Marketplace Manifesto

Academic Paper / Produced by partner of TOW

We believe in God the Worker who worked six days and was satisfied with His work. 
We believe God likes matter - He made it and called it good. 
We believe God made us in His image as junior co-workers, little lower than the angels.  
We believe God enjoys and blesses human work, giving it to us before the Fall. 
We believe God gave us royal dominion over the earth, to develop, tend, keep and guard it. 
 
We believe the Fall resulted from humanity disobeying God’s call to god-like dominion and work by desiring god-like knowledge and by worshiping the creature not the Creator. 
We believe that work is also now toil, hard labour and in vain because the ground is now cursed. 
We believe God still maintains creation, blessing and giving us good work, renewing the creation mandate to Noah. 
 
We believe in the Son, the Word, the Worker, who re-creates and redeems humanity and the world through his nature miracles, teaching and parables and above all, the Cross. 
We believe Jesus has been given all dominion in heaven and on earth as the true human and King who fulfils the creation commission. 
We believe He commissions and delegates His dominion to us to make disciples and teach them to regain their heritage of kingly dominion over the earth. 
We believe we are called and commissioned to bring Christ’s presence and proclaim His royal rule to every sphere of work and every corner of creation.  
 
We believe that God in hope and the Spirit subjected the world of work to vanity and the groaning of slavery and childbirth anticipating the Spirit’s birth of a new, good creation.  
The creating and re-creating Spirit’s gifts and fruits are not only exercised inside the church but overflow to all creation through our everyday life and work. 
We believe in, wait for and hasten a new heaven and new earth in which justice dwells and where we will rule under Christ, doing joyful, creative work forever in His Kingdom, which is creation healed.