.

I attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School from 1984 – 1989. I do not recall even one discussion—let alone one course—on how our theology would impact those who own businesses even though, literally, all ministry is funded ultimately by profitable businesses. When I look at the course descriptions of most Master of Divinity degrees at our leading seminaries, few have an emphasis on stewardship or the integration of business and theology.⁵

This means that when a guy or gal graduates from most Christian seminaries in America, supporting business owners as stewards will not be on their radar screen. It’s not that they don’t care. It’s simply a lack of training and education. This void leads to a lack of awareness, which leads to an absence of focus on stewardship in their ministries.

Privately, if they are honest, many pastors will tell you they are uncomfortable preaching about money, economics, giving, generosity, and so forth. Some pastors don’t personally tithe, so it’s predictable that they are uncomfortable telling others to do something that they don’t do themselves.

Most elder boards, however, need them to address it from time to time because giving levels are so embarrassingly low among those who claim the name of Jesus Christ.

So, tensions can exist between pastors and boards as churches need more money to survive while pastors find it easier to avoid than to engage. As a result, we have built (unwittingly) a thick, nearly impenetrable cone of silence around the topics of money, wealth, and generosity in our churches.

This cone of silence indicates a lack of faithfulness in teaching the entire counsel of God on the part of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Bible teachers. During my seminary training, I recall more than one professor reminding us that our message would not always be accepted but that God would expect us to preach it faithfully anyway. Seminary wasn’t there to make us smart. We were there to learn how to be faithful ministers of God’s word. Some of our preaching would cost us dearly. As one professor said, Guys, you need to be ready to preach, pray, or die on a moment’s notice, meaning that our preaching may cost us our lives, but shrinking from the preaching the full meaning of His word was not an option.

When ministers ignore teaching biblical instruction about generosity, we send the message that it is not an important area of obedience. In this book, I have taken an opposite view: I will suggest that being generous toward God is essential and necessary to a mature, covenantal walk with Him.

Moreover, financial generosity is the solution to so many problems in our churches and the individual lives of our members that it is difficult to overstate or exaggerate the importance of becoming generous toward Him.

If every regular attender and member of Christian churches would simply tithe, let alone become generous, then not only would every congregation be free of financial worries, but their salt and light (Matthew 5.13) influence would be much greater in this lost and broken world. They could feed and house the poor. They could walk with those who lost their jobs. They could be more effective at building ministries that are sorely needed. Pastors could be paid at an average of what their elder boards earn, and we would have less pastoral attrition due to financial stress.

But in most churches, more than half never give one penny to support the ministries of their church. If every Christian tithed 10 percent, faith-based organizations would have an extra $139 billion each year.⁶ Divide that by roughly 400,000 churches, and this would mean an average of $347,500 of additional funds per church per year to support and extend their ministries. Our influence would broaden, and those who oppose us would need to stand back and admit that we are living out our faith.

But we don’t give. We don’t put our money where our mouths are, so the world around us shrugs their shoulders and moves on. Nothing to see here. I believe R.T. Kendall is correct when he writes:

The world is unimpressed with the church because the church has not commanded the world’s attention and respect…Why should they, when we don’t respect God – or His ways? We show how much we care by how much we give. If [our faith] has not touched our check books, then Voltaire got it right when he said: When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion. ⁷

Jesus said:

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.⁸

It is sheer folly to attempt drawing closer to God if you’re bypassing the least of giving and generosity. This is why teaching the unambiguous biblical principles of stewardship and generosity is so important. We confront the sin of robbing God (Malachi 3.14) and ask our laity to choose: are you going to love God or love the things of this world, because you can’t do both (1 John 2.15). The reason most Christians rarely witness, pray, read their Bibles, personally worship, and praise God or give generously to God with their money is because their affections are divided between trying to love God and while loving the things of this world. And this duality is a result of a lack of clear, consistent biblical instruction on generosity.

Christ said, basically, show me where your money is and I’ll show you what you love (Matthew 6.19-24). If you don’t give to God once you have learned about the importance of generosity, then you must not love Him (1 John 2.15). Dr. Kendall correctly observes:

To put it another way: who among us at one time or another has not sought to use one form of obedience to offset a deficiency in another area? I don’t tithe, but I go to church! or I don’t tithe, but I bring people to church. Does it work? No, it does not. We who do more when we are aware of some form of disobedience in our Christian lives are not talking to God but to ourselves. We really project upon what we hope He is thinking. It is nothing but playing games with God – and ourselves…How we respond to the light that God throws on our paths when it comes may well determine then and there whether or not we are given more light in which to walk. For if we do not walk in the light that God kindly sheds on our paths and on our minds and in our heats, it is not likely we will get further light for other matters.⁹

Compensating for disobedience through a remarkable number of righteous acts requires an impressive level of distorted thinking.¹⁰ The lie one accepts is that sin and righteousness can be summed through some spiritual calculator which will show God that, on balance, we’re not that bad. Once we make this calculation, we give ourselves the freedom to believe the lie that God is making the same calculation and is willing to overlook our disobedience in generosity in favor of the other good things we’re doing.

In other words, we think God will make a tradeoff decision to put up with this one small deficiency because He really likes how we’re behaving in these other areas. After all, no one—not even God—gets all that they want in another person, right? God can’t realistically expect me to be obedient all the time, right? And besides, it’s really not that big of a deal, right? If it was so important, my Pastor would preach on it.

As Dr. Kendall wrote, we’re just playing games.

Christian business owners don’t just tithe—they are generous. Out of all demographics in our churches, we are the ones with the most wealth and influence. Most of us are able to give much more than 10 percent.

Our generosity could enable our churches to fund their ministries and do much good in our communities. But more importantly, becoming generous would unleash our walk with God. We would become free from the sin of hoarding. It would emancipate us to truly live on fire for Christ. We would learn contentment (1 Timothy 6.1-10) and the joy of giving. We would mature in our covenant relationship with God: Tithing is so essential to your development as a Christian that nothing will be its adequate substitute. ¹¹

Now, to be sure, there have been and are high-profile Christian business owners who have had positive influence and demonstrated generosity, such as Dave Thomas, who founded Wendy’s, Truitt Cathy who founded Chick-fil-A, James Cash Penny, who was a partner in the founding of the Golden Rule Store, which was later renamed JC Penny’s in 1914, and Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart and who started in business by working as a clerk at JC Penny.¹²

Forever 21 prints John 3.16 at the bottom of their bags. Tyson Foods employs more than one thousand chaplains to provide pastoral care to their employees. Alaska Air, Interstate Batteries, and others have a distinct set of roots in Christianity because of their founders.¹³

But as influential as these and others like them have been, we need more than a couple dozen large companies owned by Christians to achieve the revival I envision for this nation. We need a sea change in those smaller businesses owned by Christians who have fewer than one hundred employees. The change that is needed is for Christian business owners to understand, accept, and live out their stewardship roles and responsibilities before the Lord and become generous toward Him. Without stewardship, contentment, covenant, generosity, and other elements I will discuss in this book, I find it difficult to see how God will entrust to us the true riches of His presence and bringing others to Him.

Hence, to help bring about this change, we need a theological foundation upon which to build a biblical culture of Christian business ownership. It’s an audacious vision. It’s not an optional goal.

What kind of influence could the Christian business owner community have in America? Well, the Census Bureau¹⁴ publishes interesting numbers which help us understand and quantify the breadth of our opportunity.

2017 Summary Numbers of Businesses from US Census Bureau

Taking the numbers at face value, nationwide, we have approximately 3.7 million business owners managing just under 6 million employees in businesses with four or fewer employees. Enlarging our scope, if we consolidate all the businesses with fewer than one hundred employees, we have approximately 5.8 million businesses who employ 42.4 million people and supply an annual payroll of nearly $1.8 billion.

If we assume a Christian business ownership rate of 35 percent (roughly one-third), then this means the Body of Christ is spending at least forty hours/week with just under 15 million people— many of whom do not know Christ—while disseminating $630 million in payroll and benefits each week. These 1.9 million or so business owners have serious influence. Add those businesses with one hundred to 499 employees, and our reach becomes even greater: 18.8 million people employed, disseminating $945 million in payroll each week.

Divide this by 3,300 counties (roughly the number of counties in the United States), we can assume there are, on average per county, 5,700 people employed by 575 Christian business owners who contribute an average of $286 thousand in annual payroll in each county.

And if the statistics are true that roughly 90 percent¹⁵ of these businesses are family-owned businesses and we have an average of three family members working in those businesses who are Christians, then the number of Christian business owners increases to more than six million people nationally, or close to 2 percent of our total population.

If one were to ask these six million Christians who own businesses Would you like to use your business for Jesus Christ? I bet 95 percent of them would say Yes! Then they would ask, How do I do that?

This book is my attempt to answer that question.

Who Is the Audience for This Book?

The core audience for this book are Christians who own for-profit businesses.

In addition, there are several secondary audiences for this book, which include those who work with Christians who own businesses (including future business owners) such as pastors, ministry leaders, college and seminary professors, community leaders, and parents. Trusted advisors such as accountants, lawyers, bankers, financial planners, operational consultants, leadership consultants, executive coaches, and so forth may also have an interest in this book. Finally, community members such as media personnel, college presidents, and deans of business and MBA programs may also find interest in this content.

Content Overview

This book is divided into eight chapters. Each chapter has several sections, so I’ll suggest that you read this book section by section as opposed to chapter by chapter.¹⁶

Our work on this earth is preparation for our reign with Christ in eternity. Living in a covenant relationship with God that is characterized by faithfulness, perseverance, and loving presence is essential to our preparation. Understanding how the unseen realm is connected to our physical world furthers our covenant relationship with God. We also value our faith more than wealth. These elements are the context in which we operate as Christian business owners, and all this is discussed in Chapter 1, Theological Context for Business Ownership.

We won’t be able to live a life of Christian stewardship if we’re living in bondage to sin. Some Christian business owners are privately living in bondage to sin. This hinders their walk with God and their public witness. Left unchecked, it will destroy their faith. Hence, Chapter 2, Gaining Freedom from the Bondage of Sin, I become a bit more pragmatic and discusses both a theology of freedom as well as practical advice on how to find freedom.

As we are becoming free from the bondage of sin, we’re able to start looking seriously at faithfully living a life of stewardship. But we need to understand what stewardship really is, so in Chapter 3, Christian Stewardship, I discuss five foundational biblical passages on stewardship. Whereas Chapter 1 forms the context for Christian stewardship, Chapter 3 forms the theological foundation.

As we live our lives from a stewardship worldview, we’ll naturally want to infuse our businesses with stewardship principles. And if we’re in a partnership, our new desires may enhance or detract from our partnership. Hence, in Chapter 4, Partnerships, I discuss the thorny issue of forming partnerships, being unequally yoked, and looking at the elements that lead to partnerships turning sour.

In Chapter 5, Advisors and Wisdom, I’ll dive into giving and receiving advice as a Christian business owner. I’ll suggest that we all need trusted advisors in our lives, that churches need to be intentional about mentoring new entrepreneurs, and that we need to care for our physical bodies if we’re going to be available to pass it on as we age.

Now, as we live for Jesus Christ in the marketplace, this will not go unnoticed by the spiritual forces who oppose God. So in Chapter 6, Engaging the Unseen World, I’ll discuss a truth-based model of spiritual warfare. I’ll also face into the idea that getting out of balance is a subtle yet debilitating way the enemy uses to render us ineffective for the kingdom.

Coupled with spiritual warfare and bleeding into day-to-day operations is the notion of Hearing the Voice of God in decision-making, which is discussed in Chapter 7.

Finally, I wrap up this book by discussing the four core purposes of business: Products, People, Profits, and Philanthropy. I’ll suggest that, as a steward of God, you should measure your business against these four purposes, and I’ll offer some questions to ask yourself as you attempt to build a measuring stick for each area. Remember, what gets measured is what gets done.

So, to recap, here’s a brief flow of this book:

In order to steward our businesses in a way that moves God’s kingdom forward, we’ll need to

Rebuild our world view around certain theologies which will orient us toward eternity and our covenant with God, so this means we need to…

Become free from the bondage of sin, which will lead to…

An ability to clearly understand our stewardship role with God, and thus…

We will find ourselves managing our business relationships better and seeking sage advice from others so that we can…

Increasingly live for Christ in the marketplace, which means we’ll be opposed by spiritual forces, so…

We’ll need to learn to live in truth and hear the voice of God to fight these forces and make better day-to-day decisions so that we can…

Fulfill God’s purposes for business and thus point the marketplace to Him while helping to set the table for revival in this country.

If one were to personally apply this book’s outline, one could go from being a carnal, cussed business owner to being one who is on fire for Jesus Christ in the marketplace and moving God’s kingdom forward.

Now, none of the content in this book will matter to you if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. So, I’d like to walk through how to submit your life to God and enter the most exciting and fulfilling relationship you’ll ever have on this earth.

Finding a Covenant Relationship with God

As I said previously, none of what is in the book will matter to you until you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Until you have done this, you might very well be able to run a business profitably, but it won’t matter from an eternal perspective.

When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord by giving our lives to Him, we are entering into a covenant relationship in which Christ gave His life for us and we are giving our lives to Him. It is a two-way street. Christian salvation is a life spent serving and loving God. It’s no longer about ourselves. It is all about God.

To ask Jesus Christ to come into your life essentially means that you admit that you have sinned against God, that He died for your sins, that He rose from the dead to break the power of sin and death in your life and mine, and you freely give your will and life to Jesus for whatever remaining days you have on this earth.

Sometimes, those coming to Christ wonder if they are too far gone, too messed up, too full of sin for Christ to forgive and cleanse. If you feel this, then you’re not alone. We each come to Christ exactly as we are, without pretense or polish: Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away.¹⁷

If you have not made a conscious decision to bring Jesus Christ into your life and to make Him the Lord of your life, then you can do so right now by simply praying and asking Him to come into your life.

There's no magic formula for the wording of a prayer like this. There is no special phraseology or wording that would make one prayer better than another. What God looks at, as always, is what is in your heart. God understands what we mean when we pray, even if the raw syntax of our words might mean something else. But if you want to know Jesus Christ personally and enter a covenant relationship with Him, here are some suggested phrases that you can use as you pray:

Lord, I admit that I have sinned against you and that I need your forgiveness.

I believe that you died for my sins.

Jesus, I ask you to come into my life.

I ask you to forgive my sins.

I give you the rest of my life.

I commit to following you as the Lord of my life.

If you have just done this, then I would encourage you to find someone and tell them that you just accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord. And then I would strongly urge you to become part of a church in which the Bible is preached every Sunday so you can begin to grow in your faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Note: If you would like to connect with me about your decision to accept Christ as your Savior and Lord, you can email me at [e-mail]. I would love to hear from you.

Footnotes, Sidebars, and Quotations

In this book, footnotes are used for five basic purposes:

To cite sources from which I have learned.

To wade into the weeds on details which interest me or to quarantine tangential points to the discussion that, if offered in the main text, would randomize the flow of the chapter.

To provide background or contrary points of view I think might be helpful to the overall conversation.

To provide Greek and Hebrew word discussions that interest me. Note that all language discussions are in the footnotes, so a person with no Greek or Hebrew training can still read the book and not be bothered by technical language discussions.

To encourage further learning by recommending additional resources for consideration.

Sidebars are used mainly to illustrate core points which do not fit well as an extended footnote.

Quotations of Scripture are presented without chapter and verse numbers; poetic Scripture is presented as prose. I did the former because I once read a couple of New Testament books as an actual letter—just the text printed on pages without chapter and verse numbers. This method of reading the Bible changes how you read it. The latter was simply to save space.

Use of Personal Pronouns

I use he and she interchangeably. This is because both genders are represented in ownership and leadership, and frankly, I didn’t want to use one or the other exclusively. So, sometimes, I’ll refer to a Christian business owner or a ministry leader as he and other times as she. Likewise, I’ll use owner and leader interchangeably, as needed, to improve sentence flow.

Chapter 1

The Theological Context For Business Ownership

Chapter in Brief

In this first chapter, I’ll dive into the theologies which form a context for our roles as stewards of businesses God has entrusted to us. These theologies will also form the basis for God’s purposes for business.

Each theology is important by itself, but when considered in the context of business ownership, they work together to form a powerful and coherent framework for Christian stewardship and business ownership. I’ll start by diving into the deep end of pool.

Reigning with Christ

Starting with eternity in mind, I’d like to first connect how we live our lives as business owners with what we will be doing in eternity. If we remain faithful to Christ in this life, our reward will be reigning with Him in eternity:

…Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.¹⁸

John is citing Psalm 2, which describes the Messiah’s reign.

I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel ¹⁹

When we live a life of faithfulness to Christ—described as those who overcome²⁰—we are promised a function of reigning with God in eternity. In Revelation 3.20-21, John records the words of Christ:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.²¹

The destiny of the believer is not only a place in God’s home (John 14.1-3) but dominion with Jesus in the new Heaven and new earth.

This future reigning with Christ is not emphasized in our seminaries or churches. While we sometimes emphasize the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives (John 14.15-23), we often miss the connection between our faithfulness to God today and our future with Him in Heaven. We understand that the Holy Spirit lives within us, but we think of His presence mainly as helping us sin less or be more like Christ. We don’t see His indwelling as a present foretaste of a future reality.

So, while the language in the Revelation passage may be symbolic in terms of a physical throne,²² the core of the message is clear: we will reign with Christ in eternity (Matthew 19.28, Luke 22.30, 1 Corinthians 6.2-3, 2 Timothy 2.12, Revelation 5.10; 20.4-6; 22.5) if we are faithful to Him on earth.²³ Our work on this earth is preparatory for our reign with Christ in eternity, but it is also a type of reigning in His kingdom here on earth. There is both a present and a future aspect to our roles as business owners.²⁴

This reigning is a result of God’s gracious love toward us, that even when we were in rebellion against Him (Romans 5.8), He was active in the reclamation of the nations to Himself (Colossians 1.20-21) and the implementation of His original Edenic plan:

We can see that the tasks of humanity, taken in tandem with the earlier observations that require Eden and Earth to be distinct, distinguish Eden and the earth. It makes no sense to subdue the garden of God. It’s already what God wants it to be. There’s no place on Earth like it. If it needed subjugation, that would imply imperfection. That’s something that cannot be said about Eden, but it’s true of the rest of the world. For sure God was happy with the whole creation. He pronounced it very good (Gen 1.31). But very good is not perfect.²⁵ Lastly, Eden and Earth must be distinct since, after the fall, Adam and Eve are expelled from it and have to live elsewhere. Unless you believe that they were sent into outer space, you must acknowledge Eden and Earth as distinct…The distinction helps us see that the original task of humanity was to make the entire Earth like Eden. Adam and Eve lived in the garden. They cared for it. But the rest of the earth needed subduing. It wasn’t awful—in fact, Genesis 1 tells us that it was habitable. But it wasn’t quite what Eden was. The whole world needs to be like God’s home. He could do the job himself, but he chose to create human imagers to do it for him. He issued the decree; they were supposed to make it happen. They were to do that by multiplying and following God’s direction. Eden is where the idea of the kingdom of God begins. And it’s no coincidence that the Bible ends with the vision of a new Edenic Earth (Rev 21–22).²⁶ [emphasis added]

Our reign with Christ will fulfill His original purpose: to have us steward and cultivate the earth, enjoy our work, and enjoy His presence.²⁷ He will create a new Heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21.1, 2 Peter 3.13, Isaiah 65.17, 66.22) since the earth and Heaven we know today will pass away.²⁸ We will work with God to subdue the earth as members of His divine council (Psalm 88.5-7, 82.1-7, Daniel 4.17-24, 7.10-12, 1 Kings 22.13-28). We will work to steward that which He will give to us.

It is important to understand that starting, growing, and building a business is part of subduing the earth (Genesis 2.18).²⁹ It is business that takes raw materials and turns them into useful things that better our lives. It is often within the context of business where innovation and creativity are expressed. As a Christian business owner, when you run your business well, you are fulfilling God’s command to be fruitful and subdue the earth.

When we steward the earth in accordance with God’s agenda, we are preparing ourselves to reign with Christ in eternity. Taking seriously our stewardship responsibilities is part of the preparatory work to reigning with Him. Holding fast to our covenant with Him is also part of that work of preparation. We don’t prepare on this earth primarily to have a fulfilling career. We prepare on this earth to enjoy His presence and reign with Him in eternity.

Reigning with Christ in eternity is the first of seven truths that form the theological context for business ownership.

The Divine Council

The second truth that I present here is connected to the first truth of reigning with Christ: the divine council. Some may not be familiar with this notion of a divine council.³⁰

Understanding the Divine Council

The Bible says that God has a council of divine beings who carry out His decisions. It is referred to as God’s assembly, council, or court. Let’s look at three passages:

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? ³¹

A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.³²

God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment³³…I said, You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.³⁴

This council is made of spiritual beings that are less than God but greater than men. These passages do not make sense if they refer to men or idols—these gods are real. For purposes unknown to us, God chooses to administrate His rule of the cosmos through other divine beings, some of whom are in rebellion against Him.

In Psalm 82.6, they are referred to as sons of the Most High (see also Job 1.6; 2.1). In Job 38.7, we are told they were with God before He created the earth and humanity. This is God asking Job a series of questions:

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ³⁵

The sons of God were with Him when He created the world. In His council, they are decision-makers (1 Kings 22.13-28 and Daniel 4.17-24) and participate in God’s rule. They are not angels—they are above the angels.³⁶ But they form His council and carry out His directives and decisions.³⁷

Now, does God need their help or ours? Of course not. But He has chosen to use His council and His believers to carry out His will. Therefore, God gave man dominion over the earth—to rule it and steward it. He wanted mankind to share in His rule of the earth and His presence:³⁸

Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.³⁹

God’s intent was to live with us and let us participate with Him in making the entire world like Eden.

Dividing the Nations

Unfortunately, we chose to sin against God. Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent who "freely chose to reject God’s authority."⁴⁰ He was expelled from God’s presence (Ezekiel 28.14-16) and banished to earth, becoming the lord over death. This resulted in him having a claim over all humans since our sin in Eden meant the loss of earthly